LOCAL ECONOMIC-DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES IN AN EMERGING DEMOCRACY - THE CASE OF DURBAN IN SOUTH-AFRICA

In recent years, especially since 1990, there has been an increased em phasis on LED strategies I South African cities focus on urban reconst ruction and development to try to reduce the inequalities associated w ith apartheid, The aim of this paper is to investigate the nature of l ocal economic development strategies in Durban, with specific referenc e to the Point Redevelopment Programme and the International Conventio n Centre, It was widely expected that these projects would create jobs and promote tourism, These projects were initially largely driven by business and local state interests, and there was no public participat ion, Pressure from community groups led to a fundamental restructuring of the development process, The formation of the Durban Infrastructur al Development Trust was a progressive strategy to get the wider commu nity involved in the process, The Trust released a protocol which stip ulated that the guiding principles for these projects would be, widesp read consultation in the planning and development process, as well as policies for job-creation and affirmative action, However, this paper questions whether these objectives will be realised, and whether the d isadvantaged communities will benefit from the local economic developm ent projects, An analysis of the financing of the projects and concess ions granted to private developers by the local state reveals that mos t of the funding would come from the tax-payer, Therefore, inequalitie s would not be addressed and any benefits to the community would only take place by the trickle-down effect.