President Cyril Ramaphosa will lead a District Development Model (DDM) Presidential Imbizo to Sedibeng in Gauteng on Friday, 12 August 2022.

Under the theme, Leave No One Behind, the Presidential Imbizo will take place at the Sharpeville Cricket Pitch, where leaders from all three spheres of government will interact with residents on service delivery challenges which communities have brought to government’s attention, as well plans for the development of this district.

In Sedibeng, as in all districts countrywide, the District Development Model is based on a “One District. One Plan” approach in which all three spheres of government and representatives of civil society jointly plan development.

This approach aims to address service delivery challenges, advance local procurement and create jobs in ways that promote social cohesion and economic opportunities in the 44 Districts and 8 Metros around the country.

The Sedibeng Presidential Imbizo will be the fourth interaction of this kind, following oversight visits by President Ramaphosa to the North West, Free State and Mpumalanga since his commitment in the February 2022 State of the Nation Address that he would engage with communities throughout South Africa.

The President will use the Sedibeng visit to assess progress in service delivery and in the implementation of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan.

The Sedibeng District Municipality comprises the Emfuleni, Midvaal and Lesedi local municipalities which all feature high levels of unemployment, skills shortages and aged water and sanitation infrastructure which results in sewer blockages, spillages, pump station breakdowns, water leaks and pipe bursts.

Government is responding with various actions, including a R700 million allocation to Rand Water to rehabilitate the Vaal sewer network. Funding is also being sourced to upgrade bulk infrastructure, such as electricity, roads, water and sewerage.

Major progress has been made towards the designation of the Vaal Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The provincial government has received commitments from local investors to the tune of R40 billion and the SEZ holds the potential to create 170 000 jobs over five years.

The special economic zone will ensure an increase in skilled labour, easy access to a strong consumer base and connectivity to suppliers and potential markets.

It will also promote export-orientated industries and local integration. More than 3 000 hectares of land has been secured across all the local municipalities in the Sedibeng District for the SEZ.

Growing Gauteng Together (GGT) 2030 has identified a number of catalytic investment projects in the Sedibeng District, such as :

o          The Savannah City housing development;

o          Vaal River City and the Vaal University Village precinct;

o          A cargo airport and logistics hub;

o          The Vaal Special Economic Zone;

o          The AB InBev investment project;

o          The Vaal Marina development and logistics and mining investments in Lesedi; and

o          The Gauteng Highlands projects.

The District Development Model prioritises social partnerships and collaboration with all sectors of society and communities in addressing service delivery obstructions.

For the Sedibeng event, members of the media are invited as follows:

Date:               Friday, 12 August 2022

Venue:           Sharpeville Cricket Pitch, Sedibeng District Municipality

Time:              10:00

NB: Members of media who have applied for accreditation to cover the forthcoming Presidential Imbizo are advised to collect accreditation cards as stated below.  All media personnel have to collect their own accreditation. They are to present their id cards /press cards to verify their identity when collecting their accreditation.

Details for the collection of media accreditation:

VENUE:        Sharpeville Library, Sedibeng in Gauteng Province

DATES:         Wednesday, 10 August 2022, 09h00 – 17h00

                       Thursday, 11 August 2022, 09h00 – 18h00

                      Friday, 12 August 2022, 08h00 – 10h00

Enquiries for accreditation should be directed to: Lerato Mdiya on 066 288 1251

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President on 082 835 6315

www.presidency.gov.za

Issued by Government Communications (GCIS) on behalf of The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa