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19 October 2006

The Western Cape government, in partnership with other spheres of government, will host more than 40 community Izimibizo across the province next week as part of National Imbizo Focus Week (NIFW).

NIFW will see Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Premiers, MECs, mayors, municipal managers and councillors visiting and interacting with communities across the country on wide-ranging issues relating to government's Programme of Action, with particular focus on Second Economy interventions.

"We will use NIFW to strengthen intergovernmental relations, introduce citizens to our growth and development strategies and programmes and lay a basis for placing delivery even higher up on the agenda," says Premier Ebrahim Rasool.

Most importantly, we are committed to hearing the voices of the people we are obliged to serve to the best of our ability, and will integrate their aspirations and ideas into our programmes.

The Imbizo Focus Week will seek to profile government's second economy programmes at all government levels, while calling on the local communities to take opportunities to change their lives.

The majority of events will take place within the broader framework of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) for communities to acquire better and relevant skills in order to partner with government to grow the economy by 6%, where all shall share.

To this end, the Imbizo Focus Week will provide a platform for government and communities to engage primarily on local economic development programmes, the implementation of their municipality plans as indicated in the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and five-year plans.

The theme for this Imbizo Week is "A National Effort for Faster and Shared Growth."

In the Western Cape, each Imbizo is expected to attract between 700 and 1 000 people. The Imibizo are designed to ensure maximum and meaningful participation by citizens. There will be a strong monitoring and evaluation thrust to ensure that the issues are well documented and that there is systematic follow-up in the weeks and months following the Imibizo.

The provincial programme is being driven by the Office of the Premier and the Department of Local Government and Housing. Various national and provincial departments are also organising Imibizo, alongside the programmes of municipalities.

The Imbizo Week programme will be available on the government website: http://www.gov.za or call 0800 142 446.

Enquiries: Shado Twala
Tel: (021) 483 5642
Fax: (021) 483 5636
Cell: 083 640 6771
E-mail: stwala@pgwc.gov.za

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Western Cape Provincial Government
19 October 2006