Author(s)

N. Olivier

Abstract

The context for the sustainable development of South Africa’s deep rural areas (previously referred to as homelands), primarily inhabited by traditional communities (with approximately 12–15 million people), is complex, often contradictory, and uncoordinated. At the constitutional level, regional and rural development rests within the functional policy, statutory and implementation competencies of the national and provincial spheres of government. Since 5 December 2000 the primary obligation for effecting economic and other forms of development is vested in local authorities. Policy documentation and implementation strategies at national and provincial level often lack adequate interdepartmental and intergovernmental coordination. The existing regulatory frameworks are to a large extent a mixture of pre-1

Keywords