Localising the Sustainable Development Goals in rural municipalities through multi-stakeholder partnerships: a case study of Nkandla Local Municipality.

Abstract

The implementation of the Agenda 2030 requires that all stakeholders get involved towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As a result, the global partnership process places responsibility on all relevant stakeholders, including spheres of government to take action if the SDGs are to be achieved. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of local government in localising the SDGs through multi-stakeholder partnerships towards achieving Agenda 2030. The study responded to the central key question asked, namely, to what extent the rural municipalities localise the SDGs through multi-stakeholder partnerships? The significance of this study was mainly for two reasons: 1) that it will contribute to research on SDGs, and 2) that it will contribute to the growing area of research on localising SDGs and the role of partnerships. Towards localising the SDGs, local and regional governments are seen as key to ensuring sustainable and inclusive development in their areas. There has been no study specifically focused on rural municipalities in localising the SDGs through multi-stakeholder partnerships. There has been an emphasis on the significance of an integrated multi-level and multi-stakeholder strategy to be used in promoting a transformative agenda if the ownership of the Agenda 2030 within municipalities is to take effect. In South Africa, many municipalities face development challenges, such as unemployment, economic growth, poverty, and weak infrastructure, with the worst affected being rural ones. In this regard, Nkandla Local Municipality was no exception, the municipality within its region remains one of the poorest and confronted by similar development challenges. This study was carried within Nkandla using the municipality as a case study, with a qualitative approach being adopted. In the study, the appropriate methodology was employed to explore the experiences and perceptions of local stakeholders in localising SDGs. The study applied an interpretivism paradigm and used semi-structured interview methods for data collection. The findings of this study revealed that in Nkandla there is basic knowledge of the SDGs, although this is very limited. Multi-stakeholder participation also was found to be very significant to achieving the SDGs despite the municipality being poor and inactive. Also, the study discovered several challenges that the municipality faces, which were found threatening towards the success of localising the goals. As a result, the study then recommends that small municipalities like Nkandla should strengthen their multi-stakeholder participation approach. Also, specific training on SDGs localisation is recommended, to equip all local stakeholders with key knowledge about localising the goals towards achieving Agenda 2030. Therefore, from the findings of the study, it is clear that multi-stakeholder partnerships have an important role to play in localising the SDGs in rural municipalities. However, small municipalities must take a strong position to improve these partnerships if they are dedicated to achieving the goals towards Agenda 2030.