Prospects for the development of intermediate size cities as part of a decentralisation programme for Southern Africa

he purpose of this paper is to assess the prospects for an intermediate size city strategy as part of the decentralisation programme of Southen Africa. Considering both spatial development and experience elsewhere in the world. South African decentralisation policy has failed to use its full potential to accomplish development objectives. Some general criticism is made of the existing industrial decentralisation programme and the challenges of the 1980s are identified. Against this background, the author advocates an intermediate size city strategy for Southern Africa, discusses some spatial considerations and gives some guidelines for the successful implementation of such a strategy.     

Spatial economic development in South Africa: an overview and evaluation of the platinum spatial development initiative

The Platinum Spatial Development Initiative (Platinum SDI), located in the North West province of South Africa, is examined in this article. The article commences with a historical synopsis of industrial policy and regional industrial development policy in South Africa. Thereafter the trade and industrial policies of the North West Provincial Government are discussed in the contexts of its economic development strategies ‘North West 2001’ from 1997, and the ‘North West Economic Development and Industrialisation Strategy’ from 2002. Various arguments for and against the viability of the Platinum SDI are put forward.     

Public utility pricing and regional development in South Africa

The paper considers the effects of public utility pricing in respect of (i) the rail transport of goods, (ii) electricity supply and (iii) irrigation water in the pursuit of economic efficiency and regional development, both of which represent objectives of economic policy in South Africa. It appears that public utility prices deviate significantly from the resource costs of the respective services supplied and generally tend to have greater impact on economic efficiency than on regional development. Moreover, it may well be the case that the South African economy has not yet reached an unequivocal trade‐off state between economic efficiency and regional equity. It is therefore suggested that public utility pricing be directed at achieving a more efficient pattern of resource allocation, while regional development be promoted by measures to stimulate internal and external economies of scale.     

History of industrial decentralization in South Africa (part II)∗: Historical development and impact of the policy

This research deals broadly with the history and development of industrial decentralization in South Africa. It provides a basic analysis of a number of inseparable historic, political and economic issues, and is presented in two parts. The first part firstly traced the economic forces that generated current concentrated patterns of economic activity in South Africa, and secondly, reviewed the origins of the industrial decentralization policy. It concluded that despite a relatively rigid natural regional economic structure that developed historically, and despite the continued presence of the economic forces that brought this structure about, the government began with a policy of industrial decentralization in 1960. The second part of the research, published here, firstly assesses the development of the policy in an attempt to indicate reasons for major changes, and secondly discusses the impact of the policy with reference to current evidence. It concludes that the industrial decentralization policy may have had serious economic consequences to date, but may nevertheless have a continued role in the ongoing political development of the country. The approach throughout has been to provide a relatively compact'chronology of the policy and its antecedents.     

SDIs: Infrastructure,agglomeration and the region in industrial policy

This article reports on the initial findings of an Industrial Strategy Project Research Programme on a key current element of national industrial policy, namely Spatial Development Initiatives (SDIs). The ISP Research Programme is concerned with industrial investment. The operational industrial SDIs are examined against the backdrops of the pattern of contemporary industrial location in South Africa and the emergence of a regional industrial policy for the country; the long‐run experience with SDI‐type programmes internationally and in South Africa; and directions in current regional industrial development theory and practice, particularly those interventions aimed at strengthening the economies associated with regional/sectoral clusters or agglomerations typically embedded in metropolitan locations. The preliminary findings of research commissioned on long‐run industrial development in Richards Bay, and the current SDI processes under way in the Fish River SDI (Eastern Cape) and the West Coast SDI (Western Cape) are then presented These findings demonstrate that for the SDIs to meet their intentions in terms of maximising inward investment, creating jobs and catalysing durable regional economic development, the large opportunity present to use SDI processes to build the capacity and social infrastructure for economic development at local and regional level on — and between — both public and private sector sides should be grasped. To this end, it is also suggested that SDIs be closely linked to other government industrial promotion and support activities, notably the cluster initiatives and SMME support programmes, both of which may themselves need, at this point, far clearer regional focus.     

History of industrial decentralization in South Africa (Part I): The regional concentration of industry and the historical basis of the policy∗

This research deals broadly with the history and development of industrial decentralization in South Africa. It provides a basic analysis of a number of inseparable historic, political and economic issues, and is presented in two parts. This first part begins by tracing the economic forces that generated current concentrated patterns of economic activity in South Africa, and goes on to review the origins of the industrial decentralization policy. It concludes that despite a relatively rigid natural regional economic structure that developed historically, and despite the continued presence of the economic forces that brought this structure about, the government commenced with a policy of industrial decentralization in 1960. The second part of the research firstly assesses the development of the policy in an attempt to indicate reasons for major changes, and secondly discusses the impact of the policy with reference to current evidence. It concludes that the industrial decentralization policy may have had serious economic consequences to date, but may nevertheless have a continued role to play in the ongoing political development of the country. The approach throughout has been to provide a relatively compact chronology of the policy and its antecedents.     

