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leadership, municipal bureaucrats, non-governmental organizations and other service
departments involved in the Ulundi Local Municipality fwww.uar.sagepub.com/cgsldoi. (2008)].
Urban regime theorists identitY the existence ofdiffering regime types (Dowding, 2001) namely:
• Directive - according to this scenario, the development agenda dominates with an
industrial and housing focus but the process is dominated with an industrial and
housing focus but the process is dominated by political control.
• Concessionary - the growth agenda dominates and government sponsors parallel
welfare support.
• Elitist - under this arrangement, business interests dominates and welfare is reduced.
• Entrepreneurial - according to this approach, strong bonds exist between the business
and politicallcadership and strong partnerships have a developmental focus.
The major weakness ofthe theory is its inability to explain why urban growth politics and private
sector engagement have increased through time (Harding et aI., 20(0).
Similar to the urban regime theory, the growth machine thesis is based on the notion that the
'activism of entrepreneurs is, and always has been, a critical force in shaping urban systems'
(Harding et al., 2000: 984). The focus is therefore on how business interests determine strategies
and involve other role players. In view ofPeck (1995), the private sector becomes the un-elected
governor ofcities. It is driven by coalitions ofproperty and private interests, with the support of
the media, universities and culturally based bodies and they have come to dominate local policy
agendas and champion and deliver urban economic development which is something that many
local politicians can only aspire to do (Peck, 1995). The application of the growth machine
thesis in Ulundi demands an organised chamber ofcommerce for effective coalitions to advance
private business concerns in the study area.
Parallel themes that have been noted for encouraging growth coalitions include the following:
• The failings or inappropriateness of previous developmental approaches, particularly
those of a top-dO\\ITI nature and the obsolescence of older forms of governance
(Lefevre, 1998).
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