News Update – Mangaung’s Community Champions to drive City’s Growth Development Strategy
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Click here to download the PDF for News Update 4 Feb 2013
The Executive Mayor of Mangaung, Clr Thabo Manyoni, recently announced the city’s community driven approach that will help with the realisation of Mangaung’s Growth Development Strategy, which will determine the future of the city.
The strategy calls upon community leaders who are already promoting development within their communities to take a more active role in local governance, and also bring the residents’ concerns forward.
Nyakallo Ba2cada Leine, Dr Pule Elias Matjoa, Mr. Coaster Kitsa, Mr. Boet Troskie, Me. MaBless, Mr. Sello Nduna, Rev. Dr. Malangabe, Dr. TD Thekiso, Father Sam Mokoena, Mr. Colin Hickling, Mr. Volsteedst, Mr. Barry Swanepoel, Adv Mothusi Lepheana and Dr. Bethuel Setai make up the team of community leaders which have been aptly named ‘Community Champions’ by the city.
As individuals who are already looked up at within their communities, the municipality is hopeful that the Community Champions will “bring pride and confidence to the city while remaining apolitical but serving the interest of to the city. They will also serve as the face of the city,” the EM said.
“We want you to understand and appreciate the dynamics we operate under; understand that managing the city is not about potholes only, but livelihoods as well. We want you to be able to come to us and say: ‘You are doing this wrongly or you are not doing what you are supposed to do’, so that we can look into that,” the Executive Mayor said at the Induction Session on Thursday, 31 January.
The Community Champions are expected to help bridge the gap between the rich and poor as well as the communication gap between the city and community members. It is expected that their role will help Mangaung reach its vision as a “progressive municipality that is globally safe and attractive to live, work and invest in”; and this will largely inform Mangaung’s GDS.
The induction session also included a presentation on key projects Mangaung is looking into which will not only bring about investment opportunities for the public but also better the lives of the citizens of Mangaung.
These include the Airport Node, Naval Hill redevelopment, N8 Corridor Development and the Bulk Water Supply project, some of which are already in progress.