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
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