By Nangamso Mabindla
7 March 2005

BUFFALO City will be at the centre of continental celebrations on Africa Day, as it will be hosting the three-day trade and investment conference under the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) on that day.

The conference, which starts on Africa Day - on 25 May - at the Regent Hotel in East London, would open new horizons for innovative thinking and give rise to new opportunities, said Matthew Moonieya, the director in the office of the mayor.

"We have been instructed by the leadership that Buffalo City can be made the central venue for the continental celebrations. This will no doubt expose the city to the rest of Africa," said Moonieya.

He called on all stakeholders in the region to work with the City to ensure that the occasion was successful. Mayor Sindisile Maclean's State of the City speech and Budget Address will coincide with the historic event.

"This is the final budget speech by the mayor for his five-year-term and we are planning to make it a special event," Moonieya said. "We believe that with the emphasis on governance in Nepad, Buffalo City can act as a mirror for the country in the crucial sphere of local government before a captive international audience."

Moonieya said preparations were under way for the budget. The mayor was also preparing to join the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and Budget Review public hearings, which would enable him to link his outreach programme to the hearings in each of the City's 45 wards.

This would give residents an opportunity to interact with the budget and look at the links with the IDP, which represents the requests and wishes people have for their specific areas.

"We really are in for a busy May and we hope to make a lasting impression on both conference delegates and our citizens," Moonieya said.