Browsing by Author "Sebola-Samanyanga, Jackson"
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Item Assessing Forward Planning in Rural Local Government: A Case Study of Moqhaka Local Municipality(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Sebola-Samanyanga, Jackson; Pooe, T. K.Rural planning in post-apartheid South Africa faces challenges in addressing the future proactively. This is largely due to the unjust policies and governmental approaches of the colonial era and apartheid that continue to this day. Literature suggests that little attention has been paid to the relationship between rural planning and future orientation, with planning being reduced to solving today's problems rather than developing a vision for the future (Isserman, 1985; Meng, 2009; Muñoz-Erickson et al., 2021). Against this background, Ngumbela (2021, p. 84) poses a critical question: Are South African local municipalities the tools of effective and efficient local service delivery, backed by a capable state and Developmental Local Government whose impact is merely a short drive from the fog into the light – or are they moving further into the dark? (2021:84) The study problematises rural local government development as preoccupied with redressing past injustices and aims to determine whether a proactive engagement with the future informs non-metropolitan rural local government planning. Adopting a qualitative approach, the study evaluated Moqhaka Local Municipality's planning systems and tools using two methods: interviews and content analysis. The study found that the question posed by Ngumbela (20210) highlights the need for local governments to be restructured and redefined in order to be developmental. It also proposes that future studies and planning be (re)merged to maximise the known and minimise the unknown. In essence, the study provides valuable insights into the realities of local rural planning and its engagement with the future.