am pleased to announce that Kouga Municipality has its first Draft Integrated Economic Growth Strategy, By Mayor Hattingh Bornman
Integrated Economic Growth Strategy Objectives
The strategic objectives include, but are not limited to:
1) Facilitating public and private partnerships to drive the economy
2) Create a conducive environment for sustainable township economic growth
3) To create an environment for thriving entrepreneurs in both the formal and informal economy
4) To build skills for the future and respond to investor needs by matching skills with jobs
5) To increase investment opportunities within the economic sectors
Resilient, Inclusive Economy
The Mayoral Committee and I received a detailed presentation from our Local Economic development team on this strategy.
Our vision is to create a resilient, inclusive economy through public and private collaboration. This will create an enabling environment that facilitates investment, small business development, employment, and skills opportunities, leading to an equitable and sustainable economy.
The draft strategy will soon go out for public participation for various sectors to provide their input before it is presented to Council.
Hats off to the mayor for trying, but I have seen, and been involved in too many municipal “Integrated (Economic Growth) Strategies” being adopted by council, and not achieving their lofty goals. Maybe this one will buck the trend?
Mr Mayor, do you really need to expend all of the time, cost and effort to produce this strategy document to identify opportunities, to tell you what the people need and what the private sector can offer? You already know that, you have already done well in identifying economic development opportunities and willing businesses. Just select two or three of these projects, draft an action plan, and let the private business sector drive them. Remove obstacles for them. Private Public partnerships often fail because government, including local government, are hamstrung by regulation.
What you should be prioritising is for the administration to continue providing for the basic needs of communities: roads, water, electricity, waste management, housing, and enforcing the bylaws. That must be your focus. Improved delivery of basic services.
Rather than spending time, money and effort on the Strategy document, which few will read, hire an outsider municipal specialist or NGO to DOGE your departments..
Further to my previous post, the municipality already has a “2019 Local Economic Development Strategy”.
It has over 150 references in the bibliography.