2014 marks two decades since South Africa emerged from apartheid to democratic dispensation. The government has done much to address the inherited disparities of the past even though challenges still remain. The Ministry for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs have bid farewell to the outgoing board whilst inaugurating ten newly appointed members in a ceremony that was held at Birchwood Hotel. The Board marks fifteen years of spatial transformation.

COGTA Minister Lechesa Tsenoli congratulated the outgoing members for the sterling work they have done in their term of office to implement their mandate without fear or favour as stipulated and supported by the statutes. He said “the task of the Board is very important and crucial because it is aimed at correcting the ills of the apartheid spatial patterns by building inclusive integrated and viable communities”. He also indicated that government acknowledges that this assignment is complex and appreciate that they have executed it with diligence and commitment.

Tsenoli continued to say “as we usher in the newly appointed members of the Board, it would be correct and appropriate to indicate that members of the Board will not re-invent the wheel by starting all over again, but will continue to implement their long and short term plans as adopted by the outgoing Board”.

As the country plans for the next local government elections in 2016, the new board will are faced with the following priorities in the next 12 months:

1.    Delimitation of Wards in preparation for the local government elections;
2.    They will render advisory services in respect of the post demarcation processes to empower municipalities during transition period where major redetermination or re-categorisation shall have been decided;
3.    Running with the 2016 Local Government election by forming part of the Ministerial Task team that will deal with pre and post elections of 2016;

The ten members broadly reflect a regional diversity and collectively constitute a pool of knowledge relevant to Municipal demarcation matter as prescribed in the Municipal Demarcation Act, Act 27 of 1998. The government continues to make concerted efforts to work with communities through local government in order to develop and implement policies and programmes that will improve the lives of all South Africans, whilst it also grapples to address the fundamental damage to the spatial patterns in the social and economic environments in which people live, work and rise families, as a collective.