Page 144 - UGU Dstrct Mun IDP Report '21-22

industries and/or regions, or to influence the character of an investment, use investment incentives, e.g. when labour-intensive investment is being sought. On the other hand, governments often introduce business retention measures to either (a) keep a business from leaving or (b) try to keep a facility from shutting down, i.e. to assist businesses in distress. The purpose of the policy is to ensure that surplus funds are invested so that the highest return is obtained with minimum risk involved.
3.6.16 Economic Drivers
The District Growth and Development Plan identifies key economic drivers in ensuring the district has an upward trajectory.
1. Spatial Integration and Facilitating Security of Tenure – the Ugu DM will need to partner with national and provincial stakeholders, the Ingonyama Trust and local traditional leaders in order to secure buy-in and investment in its spatial plans aimed at unlocking development within the rural hinterland and fundamentally re-shaping the spatial pattern of development within the region.
2. Sectoral Development and Support – the Ugu DM is partnering with key sectors such as tourism, furniture, sugar, banana, macadamia, clothing, textile and design through jointly managed action-research projects that identify value- chain investment opportunities and support needs within these industries. Joint implementation plans are being agreed to in order to maximize their shared growth and job creation potential in the region.
3. Education and Skills development – the idea is to mobilise all key stakeholders around a single Human Resource Development Strategy for the region that addresses life-long and quality learning throughout the district with the aim of ensuring higher employment, productivity and entrepreneurship levels in our community.
4. Safety and Empowerment of Communities – social development requires investment into the physical and mental health and security of the Ugu population, not to mention ensuring poverty alleviation and a conscious transformation towards economic empowerment. Mobilisation of stakeholders, particularly NGOs and CBOs, is crucial to ensuring that citizens are sufficiently housed, protected against the social ills of society, and are actively engaged in improving communities.
5. Strategic Infrastructure Investment – the intention is to utilise investment in infrastructure in order to spatially reconfigure the district, generate jobs and to boost economic activity. A district Spatial Development Framework and Infrastructure audit have been completed in order to guide this investment. Government, in fulfilling its mandate of creating an environment conducive for society and business, must drive investment in infrastructure, with support from private sector partners. Land and tenure security is a major constraint that needs urgent attention.
6. Institutional Development – this driver addresses the need to strengthen and build collaborative partnerships within government, and amongst the public, private and civil society sectors. The acknowledgement is that better co-ordination, collaboration, good governance and the creation of an enabling environment for businesses and institutions to thrive will be essential for development in the region.
7. Environmental Sustainability – there is a commitment to reversing the environmental degradation that has taken place within the district and to adopt a “green” approach to all public and private sector activity within the region. The intention will be to consider all investment in terms of the 3 Ps – people, profit and planet – and ensure that trade-offs are made in terms of the long-term interests of the region.
3.6.17 Research and Development
The municipality currently has a dedicated Research and Policy development office, though the municipality has currently prioritised its primary mandate of water and sanitation provision, from a budgetary standpoint, the office will be able to perform its full duty and be resourced adequately when the municipality has been deemed financially stable.
3.6.18 Local Economic Development SWOT Analysis
The SWOT Analysis with regards to Local Economic Development analysis are summarised as follows:
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