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MPUMALANGA TO HOST THE THIRD INSTALMENT OF THE DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT MODEL (DDM) PRESIDENTIAL IZIMBIZO

The Mpumalanga province affectionately known as “the place of the rising sun”, will host the third instalment of the DDM Presidential Izimbizo on Friday, 20 May 2022 in the small-town of Carolina in the Chief Albert Luthuli Local Municipality under the Gert Sibande District. 

The Mpumalanga Presidential Imbizo follows a series of successful episodes of the Presidential Izimbizo in both the North West and Free State provinces respectively. 

In keeping with the dictates of Cooperative Governance the President will be accompanied by the Premier, various Cabinet Ministers including the DDM champions, Provincial MECs, Mayors and Councillors. In the lead-up to the Presidential Imbizo various government leaders will conduct build-up community engagements across the length and breadth of the province to give citizens a chance to directly interface with government and access services within proximity. 

The Presidential Imbizo affords all social partners, government, traditional leaders, civil society organs (labour, women, youth, persons with disabilities, business) and communities an opportunity to collectively engage on how to best address the immediate challenges and to create conditions for long-lasting stability and development. 

This public participation platform is informed by our participatory democracy that enjoins citizens to make their voices heard especially in their own development and service delivery. To ensure that all people are able to get a chance to engage, some issues of concern will be submitted through written submissions to scribes at the Imbizo as it will not be possible for everyone to speak on the day. 

The government leadership across the three spheres of government led by the President will also record the issues raised and respond with clear timeframes and action plans. 

The President committed to continuing to build an ethical, capable, and developmental state that delivers on its mandate and is corruption free at every sphere. 

President Ramaphosa emphasised that no-one will be left behind as government works with all sectors of society to move the country forward and the Imbizo is an important milestone towards achieving this goal and building a comprehensive social compact to realise better life for all South Africans. 

The DDM which is an all of government and society approach advocates for integrated and responsive planning, implementation, and budgeting guided by the ‘One Plans’, to leverage the endowments of the province for the benefit of communities in Mpumalanga. 

To this end, the Ehlanzeni, Nkangala and Gert Sibande Districts have finalised their One Plans in which all public participation processes were followed. The effective implementation of the One Plans will ensure that no one is left behind in growing Mpumalanga. 

The State of Local Government Report (2021) shows that there is generally a challenge in municipalities of this province. Out of twenty municipalities, only one is stable. This speaks to the importance of institutionalising and implementing the DDM. Through the implementation of the DDM, municipalities will be better able to assist with effective and efficient functioning municipalities, the province can reverse the unacceptable levels of unemployment, inequality and poverty. 

The Presidential Imbizo aims to address the sustainability and effectiveness of municipalities which is charectarised by poor service delivery and sluggish development owing to the lack of coherent planning, budgeting and implementation. 

This citizen-centric government promotes the involvement of all stakeholders in their governance and development. This is important especially within the context of the recent local government elections which refreshed the mandate that the people have to local government. 

Accordingly, all municipalities have adopted their Municipal Support and Intervention Plans (MSIP) to address identified challenges, except for Bushbuckridge municipality. 

Mpumalanga has developed and adopted its Mpumalanga Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (MERRP) which seeks to address the negative impact of COVID-19 on the provincial economy and livelihoods. The MERRP is aimed at re-igniting the provincial economy through focusing on seven priority interventions including planned ‘massive’ rollout of infrastructure; growth through industrialisation, localisation and export promotion through the roll-out of the Mpumalanga Industrial Development Plan (MIDP) including the establishment of three Industrial Technology Parks, Revitalization of Ekandustria Industrial Park, Nkomazi SEZ and Mpumalanga International Fresh Produce Market, to cite but a few. 

Issued by Government Communications (GCIS) on behalf of the Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs