Minister Dlamini Zuma led MINMEC Meeting in Mpumalanga Province
The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma convened and led a hybrid CoGTA MINMEC meeting from the Mpumalanga Province.
The Minister was joined by MECs, Directors General, Heads of Departments and other government officials. The MINMEC welcomed four MECs who were appointed to the CoGTA portfolio since the last meeting.
Today’s meeting was the fourth MINMEC this year, and the first one to be held post the two days Local Government Summit that was convened by Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma on 27 & 28 September 2022, at the Birchwood Hotel, in Boksburg, Gauteng Province, held under the theme “DDM in Action – Towards an Ideal Municipality”.
The meeting received a report on the summit which highlighted that over 2500 delegates were in attendance. The Summit allowed for open, honest and robust discussions by delegates on a number of issues and also received international perspective. The discussions looked at the perennial challenges that continue to stifle the performance of municipalities. Building on the Remarks by the Minister of CoGTA, Premier of Gauteng and the President, delegates engaged in panel discussions and breakaway sessions focused on key areas – “strengthening municipal governance, improving service delivery, audit outcomes as well as cultivating conditions for inclusive Local Economic Development”.
The Summit exemplified the DDM’s approach, which seeks to break silos and mobilise all of government and society in planning, budgeting, and implementing as one. The MINMEC directed that the technical meeting of Directors General and Heads of provincial Departments develop a programme of action from the outcomes of the summit with clear implementation timelines. MINMEC also resolved to have a special sitting next month (November) to engage the post-summit action plan and guide on its implementation.
The MINMEC also received a report on the allocation of funds for flooding incidents. The MINMEC guided the report should also highlight what has been done thus far in the affected provinces. The meeting urged for continued work to bring relief and assist the affected communities.
On the Eastern Seaboard, the meeting received an update on the plans and progress on implementation thus far since the launch on 11 November 2021 by President Ramaphosa. The MINMEC noted and welcomed progress made thus far, including the gazetting of the Eastern Seaboard as a unitary region by Minister Thoko Didiza. The meeting recommended the involvement of all communities, the prioritisation of SMMEs and cooperatives. These should be encouraged and supported also through training and skulking, especially targeting the youth. We need to look at comparative advantages like tourism, ocean economy, fishing, fishery and supporting SMMEs to get licenses to participate in the development. The feature of the new city must reflect the demographics of our country, hence the importance of skills which is the second fastest equaliser.
The MINMEC received a presentation from the department of traditional affairs on the formula to determine the number of Khoisan council members. MINMEC welcomed the formula and directed that more work be done to refine and simplify it to ensure better understanding.
The MINMEC was updated on the legal constitution of the houses of traditional leaders. The meeting was also given an update that the reconstitution of the National House of Traditional and Khoisan Leaders will be held on 31 October 2022 in Pretoria.
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