April 4, 2006
By Anish Abraham
THE City of Johannesburg is going all out to ensure its Integrated Development Plan (IDP) best reflects the needs of residents. And it is making an effort to ensure public participation in the process is as high as possible.
The draft IDP was unveiled on Monday, 3 April, following the opening of the new session of the City council, and civic and non-governmental organisations, residents' associations and Joburgers can now send in their comments on and queries about the plan.
It is open for comment from 4 April to 12 May, when the City will hold its Growth and Development Summit. Organisations that have submitted their details to the City will be given a summary of the draft IDP, while individual residents will receive a summary IDP leaflet along with their monthly utilities statement.
Full versions of the IDP are available for interested parties at all
regional municipal offices
and at the Metropolitan Centre. Full versions of the IDP will also be given to councillors to use at ward committee meetings. It is also available here.
Comments must be faxed to the project assistant, Eva Rapoo on 011 4077352 or sent by email to
Evar@joburg.org.za.
The plan lays down clear targets set by the City, which local communities can then monitor. This year marks the first time that an IDP will cover the next five years; previously it has covered only a single year.
"The change from one year to five years is a legal requirement," explained Keith Peacock, the deputy director for customer relationship management in the Office of the City Manager.
This was because most capital-intensive projects were long-term and a five-year timeframe for the IDP would be suited to such developments. Johannesburg already has a head start when it comes to long-term planning, with the Joburg 2030 strategy to guide it into the future.
The IDP is released along with the budget and tariff document, which give details of how the City plans to raise revenue, then on how it plans to spend it. The draft was written after lengthy community participation, which is legally required in terms of the Municipal Systems Act.
"But the City already has an absolute commitment to local communities, ensuring voices are heard and ensuring that what is said informs planning of the City," Peacock said.
The initial consultative process took place between August and November 2005, when councillors were asked to consult their constituencies, and regional meetings and sectoral meetings were held with representatives from business, labour, women, youth and non-governmental organisations.
Following the Growth and Development Summit on 12 May, the IDP, budget and tariffs will be amended after considering public responses and final versions will be tabled before council on 24 May.
"This is an ongoing process, so there is no real deadline. We will take comments into consideration as we are constantly revising the IDP for the next year," Peacock said.
Comments received during previous consultation processes indicate a close alignment between what residents want and the mayoral priorities. Historically, the City has tended to rely mainly on meetings as a source of comment; Peacock sees that as a weakness, as not all residents are enthusiastic about taking part in them.
"We want to make the process as broad as possible. What we are doing is trying to create dialogue with our communities," he said.
In the past, the City has received comments from about 3 000 residents. Peacock would like to see that number reach close to 10 000 this time around.
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