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in such a way that they lead to the establishment of self-help activities. An awareness
exercise aimed at explicitly educating the Ulundi community about the said matter will put
the available state funds into its rightful use. The ward councillors, community based
organisations and non-governmental organisations should carry the information to their
respective wards to speed up the process of information dissemination. The local radio
station and the print media are also relatively reliable and an efficient means of
communicating these opportunities to the community.
7.5.4. Other strategies
It is the mandate ofthe Ulundi Local Municipality to attract investors and entrepreneurs. The
municipal authority must also ensure that contracts are awarded to service providers on the
basis of merit, otherwise'bona fide' entrepreneurs may back off when it is already a 'fait
accompli' that tenders may only be awarded on the basis of race, political affiliation, and
family. It must however be pointed out that preferential procurement with the aim of
encouraging local companies would be instituted to avoid leakages the economy of the area
may experience. All local municipalities compete with each other to attract big businesses.
Ulundi local authority ought to offer inducements to attract business ventures to the area.
Special rebates or tax concessions on rates, for example, on waste and sewerage are some of
the incentives that need careful and constant scrutiny ofthe municipality. The prices charged
for some of these 'factors of production' could ultimately determine where an entrepreneur
will establish a business. The Ulundi Local Municipality should therefore go out ofits way to
accommodate businesses in a mutually beneficial manner. Tax incentives (tax breaks) may
be an excellent way of attracting entrepreneurs to one particular local authority area in
preference to another. In the absence of a deliberate proactive strategy to influence the
industries into this area, the Ulundi municipality in collaboration with the Zululand District
Municipality should therefore constantly review its approach towards new business ventures
with a view to large scale job-creation programmes.
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