SALGA annual report 2016/17 SALGA ANNUAL REPORT 201617 PRINTED FINAL | Page 70

Performance information STR and the Karoo regional development initiative This financial year saw the inception and launch of the Karoo Regional Development Initiative. The initiative emanated from a conference held in Beaufort West (7-8 April 2016) aimed at tackling development issues and opportunities (mining, agriculture, renewable energy and water) identified by municipalities in the Karoo but spanning four provinces (Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Free State). The goal was to set up a platform between municipalities to deliberate these matters and to set the basis for possibly developing a regional SDF and economic plan. This is a unique initiative in that it is bottom- up, municipalities are articulating the need to cooperate regionally across provincial boundaries, and it could be the first regional spatial development framework proclaimed in the country. It is also based on a common identity linked to a bio-region, the Karoo. SALGA is also conducting research into regional economies, the outcome of which will assist municipalities in other areas to collaborate on a similar basis around regional economic opportunities. The data collected from the research will structure and guide the development of the STR augmentation of SALGA’s municipal barometer. STR support to individual selected municipalities passed through the professional development programme (PDP) training that SALGA has offered for the last three years. The event coincided with a graduation event for all the PDP graduates over the same period. Each province committed to establishing a COP with the PDP graduates that will be open to other practitioners as well. Each COP will prioritise the issues that the COP will be expected to deal with in the short to medium term. All sector related issues that emanate from the COP and require escalation or dealing with at a provincial or national level will be taken up by the respective working group in the province and national office. In this way, the COP will serve as learning platform, as well as a policy aggregation forum feeding into formal SALGA structures. Disaster management A fiscal audit on costing and budgets of disaster management community facilities at local government level was conducted. The audit covered, among others, finances of effective disaster management centres, capacity building and stakeholders dealing with disaster management issues and budgeting for disaster management. SALGA engaged with fire engineers and other stakeholders to establish a steering committee which will focus on alignment of standards in relation to fire management. Migration SALGA continued to assist in the development of small town regeneration strategic plans and business plans in the four selected municipalities (Matlosana, Madibeng and Witzenberg) to receive support from SALGA. This represents significant progress, as much of the technical planning and ground work has now been completed. The difficult work of sourcing funding and commencing with project implementation lies ahead in 2017/18. Professional development programme - establishment of ‘community of practice’ event and PDP graduation SALGA hosted a roundtable discussion on the role of local government in managing migration, xenophobia violence, and social cohesion. The objective of the roundtable discussion was to generate a discourse on the causes of violence against foreign nationals and identify proactive solutions for local government in building social cohesion. The roundtable further aimed to provide information for the development of a SALGA strategy for support and advice to local government, based on the outcomes of the discussion. This is in support of SALGA’s mandate to strengthen the role of local government in community development and social cohesion. SALGA hosted an event for the establishment of a ‘community of practice’ (COP) with economic development practitioners who had A research report on the analysis of indigent policies and service delivery as a poverty alleviation approach was developed. The report 70