Western Cape Municipalities recognised for excellence in communications at SALGA

Anton Bredell, Western Cape Minister for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning congratulated the Garden Route and Cape Winelands District municipalities for being recognised by the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) for the excellent work it is doing in their communications departments. SALGA announced the category winners last night at its 7th National Communicators Forum Awards session.

 “Municipalities must provide key basic services to their residents. But it is also critical to communicate on the status of these services to residents. We are seeing that responsive and honest communication, especially during times when services are interrupted, plays a huge role in managing the relations between the local authorities and the residents they serve,” Minister Bredell said.

The Garden Route District Municipality was recognised as The Most Proactive and Responsive district municipality in terms of communication. Garden Route was also recognised as The Most Innovative Communications Team as a result of their innovative new ways of using communication tools such as AI technology to improve their communications platforms and offerings to their citizens.

Cape Winelands District Municipality was recognised as The Most Profiled Municipality in terms of media monitoring. The Cape WIneland’s team was recognised for being very responsive with regards to media or public queries, consistent in creating platforms for public engagement, actively encouraging private public partnerships through communications initiatives, and continuously promoting intergovernmental relations to ensure that their citizens are kept abreast of all municipal news and information.

“I am proud of these achievements of our western cape municipalities. It is true that you cannot fix a service delivery problem solely through communicating, but good communication helps to create the enabling environment for the other teams to do their work, as well as holding public servants accountable to the public,” Minister Bredell said.

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