South Africa's integrated environmental management policy at the crossroads of conservation and development

Sustainable development, as formulated in the 1980 World Conservation Strategy and subsequent elaborations, is being advocated in South Africa by the state through development of an integrated environmental management policy. This policy, however, does not adequately reflect the principles of sustainable development and therefore it cannot provide appropriate guidelines for the practice of integrated environmental management Accordingly, it may be said that South Africa has reached a crossroads in its quest for sustainable development.     

江苏省文化创意产业竞争力分析

江苏省正处于产业结构升级和增长方式转变的重要时期,文化创意产业的发展尤为重要。实证研究表明,苏南、苏中、苏北的产业基础和创新潜力存在显著差异,主要是由于区域经济发展水平、区域区位的优劣、区域发展战略、人才集聚能力不同。各地区应发挥其比较优势,在经济体制、产业政策、人才培养、文化融资等方面采取有效措施发展创意产业。     

Thinking regionally: Aviation and development implications in the Karoo region,South Africa

This study focuses on regional economic development in South Africa, across provincial political jurisdictions. The article argues that remote hinterlands can be more usefully understood as forming an integrated whole, rather than functioning as the poor rural cousins of their provincial metropoles. This article considers three propositions: that key transport projects (such as airports) may unlock regional development; that this may stimulate regional spatial integration; and that this may spur the South African government to address its weak regional planning system. All three propositions are speculative, drawn from the international literature, but they contribute to an argument for greater spatial coherence in South African planning in rural regions. The argument is illustrated with reference to the Karoo region of South Africa, and the potential of a new airport to impact on regional economic dynamics. Furthermore, the article argues that such impacts will require new regional planning systems, which are currently absent from the South African political system.     

Taxation and tax reform in LDCs: Lessons for South Africa

Taxation in South Africa will increasingly have to focus on political and economic developmental demands. Two important lessons from the experience of developing countries with taxation and tax reform are that the tax system should aim at not taxing the poor (rather than trying to level down the income of the rich) and that tax policy has a special role to play in generating revenue for development, a role which it should endeavour fill in a neutral way. With these lessons in mind taxation and tax reform are analysed in South Africa. It is concluded that the tax system is relatively efficient but that there has been retrogression in attaining equity objectives.     

Tourism and regional development: The case of South Africa's distressed areas

Uneven development is a long-established feature of South Africa's space economy. Recent policy initiatives have been launched for tourism to be a vehicle for regional development. Against the background of international debates about tourism and regional development, this article examines the tourism economy of South Africa's 23 priority development districts or distressed areas that are the current focus of national policy to redress uneven development. The nature and growth of tourism occurring in these areas is shown to be primarily domestic tourism and concentrated upon visiting friends and relatives travel. The prospects for regional development ultimately hinge upon leveraging potential assets for leisure tourism. Key challenges for incipient tourism-led regional development in South Africa are identified.     

A preliminary evaluation of the new RIDP and its impact on regional development in South Africa

The debate on regional political autonomy makes regional economic development a subject of central importance. Current policy is embodied in the Regional Industrial Development Programme (RIDP), as revised in May 1991. Regional industrial policy in South Africa originated in 1956 with the Border Industry Programme, whose objective was to create economically independent sovereign states, Subsequent shifts of emphasis from socio‐political objectives towards a predominantly economic orientation in the 1991 RIDP were expected to concentrate the allocation of resources to industry at locations with greater natural potential for industrial development.

An evaluation of the preliminary results of the 1991 RIDP confirms these expectations in that, as far as capital investment is concerned, a certain degree of concentration is already discernible especially in metropolitan areas and secondary cities. However, it seems there are a number of factors present in the market‐place that are still inhibiting the full realisation of the objective of concentrated industrial development at locations with a natural potential for industrial development. The existing institutional development framework, the availability of relatively cheap excess infrastructure in certain locations and the spatial application of the new RIDP are some of the factors that could possibly have influenced locational decision making during the last 20 months.

Therefore, although the new RIDP is more market orientated than its predecessor and certainly much more economically sustainable, a number of issues still need attention, and further adjustments to the programme should be made if the various regions are to be developed optimally and scarce economic resources utilised effectively.     

Unpacking tourism SMMEs in South Africa: structure,support needs and policy response

Small enterprise (SMME) support policy in post-apartheid South Africa has traditionally involved support initiatives in the form of ‘generic’ packages that overlook the specificities of particular sectors. In this article the specific issues concerning SMME development in tourism are investigated. Against a backcloth of a review of international scholarship on tourism small firms, the article presents findings from recent empirical investigations into the progress and problems of tourism SMME development in South Africa. Within the international scholarship and policy debates on tourism, it is argued that the South African experience is particularly distinctive in two respects: (1) the support of particular groups of tourism SMMEs linked to objectives of transformation and (2) the introduction of dedicated tourism-specific support programmes for SMME development.     

