ABSTRACT
The World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a global health crisis within the two weeks of its emergence. The WHO's stance was indicative of the extent to which the COVID-19 could impact on the human life and global economy. South Africa as part of the world economy has experienced considerable influence of COVID-19 pandemic on the local people's health and economy. Whilst the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt on all aspects of life, the impact of the pandemic on rural economy in South Africa could be more severe considering the economic situation this pandemic found South Africa into. Hence, this article focuses on rural development in the era of COVID-19 in South Africa. Rural development has been negatively affected by the pandemic, and this comes against a backdrop of failing state interventions to drive rural development in South Africa since the start of democratic dispensation. This article is based on an exploratory research design and used a desktop research to examine rural development in the COVID-19 era in South Africa. The article argues that local government as the closet sphere of government to the people, working as part of a multidisciplinary team, ought to play a significant role in addressing the rural development implications of the pandemic.