By Zibonele Ntuli

A MUNICIPALITY says a number of issues had made it difficult for the country's 283 municipalities to meet some of the demands made at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).

Giving a local government perspective on the challenges faced by the municipalities in implementing the commitments, eThekwini Municipality Speaker Nomsa Dube cited financial resources, systems and institutional architecture, community empowerment, local government transformation and political term of office versus the long-term nature of sustainable development.

"Among these pressures is the inability to maintain development infrastructure and the extension of services to all residents especially the poor. Much emphasis has been placed on financial management in local government," she said.

She said government had little human resource capacity and capability to plan and manage sustainable development.

"It is increasingly becoming clear that there is now a need to move beyond community participation and consultation and rather focus on the empowerment of communities to take charge of their own developments.

"This takes place within the context of a strong and lively social compact between government and communities. Approaches such as community-based planning, citizen action support and active ward committees have proven to enhance community action and energy towards sustainable local development," she explained.

She however expressed hope the WSSD Implementation Guidelines for municipalities would help bring much progress to sustain local communities.
Source: BuaNews