Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (former Departments)

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Browsing Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (former Departments) by Author "Bruiners, Natasja"

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    Multi-purpose community centres : a local economic development strategy towards sustainable community empowerment and poverty alleviation in the Dwars River region
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2003-12) Bruiners, Natasja; Khan, Firoz; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic & Management Sciences. Dept. of Town and Regional Planning.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In South Africa, Multi-Purpose Community Centres (MPCCs) have been identified as the primary approach for the implementation of development communication and information as they potentially offer a wide range of services that communities can utilise for their own empowerment. This affords the community an opportunity to become more self-reliant. The new Local Economic Development (LED) policy paper (2002) highlights the mobilisation of internal resources, capacities and skills consistent with the sustainable development objectives that government is now more aggressively pursuing. Community participation and empowerment play a significant role in any community, therefore, municipalities need to create the conditions for greater public participation and empowerment. It should be done with regards to the disadvantaged or marginalised groups in accordance with the conditions and capacities in a municipality. In the Dwars River region, various services are being planned ranging from skills development to tourism, but these depend on sufficient financial aid. The nature and location of the MPCCs in South Africa makes financial sustainability difficult because the majority of them largely serve historically disadvantaged communities with limited financial resources to pay for services. It is also important to note that economic growth does not necessarily imply poverty alleviation and/or skills development as components of the government's communication and information approach. MPCCs can transform communities but will be time consuming and requires participation from all spheres of government and civil society.