The sixth in a series of Presidential District Development Model (DDM) Izimbizos will take place in Paarl on Friday 19 May at Dal Josaphat Stadium.
The Western Cape Imbizo follows the commitment made by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his 2023 State of the Nations Address that he would continue to lead the DDM Izimbizo and engage South Africans.
In a statement released by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Thembi Nkadimeng as chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Task Team responsible for the presidential imbizo, emphasised the importance of the District Development Model as an effective intergovernmental-relations instrument. The DDM engenders joint planning, budgeting and implementation as well as integrated monitoring and evaluation among government, business and civil society, especially women, youth and people with disabilities.
The minister explained the DDM, like all other government and society approaches, requires all spheres of government and social partners to work together to bring sustained development and growth to communities in an integrated manner.
“As a democratic government that listens and which values the voice of communities, we are imbued by the Presidential Imbizo as it provides an opportunity for communities and other stakeholders to engage directly with the President and government leadership across the three spheres,” Nkadimeng.
The imbizo will be attended by 4 000 community members of all five local municipalities, namely Breedevallei, Drakenstein, Langeberg, Stellenbosch and Witzenbberg.
For those who are not able to attend physically, various media platforms will give live coverage to the event, bringing the imbizo into people’s homes.
In it, communities will have an opportunity to speak to the President on key service-delivery issues so he can unblock any blockages.
He will be accompanied by members of the Executive from national, provincial and local spheres of government, and communities will know in real time what actions or interventions will be employed to address their concerns and issues they raised.
The DDM Imbizo will also offer members of the public access to government services within their proximity through mobile services and an exhibition staged by multiple government departments and agencies, including Home Affairs, SA Social Security Agency and so on.
“Government is committed to working with all sectors of society to move the country forward and the Presidential Imbizo in Cape Winelands is but one important milestone towards achieving our goal and building a comprehensive social compact of all involved in bringing a better life for South Africans,” Nkadimeng said.
