Functions

The department enables the municipality to develop policies, design programs and implement project aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions of the district.

Due to the rural nature of the district, the department extends to also include a critical element of rural development aimed at finding ways to improve the livelihood of rural communities. 

In order to ensure that there is proper planning and monitoring of economic and rural development projects, the department also has a dedicated unit responsible for ongoing Research and Monitoring.

Local Economic Development (LED) Overview

Local Economic Development as an approach to development is one of the most important ways of poverty alleviation. LED aims at creating jobs by stimulating growth of the local economy. This means that an ongoing  process with key stakeholders and institutions from all spheres of society, public and private sector as well as civil society, work jointly to create unique advantage for the locality and its firms.

LED support programmes available

Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality NMMDM offers a range of support programmes which allows enterprises opportunity to deal with numerous obstacles such as, inadequate business skills, limited market opportunities and lack of entrepreneurial culture among others.

The Unit provides services such as:

• Facilitation of Small,Medium and Micro Entreprises (SMME) training and development;
• Facilitate the establishment and registration of Enterprises and Cooperative;
• Exposure of SMMEs to potential market opportunities;
• Facilitate access to finance for SMMEs

Like and old saying that goes by “actions speak louder than words”; the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality in relation to LED has positively contributed to alleviating poverty through a number of jobs creation initiatives and other capital projects within the District:

ECO-gardens

Eco-gardens projects were implemented in Ottosdal which falls under jurisdiction of Tswaing Local Municipality and Kraaipan which in Ratlou Local Municipality. In total, six co-operatives with eleven (11) beneficiaries per co-operative were established.   The products farmed in the eco-garden includes spinach,lettuce and cabbage. Currently, Co-operatives in Ottosdal are harvesting and selling their produce in the local market and part of their produce are spinach, lattice and cabbage.

Tswaing and Ratlou

175 beneficiaries are involved in environment and culture sector projects through EPWP in Ratlou and Tswaing local municipalities. In Ratlou and Tswaing local municipalities’ sixty six (66) beneficiaries were involved in the Eco-Garden Pilot project in Ottosdal and Kraaipan respectively.