By Nangamso Mabindla
22 October 2007

BUFFALO City opened its first community support centre (CSC) on Saturday, 20 October, in King William's Town.

Funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), the CSC aims to bring government closer to the people by providing a range of services at their doorstep. The City's communications manager, Darby Gounden, said the R1-million CSC fell under of the national government's Thusong Service Centre concept and was the first of three to be opened in Buffalo City.

Centres would also be opened in Mdantsane and Gompo.

Present at the opening were Executive Mayor Zintle Peter, municipal manager Gaster Sharpley, local councillors and representatives from the Umsobomvu Youth Fund.

Peter said that the centre was in line with the City's vision to be people-centered. "This is exactly why we have chosen to pilot community support centres, as a practical mechanism to bring government closer to the people."

She said the ideas for the centres came after several surveys conducted by professional service providers indicated that the City needed a new approach to customer care and communication.

Buffalo City's Integrated Development Plan and Revitalisation Plan also included customer care as one of the key means to develop the municipality and emphasised the importance of providing support centres to help communities to help themselves.

"The multi-purpose community support centre concept was identified as one possible contribution to this. The idea was to take government closer to the people, to be pro-active when it came to communication and to empower people to take part in the development process," Peter said.

"The centres will provide service and interaction possibilities with functionaries from the provincial and national governments and other relevant service providers."

Opening the three centres also opened up the opportunity for residents to become more informed about the government and to take part in its plans and decisions.

King William's Town's CSC was attached to the Civic Centre and was also closer to the town's central business district, giving it an advantage. "The services at the centre will complement the current services rendered at the Civic Centre," the mayor said.

Service to be rendered at these centres included an Umsobomvu-sponsored Youth Advisory Desk, an HIV and Aids desk, a Disabled, Gender and Elder support desk, a customer care office, a computer room and an information office.

"I am very proud to be able officially to declare this centre open, and I trust that it will be a facility that will serve the local community in a manner that is responsive to their needs," Peter concluded.