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and historical sites around Ulundi town; and Paris dam - Ithala area, with links to the
Maputaland biosphere and Magudu game reserve. The hotsprings in the Umfolozi valley and
other important tourist areas relate to the battlefields around Vryheid and Babanango,
extending beyond the Zululand District; and game reserves such as Thaka Zulu. In this regard
this study seeks to investigate regionalism and intermunicipal cooperation as tools to alleviate
poverty and empower the marginalised in the study area. Furthermore, the study seeks to
advance this concern taking into account the market-driven perspectives of local economic
development.
A third category of opportunities is to be found in the towns and settlements, which are
located along, or close to the main transport routes, which traverse the district. The most
notable are along the R34 from Richards Bay through Vryheid and the R33 to
Paulpietersburg; and to a lesser extent along the R66 from the R34 through Ulundi and
Nongoma to Upongola; along the R69 from Vryheid to Magudu; and along sections ofthe N2
in the north of the district. The economic opportunities lie in proximity to passing traffic in
the study area.
5.2.3 Towns, service ceotres and economic nodes
In the context of the South African space economy, the Zululand District's two well
established towns, Vryheid and Ulundi, may be regarded as major country-towns, below the
level of neighbouring centres like Richards Bay/Empangeni and Newcastle. Vryheid is
Zululand's main commercial, industrial and business centre. with a reasonably well­
developed physical, social and institutional infrastructure. It is well located at the intersection
of the major transport routes that traverse the region. Ulundi has a larger population, but
narrower economic base, relying heavily on government services, commerce as shown in
Table 1.1. Ulundi is located on a secondary route within the district, but 19 km from the main
R34 route (IDP-Zululand District Municipality, 2006).
Against this backdrop, this study explores the untapped potential to advance economically
viable projects that adapt to the physical and socio--economic conditions of Ulundi. This
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