Climate Change Patterns Affecting SMMES Business Sustainability in Buchbuckridge District Local Municipality, South Africa

Abstract

The Local Government in South Africa faces several strong developmental challenges. Although there are several interventions that are introduced to confront these challenges, which include mainly climate change, poverty, unemployment, skills shortage, illiteracy and health care including (HIV/AIDS) with partial success. In this paper, a conceptual framework is proposed for climate change and its impact on small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in particular those in agricultural sectors of Bushbuckridge in South Africa. Rural communities and local municipalities will need to find appropriate and efficient ways of developing resilience to climate change through adaptation measures. These measures will need to be supported at a systemic level, including through intergovernmental finance mechanisms. Therefore SMMEs need to adapt and mitigate climate change effects interacting with the sustainability of their business growth activities within Bushbuckridge Municipality area. In this article, a conceptual framework is proposed for small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in South Africa. The literature review includes an analysis of documents issued by Bushbuckridge local municipalities as well by the National Department of Provincial and Local Government. Finally the intended contextualised literature is for municipalities to develop strategies to assist SMMEs in agriculture.

DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2014.v3n6p109