Rural Development in Jeopardy: Evidence from Socioeconomic Conditions in Selected Rural Municipalities in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

The post-apartheid South African government prioritises rural development as a tool for reversing the apartheid government legacies of injustice, poverty, and black people's marginalisation, particularly in the former homelands of Ciskei, Transkei, and Venda land. This is evidenced by the implementation of diverse rural development policies and strategies such as the Land Reform Programme the Rural Development Strategy, and the National Development Plan vision 2030. Despite these efforts, evidence shows that most of the policies, such as the Land Reform Programme, have largely failed to promote rural development owing to specific implementation gaps. Bearing in mind these past failures, this paper seeks to assess the socio-economic conditions in the rural municipalities of the Eastern Cape that fall under the former homelands. This assessment will help to understand the gains and failures made through the rural development currently being implemented, such as the National Development Plan vision 2030. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted among 413 participants who were selected using the multi-stage random sampling technique. Data were gathered through closed-ended questionnaires. The results were obtained using SPSS version 27 and analytical tools such as frequencies, cross-tabulation, and the Chi-square test. Results indicated that despite 28 years of implementing rural development policies and strategies, socio-economic conditions are still unsatisfactory in the study area. This is evidenced by low income levels, high unemployment, and limited livelihood activities. To salvage the situation, policies and rural development strategies that are informed by the voices, aspirations, and needs of local communities are urgently required. More so, livelihood diversification should be at the centre of rural development to increase income levels and standards of living.