Winelands
13 September 2006
The Cape Winelands district which includes the Breede Valley, Witzenberg,
Drakenstein, Breede River Winelands and Stellenbosch municipalities will
develop a district wide Local Economic Development Strategy in the build up to
their Growth and Development Summit to be held in November this year. In
preparation for this provincial Minister of Environment, Planning and Economic
Development, Tasneem Essop and the department of Economic Development and
Tourism held two Local Economic Development roadshows, one in Eden and one in
the Cape Winelands, last week.
An exciting outcome of the Cape Winelands roadshow was a commitment by all
the mayors to develop a District Economic Strategy. The district municipality
and the B-municipalities will now have an enhanced co-ordinated approach to
their strategies and will emerge with a district-wide strategy. A working
group, made up of relevant officials and politicians from all the
municipalities and the provincial government will be set up immediately to
start working on the strategy.
Following the two days of intense engagement, Minister Essop said, "It was
clear that all the municipalities had been working hard on their individual
local economic development strategies, but it remains clear that there are
uneven levels of development and capacity. The municipalities and the district
would now have to share each other's strengths and deal with their weaknesses
in a combined effort to deliver on a district-wide Economic Development
Strategy. We have agreed, as the political leadership, that the next two months
will be critical if we are to emerge with a credible growth and development
strategy. It is important to recognise that in order to achieve our growth
targets in the Western Cape and the country, we will require long-term
sustainable strategies at a local level."
Cape Winelands District Municipality Mayor, Clarence Johnson said he was
encouraged by the renewed commitment of all the municipalities as well as the
provincial government. "The district partnership for economic development gives
effect to seriously implement and align the plans of government to improve the
lives of our people; to fight unemployment and poverty. It is Government's
commitment to work with businesses and communities and this will surely bring
results in the medium to long term."
The mayor's of the B-municipalities were all in agreement that not only had
progress been made, but that a more co-ordinated approach would result in
exciting outcomes for each municipality and for the district as a whole.
Witzenberg Mayor, Katriena Robyn said engagements between all three spheres of
government was crucial and should have happened sooner. "I am excited at the
thought of working together in the build-up to the Growth and Development
Summit and beyond."
Breede River Winelands Mayor John Ngonyama said he was extremely happy that
the municipalities were starting to democratise the economy. Stellenbosch Mayor
Loretta Maree said she was very excited about the idea "that the different
municipalities consolidate their efforts in a structured way to drive the
economic development of the district."
Drakenstein Mayor Charmaine Manuel said, "We have taken a leap in getting to
a situation where there will be greater synergy and alignment between
municipalities and province so that we can all be on the same page." President
Thabo Mbeki has identified the Cape Winelands district as a presidential pilot
project to co-ordinate all of government's interventions to facilitate economic
development and growth.
Government has committed itself to AsgiSA, the Accelerated and Shared Growth
Initiative for South Africa. Under this programme the national economy is
expected to grow by six percent. The Western Cape, which has consistently
reached higher growth rates than the national rate, has aimed to grow the
economy by seven percent to eight percent. To achieve this however the role of
local government is critical. Local Economic Development Strategies will
identify key sectors, which can be used as a catalyst for local economic
growth.
The President has requested that all districts and metros must hold Growth
and Development Summits before March next year. This summit will include all
role-players, namely, business, labour, civil society and government.
Enquiries:
Lynnette Johns
Media Liaison Officer
Tel: (021) 483 2769
Email: ljohns@pgwc.gov.za
Issued: Department of Economic Development and Tourism, Western Provincial
Government
13 September 2006
Source: Western Cape Provincial Government (http://www.capegateway.gov.za)
