Minister Bredell Hosts Municipality Knowledge-Sharing Session

Media Statement by Minister of Local Government, Anton Bredell

The first MINMAY meeting since the recent municipal elections was hosted by my Department in Stellenbosch at the Spier estate today, and this was a golden opportunity for stakeholders to share ideas and discuss a number of strategic issues that the Provincial Government will be driving over the next five years.

I am extremely happy that we have been able to share this invaluable input with our newly elected Mayors so early into their term of office and so soon after it has been released. I have no doubt that we are going to be entering a very positive and rewarding new phase of local government where municipalities, with a few exceptions, will be functioning at new levels of service delivery across the Province. There was also a strong focus on growing and taking the economic development of the Western Cape forward and delegates were brought up to date with the current discussion around the proposed Economic Development Agency (EDA).

The EDA will become a significant driver of economic growth and development in the Province and was welcomed by delegates as a very positive and strategic player going forward. This was also an opportunity for the Department to give delegates feedback on the MINMAYTech meeting held in June as well as a number of issues that had been previously referred to MINMAY. SALGA was also able to do a report back on their activities.

The importance of the MINMAY sessions cannot be underplayed as it is the primary platform where the Department and all the relevant stakeholders have the opportunity to discuss and debate the various issues and challenges faced by all. In this regard, we were able to discuss in detail the Department of Local Government's strategic five-year objectives as well as the Provincial strategic objectives. It is vital if we are to maintain our record in service delivery to ensure that these objectives are understood and put on top of the agenda of all councils.

Our single biggest challenge across the province is going to be sustainable economic development and job creation and our councillors and municipalities have a crucial role to fulfil in this regard. Today's deliberations have contributed to a broader understanding of these challenges.