New agricultural development criteria: a proposal for project design and implementation

An environment conducive to a viable emerging agricultural sector is developing in South Africa, but it has yet to benefit most resource-poor producers. Some of the crucial constraints are accessibility and affordability of resources and services. Centrally managed agricultural projects as the main historical development model have largely failed to live up to the expectation that this would be the ‘cutting edge’ of development. This paper argues that the failure of these projects was partly due to four criteria for development not being sufficiently incorporated into project design and implementation: technical aspects of a project must be reconciled with social structures and realities; farmer diversity must be dealt with through focused support; business linkages must be structured and maintained; and skills development and participation must be institutionalised. Two of these criteria – dealing with diversity and facilitating participation – are elaborated on through a case study in the North West Province of South Africa. Typology analysis led to the identification of four distinct farmer types and this was followed by a Logical Framework planning process to develop a unique support strategy for each type. The objectives and activities required for each type are quantified. It is argued that this model, extending the project cycle to include the four new development criteria, constitutes a model for small farmer entrance into a competitive market.     

Conflict resolution and the deregulation of the South African transport sector

Transportation policy has achieved increasing recognition as a key variable influencing the development process in Southern Africa. The present paper explores the way in which the South African Transport Services have been forced to pursue two largely conflicting goals, namely to function as a commercial organisation while simultaneously obligated to further the economic and political objectives of public policy. It is argued that carefully planned deregulation provides a solution to the current impasse if certain preconditions for equal intermodal competition are established. The impact of such a policy of planned deregulation on industrial decentralisation and economic efficiency is examined, and an integrated approach is proposed to minimise any adverse effects on development.     

The development axis as a development instrument in the Southern African development area

Development axes are phenomena which occur world‐wide and which are widely used in the physical planning process as a working tool to regulate economic and geographical space. Different interpretations of the phenomenon lead to considerable differences in its application as a planning instrument ‐ also in South Africa. An attempt has been made to analyse different approaches to the concept against the background of its fundamental morphological properties. It is argued that there is still today a need for a development axis policy in the Southern African development area (SADA). Finally an alternative approach is suggested which makes it possible to illuminate some of the most important disadvantages in the current application of the concept in Southern Africa.     

SOUTH AFRICA AND THE NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT: ECONOMIC SPIN-OFFS AND LINKAGES

The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is a concerted effort by Africa's political leaders to develop a comprehensive and integrated strategic policy framework to raise current levels of socio‐economic development and reduce high levels of poverty across the African continent. The NEPAD framework recognises the need for African countries to pool their resources together in order to enhance regional development and economic integration. To this end, NEPAD emphasises capacity building and also seeks to solicit and disburse funds towards infrastructural development programmes and poverty alleviation projects, among others. South Africa's involvement with the rest of Africa has increased significantly since 1994. Trade exports, foreign direct investment (both market and resource‐seeking in nature) and public‐private partnerships have mushroomed in many parts of the continent. Many South African firms are providing the financial impetus for the infrastructural development and rehabilitation of African economies. This paper discusses salient economic linkages between South Africa and the rest of Africa within the framework of NEPAD. South Africa is the economic hub of sub‐Saharan Africa (and indeed of the African continent), with significant agricultural, manufacturing and services capacity. South African firms have invested in the development of a number of sectors in the rest of Africa, taking advantage of the new investment incentives offered by the NEPAD framework. The target sectors range from mining, the hospitality industry, engineering and construction, finance to telecommunications. These investments and economic involvements are crucial to the development of African countries and the relevant sectors that are important for the realisation of some of the objectives of NEPAD.     

Promoting alignment between innovation policy and inclusive development in South Africa

Innovation for inclusive development (IID) is widely promoted as a policy objective in the global South, but the challenge is that there is little design and implementation of context-appropriate instruments and incentives. One critical foundation is network alignment – that innovation policy should be aligned with the goals and strategies of government departments responsible for promoting inclusive development (Von Tunzelmann, N, 2007. Approaching network alignment. Draft Paper for the U-Know Consortium: Understanding the relationship between knowledge and competitiveness in the enlarging European Union). The paper contributes by using qualitative analysis software to analyse the nature of shared policy goals and instruments in South Africa, and assess how these can be aligned with each other and with the goals of IID. Three main spaces for policy intervention are identified, to promote IID in a way that goes beyond the aspirational and the rhetorical. Such analysis of formal policy does not take into account the political will, capabilities and resources for implementation, but it does provide a systematic evidence base to effect strategic change.     

安徽省参与泛长三角区域发展分工中的金融战略分析

加入长三角区域,参与泛长三角区域发展分工,是安徽省发展的良好机遇,不仅能够促进安徽省经济快速发展,也会促进安徽省金融的迅速壮大。在加速融入长三角的过程中,安徽省应当合理制定参与泛长三角区域发展分工的经济战略步伐。于此同时,紧紧围绕经济发展这个中心,拟定安徽省融入长三角的金融战略。本文通过对安徽省的金融战略目标的定位,分析安徽省金融发展过程中应注意的问题和采取的策略。