GOVERNANCE
2.3 INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS
2.3.1 National Intergovernmental Structures
The External Relations Unit participates in the Consultative Forum on International Relations (CFIR). The CFIR is an inter-governmental co-ordinating structure comprising senior officials from all three spheres of government and other relevant stakeholders that meets twice annually to ensure proper information sharing and coordination. As such, it provides measures and guidelines for the enhanced coordination of South Africa’s international engagements.
The objective/purpose of this Consultative Forum is:
• Information sharing: Sharing of information regarding all stakeholders’
international involvements, i.e. policy statements, visits abroad, conferences, summits and incoming visits.
• Foreign policy guidance on international issues.
• Planning and co-ordination of international visits (incoming and outgoing).
• Discussion of pressing issues to enable Government to convey information on key foreign policy issues to various levels of government, in a consistent and principled manner.
• Possible private sector/civil society engagement and national outreach programmes.
This Forum is not a policy-making mechanism (policy remains the mandate of the International Cooperation, Trade and Security (ICTS) Cluster). In fact, the CFIR has sprung from and provides feedback to the ICTS Cluster.
2.3.2 Provincial Intergovernmental Structures
The Municipality’s External Relations Unit participates in the East Cape Consultative Forum on International Relations and Cooperation, coordinated and supported by the Office of the Premier. The Forum emulates the National CFIR Forum and shares information with local authorities on matters discussed at the CFIR. It seeks to mitigate against the risk in the management of international relations in the Province by creating a shared responsibility amongst stakeholders, thus creating a shared vision and information on international activity in the Province in order to promote the shared implementation of best practices. It also seeks to leverage on existing nodes of concentrated international relations capacity in the Province, as well as build a platform for international relations and official development assistance (ODA), capacity and competency in the Province.
2.3.3 NMBM IGR Forum
The Nelson Mandela Bay IGR Forum was launched on 5 July 2012 during the Premier’s EXCO outreach 2012. Although the Forum initially struggled to come of the ground it is now fully functional.
The following meetings took place in the 2014/2015 financial year:
IGR Technical Forum Thursday, 17 July 2014 Meeting took place IGR Forum Tuesday, 12 August 2014 Meeting took place IGR Technical Forum Tuesday, 14 October 2014 Meeting took place
IGR Forum Tuesday, 18 November
2014
Meeting took place
IGR Technical Forum Friday, 13 February 2015 Meeting took place IGR Forum Thursday, 19 March 2015 Meeting took place IGR Technical Forum Monday, 11 May 2015 Meeting took place
IGR Forum Thursday, 4 June 2015 Meeting was cancelled due to a clash with the Premiers Coordinating Forum meeting
Technical IGR Forum Thursday, 25 June 2015 Meeting postponed to 16 July 2015
2.3.4 Inter-municipal partnerships:
A key priority of the Municipality is to share experiences, knowledge and support with its surrounding municipalities. In this regard, the Municipality has concluded partnerships with Nxuba and Cacadu, as well as a co-operative arrangement with the Sunday’s River Municipality.
In the past, the support provided to the Nxuba Local Municipality and the collaboration with the Sarah Baartman District Municipality (Cacadu) took place on an ad hoc and uncoordinated basis. It was therefore felt that it would be important to have a more coordinated approach to the inter-municipal cooperation with more focused interaction guided by the implementation of activities that would be of benefit to both institutions and would deliver outcomes that are measurable within a specific timeframe. It is envisaged that the new agreed to Memorandums of Understanding will be guided by a three- year implementation framework within which to reach the objectives, as set out in the MOUs.
2.3.5 Relationships with municipal entities
Over the past eleven years, the NMBM’s municipal entity MBDA ( Mandela Bay Development Agency) has implemented a number of urban renewal projects, precinct upgrades, security and cleansing programmes and other strategic and ad hoc assignments that are collectively changing the face of the City and reinvigorating economic life in its central business districts.
Over the years the mandate to the MBDA has been expanded to include the rejuvenation of neglected township areas, from the initial focus on central business districts only and going forward this initiative is planned to gain more momentum as the challenges of inequalities in townships and other previously disadvantaged areas are addressed by the NMBM. To date the MBDA has played a key role particularly in addressing the urban decay and degeneration in the inner cities of Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage and the municipal infrastructure and environmental upgrading projects that it has implemented to date have been widely welcomed and positively received by various key stakeholders. The Agency has to date implemented and facilitated various projects and initiatives in excess of R500 million and the next few years look set for further exciting projects. The Singapi Street Environmental Upgrade project has been the Agency’s first major foray into the Black townships and promises to be a key catalytical project that will result in a cultural gateway being formed linking the Red Location Museum as well as significantly upgrading the environment for this precinct’s residents. Other township projects that have also been undertaken in Walmer Gqebera, Veeplaas and New Brighton.
Key to the MBDA’s success to date has been effective public participation processed as well as the introduction of arts, culture, heritage and the creative industries into its projects and which has resulted in certain external funders also engaging with the Agency and grants being made available for such projects.
The Helenvale Safety and Protection through Urban Upgrading (SPUU) project which is being funded by the German Development Bank KfW to the amount of EUR 5 million over a 48-month period has progressed well and the Masterplan has now been approved for projects to be rolled out during 2015/16. This project forms part of a government to government funding agreement and the NMBM has appointed the MBDA as the project implementing agent to ensure that the project is developed and successfully rolled out to the benefit of the Helenvale township community.
The MBDA will during 2015/16 be relocating its offices to the newly redeveloped Tramways Building, a totally derelict municipal asset that it has redeveloped as part of its mandate inter alia, to redevelop the inner city of Port Elizabeth. This development has to also be seen as an investment by the NMBM into the Baakens Valley precinct, which is planned to become a new development node with an interface to the Port Elizabeth port where a commercial marina port development has been commissioned by Transnet.
2.3.6 Presidential Hotline
The Presidential Hotline became functional in 2009. The Presidential Hotline is run from a web-based system called the ITSM7 system, which is managed by the State Information Technology Agency (SITA). On a local level this function is currently managed from the External Relations Sub Directorate. At the end of June 2015 the success rate of dealing with Presidential Hotline complains were 82.56%
COMPONENT C: PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY AND PARTICIPATION
OVERVIEW OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY AND PARTICIPATION
In order to realise its aim of being a responsive, caring, transparent and accountable service delivery institution, the Municipality is committed to public engagement and participation in planning and decision-making processes.