PROJECT CONSOLIDATE – MUNICIPAL IMBIZO

Preview on Amathole District Municipality by the Deputy Director-General: Department of Provincial and Local Government (the dplg), Mr. Elroy Afrika Pretoria,

2 December 2005

Introduction

The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, accompanied by Cabinet Ministers, will visit the Amathole District in the Eastern Cape province on Saturday, 3 December 2005. This is part of the Municipal Izimbizo programme, an integral part of Project Consolidate, and will focus specifically on interacting with elected representatives in local government, senior municipal officials and members of Ward Committees.

Background

Project Consolidate, a hands-on local government support and engagement programme, was launched in October 2004. It is targeted at 136 municipalities throughout South Africa that need support to enhance service delivery and good governance. Since the launch of the Project, Government has been focusing on the service delivery challenges and capacity constraints that are facing individual municipalities. This was informed by a detailed assessment of challenges according to each province and the municipalities concerned.

In the context of Project Consolidate, the President, the Deputy President and Cabinet Ministers are pursuing the Municipal Izimbizo programme, whose objective is to support municipalities in the achievement of these key performance areas and to deepen local government transformation.

Brief profile of Amathole District Municipality

Amathole District is home to the capital city of the Eastern Cape, Bhisho. It includes parts of the former Ciskei and Transkei as well as former Cape Provincial Administration areas. The port city of East London is also situated in Amathole District.

The District accounts for 25,9% of the Eastern Cape’s population. Amathole has 1,7 million people most of whom are found in the former Transkei and Ciskei areas. Women are in a majority in the District standing at 53,6% while men make up 46,4% of the general population. The District is characterised by an increased trend towards urbanization, however this is not matched by a similar trend in economic development.

The education levels are low with 46% of the population who have no schooling, or who only have primary schooling.

A high proportion of the people aged between 18 and 65 are economically inactive. A number of economic development initiatives have been put in place since 2000. These include the upgrading of Sisa Dukashe Stadium and the Highway Taxi Rank.

Amathole District Municipality is made up of eight local municipalities, namely:

• Buffalo City: East London, Bhisho, Dimbaza,
• Amahlathi: Stutterheim, Cathcart, Keiskammahoek, Kei Road,
• Nxuba: Adelaide, Bedford.
• Nkonkobe: Alice, Fort Beaufort,
• Ngqushwa: Peddie, Hamburg,
• Great Kei: Komga, Kei Mouth, Haga Haga, Morgans Bay, Chintsa
• Mnquma: Butterworth, Nqamakwe, Centane
• Mbashe: Dutywa, Elliotdale, Willowvale

Three local municipalities in the District, namely: Buffalo City, Mnquma and Mbashe have been identified as requiring support under Project Consolidate.

Key Performance Areas (KPA’s) of Local Government Transformation

The main areas that require intervention in this District under Project Consolidate, are summarized below:

Government, together with its partners (state-owned enterprises, the private sector and development agencies), will be supporting these municipalities targeting the following five Key Performance Areas (KPA’s):

 Basic Service Delivery and Infrastructure;
 Local Economic Development;
 Municipal Transformation and Institutional Development;
 Municipal Financial Viability; and
 Good Governance and Community Participation.