Socio and economic impact of comprehensive rural development programme : a case study of Muyexe Comprehensive Rural Development Programme Site in the Greater Giyani Local Municipality in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

A majority of the South African population live in poverty, particularly those in rural areas. During the year 2009, the South African government identified rural development as a key priority area in socio-economic issues and the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform was created to focus specifically on this issue. This was followed by the development of the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP). The CRDP is a government policy on rural development. The main focus of the programme is on agrarian transformation and land reform as pillars of rural development, alongside infrastructure provision such as housing, energy, sanitation, schools, clinics, boreholes and water reticulation system in rural areas. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to assess the socio-economic impacts of the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP). The study used Muyexe village in Greater Giyani Local Municipality as a case study. The objectives of the study included assessing challenges facing the Muyexe village, such as provision of basic services, job creation, skills development and public amenities. The first phase of the literature review focused on the definitions of rural development, rural development theories, development challenges and approaches on rural development. The second phase of the literature review further explored the developmental challenges for rural areas in South Africa since 1994. For this study, the researcher collected the primary data by making use of face to face interviews, while secondary data was gathered from the compiled frameworks, policies, reports of government departments, books, journals, conference papers, proceedings, presentations and the internet. The findings showed that a lot still needs to be done with regards to the development of infrastructure such as road, transport and adequate access to basic services. It was also found that the unemployment rate in the area is a serious concern. It was raised that most of the jobs that were created were only on a short term basis, with lower wages. While the enterprises and cooperatives established were struggling with vii production and generating income. The recommendations intending to strengthen the implementation of rural development initiatives such as the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme to have a better model of addressing rural development that will yield tangible results of sustainable development were also provided