View/Open - University of Zululand Institutional Repository
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and historical sites around Ulundi town; and Paris dam - Ithala area, with links to the<br />
Maputaland biosphere and Magudu game reserve. The hotsprings in the Umfolozi valley and<br />
other important tourist areas relate to the battlefields around Vryheid and Babanango,<br />
extending beyond the <strong>Zululand</strong> District; and game reserves such as Thaka Zulu. In this regard<br />
this study seeks to investigate regionalism and intermunicipal cooperation as tools to alleviate<br />
poverty and empower the marginalised in the study area. Furthermore, the study seeks to<br />
advance this concern taking into account the market-driven perspectives <strong>of</strong> local economic<br />
development.<br />
A third category <strong>of</strong> opportunities is to be found in the towns and settlements, which are<br />
located along, or close to the main transport routes, which traverse the district. The most<br />
notable are along the R34 from Richards Bay through Vryheid and the R33 to<br />
Paulpietersburg; and to a lesser extent along the R66 from the R34 through Ulundi and<br />
Nongoma to Upongola; along the R69 from Vryheid to Magudu; and along sections <strong>of</strong>the N2<br />
in the north <strong>of</strong> the district. The economic opportunities lie in proximity to passing traffic in<br />
the study area.<br />
5.2.3 Towns, service ceotres and economic nodes<br />
In the context <strong>of</strong> the South African space economy, the <strong>Zululand</strong> District's two well<br />
established towns, Vryheid and Ulundi, may be regarded as major country-towns, below the<br />
level <strong>of</strong> neighbouring centres like Richards Bay/Empangeni and Newcastle. Vryheid is<br />
<strong>Zululand</strong>'s main commercial, industrial and business centre. with a reasonably well<br />
developed physical, social and institutional infrastructure. It is well located at the intersection<br />
<strong>of</strong> the major transport routes that traverse the region. Ulundi has a larger population, but<br />
narrower economic base, relying heavily on government services, commerce as shown in<br />
Table 1.1. Ulundi is located on a secondary route within the district, but 19 km from the main<br />
R34 route (IDP-<strong>Zululand</strong> District Municipality, 2006).<br />
Against this backdrop, this study explores the untapped potential to advance economically<br />
viable projects that adapt to the physical and socio--economic conditions <strong>of</strong> Ulundi. This<br />
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