Deputy Minister Andries Nel engages Swiss delegates
The Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Mr Andries Nel met the Swiss Ambassador, Mr Raymond Furrer who is the head of the Swiss Economic Cooperation and Development (SECO) in Bern.
The purpose of the engagement was to discuss matters related to the implementation of South Africa’s Urban Policy, the Integrated Urban Development Framework (IUDF) and the support that Switzerland can offer. The Swiss delegation included:
- Ambassador Helene Budliger Artieda, Ambassador of Switzerland to South Africa.
- Mrs Davorka Shepherd, Head of SECO, Pretoria.
- Mr Gerhard Pienaar, Deputy Head, SECO, Pretoria.
During the meeting the Deputy Minister gave an overview of the progress made with regards to the implementation of the IUDF and indicated that it is implemented in three areas, namely through the City Support Programme by National Treasury, Intermediate City Municipalities (ICM) by CoGTA and Small Town Regeneration (STR) through SALGA.
Minister Nel emphasised that progress has been made on the implementation of the IUDF and governance structures has been established and are functional. Intermediate City Municipalities (ICM) support programme has been developed and there is a pilot programme implemented in 2 municipalities, namely, Polokwane and uMhlathuze. He further stated that government approach is a solid consolidation towards bringing together all sectors, private and public.
Government is also prioritising on coordinating partnership effectively and mobilising private resource, for example, bringing Anglo American on board on the ICMs with specific reference to mining towns.
Ambassador Raymond Furrer said there are similarities between the two countries in terms of spatial development, Swiss government is also developing into urbanisation and they are also learning how to manage space in urban areas. He also emphasised that they are happy with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s acknowledgement on the importance of IUDF. There is lot of common ground between two countries and he appreciates the strong team between South Africa and Swiss Government. The IUDF will be the highlight of the South African Cities Network (SACN) Urban Conference taking place on the 30-31 October 2018, in Gauteng.
Both Deputy Minister Nel and Ambassador Furrer agreed that both countries will look at what is feasible and investing on learning from each other, institutions, capacity building and implementation towards ICMs.
Media enquiries:
Legadima Leso
Cell: 066 479 9904
