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The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, says that the government is working on the implementation of its new District Development Model (DDM).
In a presentation on Tuesday (September 8), Dlamini-Zuma said that for the past 20 years, the local government has not adequately fulfilled its role, especially when it comes to economic development.
He added that the “pedestrian growth” that the country has registered over the past decade was “simply not enough” to secure employment and income for most people.
To address these issues and facilitate better coordination and integration, the government has adopted the new District Development Model (DDM).
“The DDM seeks to strengthen the local sphere of governance, moving us away from planning, budgeting and silo implementation,” he said.
Dlamini-Zuma said the new model will provide a “common and more tangible vision of development” for the country. “By taking a long-term view and interconnecting local economies, we can reimagine a better community, district and nation.”
He said the government also plans to locate the competitive advantage of each district and “use it for shared growth and prosperity.”
District Centers
To help at the local government level, Dlamini-Zuma said the government plans to employ qualified people in the “district centers” so that they can take advantage of shared skills that local municipalities lack.
“The axes are part of the district’s capacity and will connect the localities with the provinces and national departments,” he said. The centers will also house critical and scarce skills, such as engineers, planners, ICT specialists and administrators, for local districts and municipalities.
Dlamini-Zuma said these centers are currently being tested at three pilot sites across the country: Waterberg in Limpopo, eThekwini in KZN and OR Tambo in Eastern Cape, which will affect more than 10% of the population, most of which they are the poorest in our country.
The ownership and management structure of these economies are a microcosm of South Africa, he said.
“With the rich mineral and flower resources of Waterberg, most of the land is owned by a handful of white men.
“Despite its captivating wild coastline that is abundant in potential, only 15% of the people in OR Tambo are employed and the overwhelming majority of 65% live in poverty, the majority of whom are women who constitute 53%. of the population.
“EThekwini shows apartheid spatial planning patterns: most live away from work and spend about 20% of their income on transportation, while the international norm is less than 10% of income.”
Dlamini-Zuma said that therefore the government will use the DDM to ‘reimagine the future’ of the 44 districts and eight metropolitan areas across the country, starting with outlining the localities.
“We have now completed the profiles of the 52 districts. This means that we are now at a point where we have a good understanding of the major development issues in all of our districts.
“This was a critical step in the process of implementing the District Development Model because now we know what we must do to improve the quality of life of our people,” he said.
Singular budget
Dlamini-Zuma said the district model will also see budget changes across the government, with the ultimate goal of unifying finances into a single budget.
The District Development Model will be implemented through the specialization and reprioritization of the plans and budgets of each and every one of the departments, state entities and municipalities, he said.
“The ‘Single Plan’ that will inform the ‘Single Budget’ is an intergovernmental strategic framework for investment and execution in relation to district and metropolitan spaces,” he said.
“The District Development Model is about how we work together as one government in all of our districts and metropolitan spaces, even if each sphere, sector or entity has its own distinct, interrelated and interdependent constitutional powers, functions and responsibilities.
“In this case, working together means planning, budgeting and implementing as one, while holding each other accountable throughout the process.”
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