Premier

(a)(i) In response to increase in demand for partnering solutions from municipal, business, civil society, and research/ academic partners, the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership (EDP) has initiated additional programmes and initiatives during this financial year. The R2 million is specifically allocated to:

1. Philippi Horticulture Area (PHA) partnering programme
2. Circular waste economy partnering programme
3. Roundtable: Cape Town Commuter Rail system

    (ii) As above

        (b)(i) 2019: no funds were shifted from DotP for EDP purposes.

 (ii) 2020: Adjustments Estimate (2nd Adjustment): R1.5 million was shifted to

      Vote12: Economic Development and Tourism.

             (iii) 2021: Adjustments Estimate: R2.5 million was shifted to Vote 12: Economic  

                   Development and Tourism.

 (iv) 2022 to date: Adjustments Estimate: R2 million was shifted to Vote 12:  

       Economic Development and Tourism.

      (c) The EDP is mandated by its founding legislation to facilitate and encourage   

the formation of effective partnerships between a broad range of relevant stakeholders to address and enhance how all such stakeholders work together across the Western Cape. These partnerships are intended to contribute to economic recovery in the Western Cape and improve the livelihoods, safety and well-being of people living in the Western Cape within the broader context of integrated service delivery.

The following are examples of EDP achievements over the period under review:

• Water-related programmes: During the ‘Day Zero’ drought period, the EDP supported diverse communities to work together to save water and build social resilience under the slogan: ‘Connect, Communicate, Collaborate’. Subsequently, the EDP has worked with the stakeholders in the Western Cape Water Supply System (WCWSS), including the three spheres of government, agriculture and industry, supported by the 2030 Water Resources Group, to produce a Hydro-economic Study (HES) of the WCWSS, focusing on ways to improve the sustainablity of the system through improved governance. The EDP supports the City of Cape Town to deliver the City’s New Water Strategy. The work of the EDP with the Breede-Gouritz Catchment Management Agency and the Provincial Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning has resulted in a mature partnership between these two entities. A model for catchment management collaboration has been developed which has application around South Africa, and which has delivered a significantly improved set of processes and relationships related to the management of a specific resource in a defined area. These findings have been published in the Nov/ Dec edition of the WRC Water Wheel publication (pages 25-28).
   
• Garden Route Development Partnership: Previously known as the South Cape Economic Partnership (SCEP), the Garden Route Development Partnership (GRDP) is a platform facilitated by the EDP that brings together key public sector, private sector and civil society role players in the Garden Route District to collaborate meaningfully around key priorities for the region. Specifically, the GRDP supports the implementation of the Garden Route Growth and Development Strategy (and the associated Recovery Plan) developed by the WCEDP and adopted by the District Council in 2021. The EDP provides backbone support and capacitates partners towards effective collaboration. Lessons learned from the GRDP structure are shared to promote regional collaborative solutions for sustainable socio-economic development.

 

• Capacity-building with the Saldanha Bay Municipality: The EDP ran a series of engagements with the Executive Management Team of the Municipality, based on the EDP’s Partnering Capacity Assessment process. These engagements focused on the team’s culture, their communications approach, as well as the extent to which they act collaboratively. Two assessments of the team’s abilities were done, and the second indicated conclusively that the team’s approach and behaviour had altered significantly. The result of this work was improved collaboration, better-coordinated joint action, and improved service delivery for the municipality. The municipality have also explicitly recognised the value of the EDP work by requesting that the EDP continue with this process of capacity development and relationship building.

 

• The Western Cape Food Forum: this forum, convened by the EDP, is made up of respresentatives from 180 organisations, including individual organisations and networks of NGOs, FBOs, CBOs, ECDs, Community Action Networks, food kitchens, street committees, shelters, private business firms and organisations, together with food and nutrition researchers and policy advocates, and officials from the Western Cape Government, the City of Cape Town and other municipalities. The Forum focuses on local production for local consumption, and the work around food sustainability has attracted national attention, including being featured in the Trialogue Business in Society Handbook 2021. The EDP conducts regular food system learning journeys in local communities, which bring together practitioners, researchers and policy-makers to better understand how local food systems can be supported.

 

• District planning with the City of Cape Town: the City of Cape Town undertook a process to review the eight (8) district plans, namely the Cape Flats, Helderberg, Blaauwberg, Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain and Greater Blue Downs, Tygerberg, Table Bay, Northern and Southern. The purpose of these plans is to help shape the future development vision for the city through input from residents, business and other stakeholders. The role of the EDP was to explore the development of a responsive district spatial planning participation methodology that will engage all role-players in the revision of the District Spatial Development Plans for the City. The EDP successfully designed such a process and capacitated the District Planning team to implement significantly richer and more successful engagements, including adapting the approach as required.
• Coastal Park waste management project: Cape Town’s Coastal Park landfill site in greater Muizenberg is expected to reach capacity within five years. The City of Cape Town is therefore developing an integrated materials recovery facility at the site to extend the landfill’s operating life and promote the reuse of recyclable waste in the waste economy. The EDP is supporting the City with the development of partnering processes to enable the integration of communities from the surrounding neighbourhoods including Vrygrond, Hillview and Capricorn into the materials recovery facility and community drop-off soon to be constructed. Key stakeholders include other City departments, waste management and waste picker integration experts, non-profit organisations, local residents and local businesses. The project aims to maximise the potential of existing community assets and livelihood opportunities towards a circular economy and help advanced waste management processes in Cape Town more broadly.
• Growth Coalition: The EDP convenes a Food and Beverage Sector Growth Coalition on behalf of the City of Cape Town.
• Social Employment Fund (SEF): this national fund to the value of R800m, which was launched by the Industrial Development Corporation in June 2022, was co-designed by the EDP. This programme is aimed at creating up to 50 000 work opportunities. The participants are involved in work programmes which deliver social value in communities. The EDP convenes a Social Employment Support and Learning Network (SEN) as an independent learning and peer to peer support platform for the Strategic Implementation Partners (SIPs) to deepen the impact of the fund.
• The Adam Tas Corridor (ATC), Stellenbosch: The Stellenbosch Municipality and local landowners requested the EDP’s support for the ATC development project. This under-utilised stretch of land on the western edge of the town has the potential to integrate much-needed affordable housing, public space, schools, and non-motorised transport but is currently not well utilised. The EDP has been mandated to ensure the public interest is served through a partnering process. The EDP has established a public-private Land Owners Collective (LOC) to lead development in the Corridor.
• The EDP, with seven support partners, convenes the Towns Action Network (TAN), which supports the regeneration of small towns in South Africa. Over 250 representatives from around 110 organisations have joined TAN since its launch in March 2022.
• The EDP has produced a Partnering Implementation Model on behalf of the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) to support the implementation of the national Just Transition Plan.