Ease of Doing Business in Local Government: Push and Pull Factors for Business Investment in Selected South African Municipalities

Ease of doing business with municipalities and within municipal areas refers to the simplicity, effortlessness, and extent to which private enterprises can establish and conduct their business. It is influenced by multiple factors such as the conduciveness of the statutory and regulatory framework a...

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Main Authors: Gerrit van der Waldt, David Fourie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-07-01
Series:World
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/3/3/25
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author Gerrit van der Waldt
David Fourie
author_facet Gerrit van der Waldt
David Fourie
author_sort Gerrit van der Waldt
collection DOAJ
description Ease of doing business with municipalities and within municipal areas refers to the simplicity, effortlessness, and extent to which private enterprises can establish and conduct their business. It is influenced by multiple factors such as the conduciveness of the statutory and regulatory framework and the effectiveness of municipal structures and processes, in order to reduce bureaucratic red tape for the simplification of administrative processes such as the registration of business property, the issuing of permits, and access to electricity. Municipalities thus play a significant role in attracting and retaining business investment by establishing a conducive climate for business growth and local economic development. The aim of this article was to analyze the findings of a survey that was conducted to pinpoint business investment pull and push factors in selected municipalities in South Africa. By means of semi-structured interviews, a survey was undertaken with seven target groups. The obtained data were then triangulated with a desktop analysis of sampled businesses (i.e., case studies) that had relocated, mainly due to municipal service delivery failures. The survey revealed the underlying factors that lead to ease of doing business weaknesses, uncovered winning strategies to attract business investment, and proposed measures to enhance municipal business retention praxis.
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spelling doaj.art-cc874d71c7de49c093dcf3defa299bd82023-11-23T19:33:16ZengMDPI AGWorld2673-40602022-07-013347048610.3390/world3030025Ease of Doing Business in Local Government: Push and Pull Factors for Business Investment in Selected South African MunicipalitiesGerrit van der Waldt0David Fourie1Faculty of Humanities, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2531, South AfricaSchool of Public Management and Administration, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South AfricaEase of doing business with municipalities and within municipal areas refers to the simplicity, effortlessness, and extent to which private enterprises can establish and conduct their business. It is influenced by multiple factors such as the conduciveness of the statutory and regulatory framework and the effectiveness of municipal structures and processes, in order to reduce bureaucratic red tape for the simplification of administrative processes such as the registration of business property, the issuing of permits, and access to electricity. Municipalities thus play a significant role in attracting and retaining business investment by establishing a conducive climate for business growth and local economic development. The aim of this article was to analyze the findings of a survey that was conducted to pinpoint business investment pull and push factors in selected municipalities in South Africa. By means of semi-structured interviews, a survey was undertaken with seven target groups. The obtained data were then triangulated with a desktop analysis of sampled businesses (i.e., case studies) that had relocated, mainly due to municipal service delivery failures. The survey revealed the underlying factors that lead to ease of doing business weaknesses, uncovered winning strategies to attract business investment, and proposed measures to enhance municipal business retention praxis.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/3/3/25ease of doing businessSouth Africamunicipalitiesentrepreneurshipbusiness developmentlocal investment
spellingShingle Gerrit van der Waldt
David Fourie
Ease of Doing Business in Local Government: Push and Pull Factors for Business Investment in Selected South African Municipalities
World
ease of doing business
South Africa
municipalities
entrepreneurship
business development
local investment
title Ease of Doing Business in Local Government: Push and Pull Factors for Business Investment in Selected South African Municipalities
title_full Ease of Doing Business in Local Government: Push and Pull Factors for Business Investment in Selected South African Municipalities
title_fullStr Ease of Doing Business in Local Government: Push and Pull Factors for Business Investment in Selected South African Municipalities
title_full_unstemmed Ease of Doing Business in Local Government: Push and Pull Factors for Business Investment in Selected South African Municipalities
title_short Ease of Doing Business in Local Government: Push and Pull Factors for Business Investment in Selected South African Municipalities
title_sort ease of doing business in local government push and pull factors for business investment in selected south african municipalities
topic ease of doing business
South Africa
municipalities
entrepreneurship
business development
local investment
url https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/3/3/25
work_keys_str_mv AT gerritvanderwaldt easeofdoingbusinessinlocalgovernmentpushandpullfactorsforbusinessinvestmentinselectedsouthafricanmunicipalities
AT davidfourie easeofdoingbusinessinlocalgovernmentpushandpullfactorsforbusinessinvestmentinselectedsouthafricanmunicipalities