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ABSTRACT
The major constitutional drive of municipalities In South Africa is the responsibility to
promote an improved quality of life of residents. Municipal areas, however, have different
capacities, resources and development potentials. The ability to enjoy basic needs and better
livelihoods is dependent on how the local economy is functioning and how the existing
resources in the area are used to full potential. This study uses Ulundi as a point of reference
to provide relevant and meaningful alternatives to problems ofdevelopment faced by some of
the municipal areas in the country and beyond. The study is a situational and land-use analysis
of local economic development of the Ulundi Local Municipality (ULM). In the context of
the South African space economy, Zululand's two well established towns, Vryheid and
Ulundi may be regarded as major country towns, below the level of neighbouring coastal
centres such as Richards BaylEmpangeni. Currently, the economic base of Ulundi IS a
dwindling regional government with little commerce and some informal trading.
The theoretical framework of the study is based on theories of local economic development
(LED) that are established within the framework of communal participation in integrated
development plan (lOP). The aim of the study is to determine the landscape and cultural
attributes and their developmental relevance to the economy of Ulundi. The research design
involved data collection from the development planning section of the Ulundi Local
Municipality, Zululand District Municipality, development planning unit of the department of
local government, the political leadership of the municipality and a randomly selected 276
households in the area. The 5 established sections, that is, A, B north, B south, C and 0 are
spatial units by which the data coilected are aggregated. As part of the analysis of data, the
research design incorporates statistical frequencies, cross tabulation and analysis of
associations among attributes using Pearson's chi square tests.
The tourism potentials of the environmental features have not been utilised to the fullest. This
study proposes and advocates an environment-based strategic option and it justifies this
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