Income Generation, Local Economic Development and Community Development : Paying the Price for Lacking Business Skills?

The introduction of the notion of developmental local government as entrenched in the South African constitution in 1994 has required municipalities and cities to consider initiatives to enhance their local economies. At the same time, the social welfare paradigm has shifted from one of welfare to development. One way of ensuring the sustainability of this developmental paradigm is to embark on income-generating projects or businesses. The Free State provincial government created various projects to develop local economies and to establish income-generating projects with a view to making people more self-reliant and their livelihoods more sustainable. This article aims to evaluate local economic development and income-generating projects in the Free State province from the perspective of business principles