IDP HEARINGS TO BEGIN

Public IDP meetings planned

By Tabisa Mntengwana
08 April 2010

Buffalo City is calling on residents to come in their numbers to participate in its Integrated Development Plan (IDP) public hearings. At these, the draft IDP and budget for 2010/11 will be presented and discussed. The hearings start on Wednesday, 14 April at 5pm at Gcobani Hall in Cambridge Location, and end at Ilitha Community Hall in Ilitha on Friday, 30 April.

According to a report from the IDP and budget integrated department, at the hearings the municipality will give its citizens the opportunity to engage with and give input on the draft IDP and budget. The department’s manager, Simpiwe Seti, explained: “We expect the residents to be part of the process as we seek advice on matters that are priorities to them.”

He was confident that this year’s hearings would be a success since a different approach was being taken. “This year, the City will look at the needs of each ward and not cluster them, and this will enable us to easily identify their needs.”

Each ward will be visited separately and not as a cluster, as has been the case in previous years. The hearings are part of the municipality’s public participation process, which allows ordinary citizens to add their input to the IDP for the year. As such, they are a platform to encourage residents to play a major role in becoming authors of their own development.

Hearings will also be held at Kidds Beach Hall, Needs Camp Community Hall, Berlin Hall, Sweetwaters Community Hall and KWT War Memorial Hall. The theme of this year’s meetings is “Working together to make a difference in service delivery”.

In the past two months, the municipality held two meetings with councillors, officials and stakeholders to identify priority issues, which include water, electricity, housing and the metro status. At these meetings, stakeholders and councillors also discussed proposed projects for the financial year 2010/11. These include RDP housing, unemployed youth and the disabled, reducing the number of illegal dumpsites and improving waste collection.

Other matters to be discussed at the public hearings include the progress on 2008/09 capital and operating projects per ward, the progress report on implementation of 2009/10 capital and operating projects per ward, and ward needs for the next financial year.

Seti said the City expected residents to come in their numbers to these hearings to engage constructively with the municipality to identify their needs and issues. There will be sign language interpreters at each meeting.

Download the schedule of meetings here