The Great Karoo forms part of South Africa's extensive heartland and is a vast, arid region that includes Namaqualand, the Succulent Karoo, Bushmanland, the Little Karoo, the Richtersveld and the Nama Karoo. The region is generally underdeveloped with an economy dependent on extensive farming. Many of the Karoo towns, however, have shown some developmental potential in terms of tourism and crafts. Numerous entrepreneurs and artists have moved to the Karoo and long-standing residents are continuously coming up with new products and services to inject life into the economy.
The area has enormous developmental potential in terms of agriculture, agri-processing and tourism but, because the Karoo straddles four provinces - Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Free State - this potential has often been overlooked. Historically, South Africa's provinces have not been very good at cooperating and collaborating. As Doreen Atkinson, of the Centre for Development Support at the University of the Free State, says: 'In South Africa, all provincial governments are required to draft Provincial Growth and Development Strategies, but there is no systematic way of encouraging interprovincial cooperation or collaboration.'
The Karoo is a prime example of the need to promote cooperation across provincial boundaries. The region as a whole has important natural, economic and social assets. Natural assets include beautiful scenery, wide-open spaces, magnifi cent spring-fl ower displays and a diversity of plant and animal life. The region is rich in minerals such as titanium, diamonds and uranium. The game industry is an important foreign-exchange earner in the area and the agricultural industry is strong with skilled and experienced commercial farmers.
What's more, towns have solid infrastructure and service delivery in them is generally good. Some towns have even developed signifi cant tourism potential, with niche attractions and activities. The growing trend of 'reverse migration', where middle-class city dwellers are moving to the rural areas, is bringing in new sources of capital, expertise and development initiative.
Despite the Karoo's potential there are many hurdles to development. 'In each of the four provinces, [the Karoo] is the neglected zone, the undeveloped backwater, the regional Cinderella,' says Atkinson, adding that development effort has been diverted away towards the coastlines and the capital cities.
A new way of thinking
A cross-boundary initiative is taking shape in the Karoo to remedy these preconceptions and promote the Karoo as a unifi ed entity capable of economic diversity and growth. It is a call to South Africa to rethink the importance of rural development, regional development and cross-border collaboration in order to better recognise the potential of rural areas and to serve them accordingly.
Organisations such as the Karoo Institute, the Centre for Development Support (University of the Free State) and the Arid Areas Programme are proposing that the Karoo be regarded holistically and planned and promoted in an integrated way with the cooperation of all the 'Karoo provinces'. The thinking is to extend the geographical term 'Greater Karoo' into a fully fledged and recognisable brand.
Greater Karoo Development conference and trade fair
In March 2009, the fi rst-ever interprovincial Greater Karoo Development Conference and Trade Fair was held in Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape. The conference presented an exciting opportunity for business networking in the Karoo across provincial and municipal boundaries. It included a wide range of economic sectors such as tourism, agriculture, crafts, infrastructure and services, environmental conservation and new niche arid-areas products.
The aims of the fair included:- Branding the Karoo and its products and subregions
- Networking amongst entrepreneurs in the Karoo
- Showcasing unique or cutting-edge Karoo products or services
- Supporting emerging entrepreneurs in the Karoo
- Highlighting investment opportunities in the Karoo
- Attracting media attention to the Karoo
- Exploring new markets in the Karoo
- Preserving the Karoo's natural and cultural heritage
- Creating a database of entrepreneurs in the Karoo
- Ultimately, arguing the case for the Karoo as an area of economic potential
It is hoped that the conference, and others like it, will bring more attention to the idea of a united Karoo. After all, it is only through open discussion and cooperation that this initiative can hope to succeed.
