Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal Volume 26, Issue 2, 2020 1 1528-2686-26-2-342 OVERCOMING INEQUALITIES IN FRACTURED CITIES IN SOUTH AFRICA: IMPLICATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Priscilla B Monyai, University of Fort Hare Shylet Chivanga, University of Fort Hare ABSTRACT Against a background of uncertain democratic consolidation, painful economic adjustment and the persistent social inequalities, the need for sustainable urban development has become the subject of a growing debate in South Africa. These scholarly concerns are coupled with the growing public and political concerns about poverty, inequality and social exclusion. This paper engages the conceptual debate on fragile cities and sustainable urban development. It traces the trends of urban development in South Africa including the attempts at policy reform in post- 1994. In so doing, the paper addresses the question of how the inherited urban development framework has been influenced by the neo-classical model of urban development of the apartheid era. The paper concludes by positioning the urban development debate in terms of what needs to be done moving forward. Keywords: Sustainable Urban Development, Leadership, Elite, Poverty, Corona virus. INTRODUCTION The Reality of South African Cities Ordinarily, cities are associated with opportunities and better promises. Cities continue to attract many people especially from rural areas, towns and villages. People flock to cities in search of greener, pastures, the search for work and the need for improved standards of life (Sulemana & Nketiah-Amponsh, 2019). Today, more than two-thirds of the population in South Africa is based in urban areas, one of the highest proportions on the continent (Pieterse & Parnell, 2014). This reflects a long history of industrialisation and mining in the country. Nevertheless, be as it may, the reality in South Africa is that cities have been excluding the majority of people, especially blacks, from participating in the mainstream economy and from accessing opportunities (Todes & Turok, 2018). The apartheid exclusion and discrimination were based on race and led to the marginalisation of the majority of the population. The denial of economic opportunities to black people in the form of capital assets, skills and education, among others, has led to serious racial inequalities in terms of poverty, income and wealth. These inequalities manifested even in settlement patterns where white people lived in towns and cities with good suburban infrastructure while black people lived in townships and informal settlements with lack of physical infrastructure like roads, proper housing, water and sanitation facilities. Against this background of apartheid urban planning, South Africa continues to reproduce inequitable forms of urban settlements. Informal settlements and housing continue to grow and mushroom everywhere. The end of institutional apartheid saw an influx of migrants from