Development through rural advancement, with special reference to Kwazulu-Natal

M.Comm.The aim of this study was to analyse and discuss the importance of rural advancement in the development of developing regions or countries, and KwaZulu-Natal was used as a case study. The literature focused on the backwardness of the rural areas and the importance of rural advancement for the development of less developed regions or countries. Development cannot be said to have taken place unless people's lives in general have improved. Large parts of developing regions or countries consists of rural areas. Furthermore, it appears that a large proportion of the population in the developing regions or countries live in rural areas. Rural advancement will, therefore, play a crucial role in the development of developing regions or countries. Amongst other things, it will improve the lives of the people living in rural areas, it will provide markets for both local factor inputs and locally produced goods and services, it will redistribute national income, it will reverse rural-urban migration by providing employment opportunities in the rural areas, and in general it will stimulate the rural economy. KwaZulu-Natal is one of the poorest provinces in South Africa, and a large proportion of KwaZulu-Natal's population live in non-urban areas. The development of KwaZulu-Natal will therefore to a great extent depend on the development of its rural parts. The rural areas in KwaZulu-Natal are subject to a number of factors that results in underdevelopment. Rural KwaZulu-Natal is poverty-stricken, low levels of human development prevail, there are high rates of unemployment, low productivity, low economic activity, and in general people in rural KwaZulu-Natal are subject to low standards of living. Economic activities in the province are concentrated to a large extent in the urban areas of the province. This suggests that development initiatives of the past were not focused on rural KwaZulu-Natal. Rural KwaZulu-Natal is also subject to high rates of political conflict, crime and violence which have hindered the development of the province. The provision of social and basic services in rural KwaZulu-Natal is inadequate, and the province is subject to environmental degradation. The study confirmed that rural advancement - through stimulation of the economic, social, political, and environmental dimensions of development - will play a crucial role in the future development of less developed regions or countries, in general