President Cyril Ramaphosa will officially launch the first pilot site of the district-based coordination model at a Presidential Imbizo in OR Tambo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday.
The model aims to address the challenge of government working in silos resulting in a lack of coherence planning and implementation and has made monitoring and oversight of government’s programme difficult.
In his presentation of the Presidency Budget Vote to the National Assembly on 17 July 2019, the President said the consequence of this challenge was non-optimal delivery of services and diminished impact on the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment.
In light of government’s own recognition of shortcomings in service delivery, Cabinet adopted a new integrated district based approach to enable development in the 44 districts and eight Metros that constitute the country.
The new district-based coordination model dubbed ‘Khawuleza’ (Hurry Up) aims to address service delivery and economic development challenges through the synchronisation of planning across all spheres of government.
Through the model, government will work alongside social partners such as business and community.
From planning to implementation in each district, government will consult social partners to ensure that development meets the needs of local communities and stakeholders.
Government will also ensure that the local, provincial and national spheres have a shared plan to drive development in the district concerned.
Implementation will entail localised procurement and job creation to ensure that local businesses participate in and benefit from development, and that citizens in the district concerned are prioritised for employment on local projects.
OR Tambo District Municipality, Waterberg District Municipality in Limpopo and eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, have been identified as the first three pilot sites for the model.
The OR Tambo District Municipality comprises the following local municipalities: King Sabatha Dalindyebo, Nyandeni, Ingquza Hill, Mhlontlo and Port St Johns.
According to the Presidency, development will be pursued through single, integrated district plans enabled by the vision of ‘One District; One Plan; One Budget; One Approach’.
This model was endorsed by Cabinet, local government structures, traditional authorities and the President’s Coordinating Council (PCC).
“This new approach will require - with effect from the 2020/21 Budget cycle - that national budgets and programmes be spatially referenced across the 44 districts and 8 Metros.
“Similarly, provincial government budgets and programmes will be spatially referenced to districts and metros in the respective provinces, while municipalities will express the needs and aspirations of communities in integrated development plans for the 44 districts and 8 Metros,” said Presidency spokesperson Khusela Diko.
During the Imbizo, the three spheres of government will outline government’s five year consolidated plan for the OR Tambo District.
The occasion will also provide opportunity for the community to engage government, as a whole, on societal challenges and further opportunities for development and partnership. – SAnews.gov.za
