Industrial decentralization under apartheid: The relocation of industry to the South African periphery

Abstract

This paper is concerned with industrial decentralization in South Africa, specifically the impact of decentralization on industrialization in the bantustans. The paper begins by describing the evolution of decentralization policy and examines the results to date. Particular attention is directed towards the revised program introduced in 1982. Section 3 identifies the political imperatives that have underpinned the program since its inception and discusses the alternative thesis that a drive towards “spontaneous” decentralization may have emerged more recently. The fourth section, drawing upon the results of the authors' two surveys, focuses upon the factors that militate against the development of growth points in the bantustans. This shows that most are severely disadvantaged with respect to growth points established in “white” areas and may therefore be largely excluded from any “spontaneous” drive towards decentralization. Finally, Section 5 demonstrates that the supposed “developmental” impact of decentralization on the bantustan sub-economies is extremely limited, with most of the benefits draining back to the metropolitan centers.