- 31 October 2006
19 October 2006
The Western Cape government, in partnership with other spheres of
government, will host more than 40 community Izimibizo across the province next
week as part of National Imbizo Focus Week (NIFW).
NIFW will see Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Premiers, MECs, mayors, municipal
managers and councillors visiting and interacting with communities across the
country on wide-ranging issues relating to government's Programme of Action,
with particular focus on Second Economy interventions.
"We will use NIFW to strengthen intergovernmental relations, introduce
citizens to our growth and development strategies and programmes and lay a
basis for placing delivery even higher up on the agenda," says Premier Ebrahim
Rasool.
Most importantly, we are committed to hearing the voices of the people we
are obliged to serve to the best of our ability, and will integrate their
aspirations and ideas into our programmes.
The Imbizo Focus Week will seek to profile government's second economy
programmes at all government levels, while calling on the local communities to
take opportunities to change their lives.
The majority of events will take place within the broader framework of the
Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) for
communities to acquire better and relevant skills in order to partner with
government to grow the economy by 6%, where all shall share.
To this end, the Imbizo Focus Week will provide a platform for government
and communities to engage primarily on local economic development programmes,
the implementation of their municipality plans as indicated in the Integrated
Development Plan (IDP) and five-year plans.
The theme for this Imbizo Week is "A National Effort for Faster and Shared
Growth."
In the Western Cape, each Imbizo is expected to attract between 700 and 1
000 people. The Imibizo are designed to ensure maximum and meaningful
participation by citizens. There will be a strong monitoring and evaluation
thrust to ensure that the issues are well documented and that there is
systematic follow-up in the weeks and months following the Imibizo.
The provincial programme is being driven by the Office of the Premier and
the Department of Local Government and Housing. Various national and provincial
departments are also organising Imibizo, alongside the programmes of
municipalities.
The Imbizo Week programme will be available on the government website:
https://www.gov.za or call 0800 142 446.
Enquiries: Shado Twala
Tel: (021) 483 5642
Fax: (021) 483 5636
Cell: 083 640 6771
E-mail: stwala@pgwc.gov.za
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Western Cape Provincial Government
19 October 2006
