Province Encourages Community Involvement in Development Projects | Western Cape Government

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Province Encourages Community Involvement in Development Projects

7 June 2010

Today, Western Cape Minister for Local Government, Anton Bredell, will visit a Community Based Planning (CBP) workshop at Look-out Hill in Khayelitsha. Minister Bredell says the CBP training workshops will accelerate public participation for government projects. "Local government is most effective when communities are involved in the planning process," said Minister Bredell.

The Provincial Department of Local Government is rolling out Community Based Planning workshops across the province over the next month. CBP is a participatory process that seeks to mobilise communities to be part of the planning of projects in their communities.

The training will practically illustrate on the ground what development projects can be funded by the municipality's budget over a five-year period. This training will provide communities with an opportunity to voice what they deem to be priority projects in their communities, for example a community may feel that streetlights are a priority over potholes.

Community structures such as ward participatory structures, Community Development Workers (CDWs), Non-profit organisations (NPOs) and other community-based organisations have been invited to take part in these workshops. The workshops will cover the role of community structures in CBP, benefits of CBP and how to implement CBP concepts in communities.

Objectives of the CBP include:

  • Improve service delivery
  • Improve the quality of planning
  • Encourage partnerships between various sectors of the community
  • Involve communities in the planning, implementation and evaluation of municipal activities
  • Encourage communities to take ownership of the development in their areas
  • Instil a sense of ownership and responsibility
  • Increase community involvement and reduce dependency

CBP workshops are being facilitated across the province - including the Overberg (Caledon, Swellendam and Cape Agulhas, 04-05 June); Metro (Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain 07-08 June) and the West Coast (Citrusdal 14-15 June).

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