Ramaphosa heads to North West for district development Imbizo

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to undertake a district development model (DDM) Presidential Imbizo to Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality in Mahikeng in the North West province.

The visit on Saturday forms part of the efforts to roll out the district development model and lend a helping hand in implementing the accelerated service delivery initiatives.

Ramaphosa will be accompanied by North West premier Bushy Maape, Cabinet ministers, including the DDM champions and North West MECs, mayors and councillors.

The programme will include stakeholder engagements, community meetings, walkabouts in communities and high traffic areas and shopping centres, taxi or bus ranks, and door-to-door engagements.

In a statement on Monday, the cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) department said Ramaphosa’s visit echoes his message in the 2022 State of the Nation Address (Sona) that “government must work for the people.”

“To this effect, being a public-participation platform, the Presidential Imbizo to the North West will provide government an opportunity to assess the level of service delivery in the province, assess the extent to which the Section 100 intervention was successful, assess the extent to which the DDM has been institutionalised and provide the President an opportunity to listen to the people and respond to their concerns and recommendations.”

Cogta said the Presidential Imbizo will highlight issues and unblock any challenges to service delivery in line with the DDM that enables integrated and responsive planning, implementation and budgeting through the ‘One Plans’.

“Communities will during this period be given an opportunity to ask questions and receive answers to issues that concern them. Some of the questions will be responded to during the Presidential Imbizo event taking place on Saturday.”

Cogta said ahead of the Presidential Imbizo on 12 March, a number of build-up events will be held by the national, provincial and municipal leadership.

While many communities across the country are hoping that that service delivery will improve under the programme, local government expert Professor Jaap de Visser, from the University of the Western Cape (UWC)’s Dullah Omar Institute, told EWN last year that nothing had happened in the 10 years since the model was first touted.

Visser said that the African National Congress’ (ANC) infighting has had a detrimental impact on many communities.

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