By Nangamso Mabindla
TOP Buffalo City officials and national government staff have held a
workshop to discuss ways to make Project Consolidate work in the city.
Project Consolidate is a two-year government pilot programme to increase the speed of service delivery. Through it, the national government will be able to help local governments deal with their individual challenges in a hands-on way.
The meeting, at the East London City Hall, was arranged by the Department of Provincial and Local Government. It aimed to educate the City's top management about the programme and its importance in improving service delivery.
Speaking at the workshop, City Manager Mxolisi Tsika said he was happy the department had arranged the meeting.
"We are happy that we were selected as part of the project. We will make sure that we co-operate and make this project a success."
Tsika said that before the City could make the programme successful, top management needed to be educated about it. "We want to communicate it to our people so that they know what kind of assistance is expected from us.
"I am sure that after this workshop we will have a clear idea of the role we need to play in the quest to improve the lives of our people."
Dan Manyindo, the special adviser to Minister of Provincial and Local Government Sydney Mufumadi, said that during the meeting they would explain what Project Consolidate was and attempt to craft a way forward so that the programme worked for the City.
Buffalo City was in a better position to receive the programme, as it had good management, he said. However, like any other municipality it did have its fair share of challenges.
"At this workshop we need to come up with ways to overcome these challenges - I am convinced Buffalo City will overcome some of its challenges. No matter how successful you are there is always room for improvement," Manyindo said.
Project Consolidate also stressed the importance of partnerships between national, provincial and local governments and the business sector in the improvement of service delivery.
"If we work together with our business partners we will definitely
succeed in improving the lives of the people we serve. We need to make
this project a success," he said.
Source: Buffalo City
Presentation for Seminar
