South Africa is a state facing numerous socioeconomic challenges ranging from poor service delivery for vulnerable communities to racial inequality in financial and educational domains. Notwithstanding these and other problems to be discussed here, it is important to note that there have been some successes by the African National Congress (ANC)-led government in the form of bulk water provision, tentative social security protection measures and hybrid policies such as Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment. Yet, twenty-five years since 1994, the ANC seems unable to substantively remedy key crippling problems such as mass unemployment and poor economic development planning. This is despite innovative concepts such as Local Economic Development (LED) found in Chapter 7 section 152(c) of the Constitution, which allows for government intervention in economic development matters. Yet, the failures of LED shouldn't surprise government