Sprucing up Mthatha: How Disparate Role-Players Joined Hands to Plan Ahead
By Nontlantla Skenjana
Before the 1994 democratic elections in South Africa, Mthatha used to be the capital city of the former Transkei ‘homeland’ and it had a thriving economy. It hosted government departments and was a popular stop-over city between Durban, East London, Queenstown and other surrounding areas. Through the process of democracy, however, homelands were done away with. Most government departments moved to Bhisho as a result, and Mthatha’s downfall began.
Mthatha degenerated into a city of potholes, bad drivers, outdated sewerage systems, electricity and water outages and dilapidated buildings. The once majestic Mthatha River is now home to alien vegetation and raw effluent. The water is dirty and polluted, and the overgrown bushes on the banks have become havens for pickpockets and thieves. The people of Mthatha often have to go for extended periods without water, and sewerage spills are a constant sight.
The roads are congested with cars, pedestrians and informal traders. Parking has become a nightmare as one may have to go around a block three times, if not more, before finding an empty parking space. The main roads are also constantly overcrowded with trucks offloading supplies to numerous hardware stores in Maderia Street, which is also the main street connecting to the N2. And Mthatha is chiefly a pedestrian town. To make matters worse, the land is locked by the surrounding rural areas, whose land claims constrain the expansion of the city.
Mthatha’s economy is highly dependent on community and government services and a host of informal trading markets. Walking down the main streets, your ears are assaulted by shouts about a sale on one corner and loud music on another, all the while navigating your way around the hawkers’ stands and hardware store supplies offloaded on pavements. Unemployment is rife and in large part to blame for the emergence of a huge informal sector.
Leadership Woes
There are three levels of leadership in Mthatha: the local municipality, the district municipality and the traditional leadership. Tension between the three levels is tangible and runs high. There was a general concern amongst the leadership regarding the lack of cooperation and support between the council members, with the King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) Local Municipality being the most affected. KSD is dependent on the district for the provision of significant infrastructure services, while the traditional leadership with the support of communities is claiming land that has previously been assumed to be part of the urban landmark. The people of Mthatha have been hard hit by this tension, and disagreements over the lack of service delivery can be attributed as the main cause. The people of Mthatha are discouraged, disillusioned, disgruntled and dispassionate about progress in the area and the querulous political leadership.
Many have left Mthatha to seek employment elsewhere; others have left because of the living conditions. Those that remain do so with the hope that something good will still come from the old capital city of the Transkei.
Evidence of Development
These observations confirm that it would be a herculean task to try to rescue the town, despite a growing population that continues to rely on Mthatha for economic activity. It is these realities that led to the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) being mandated to support the Urban Renewal Programme in Ngangelizwe Township by making Mthatha a pilot project for the Sustainable Communities Study. This process led to the appointment of a technical team, called the Sustainable Mthatha Consortium, led by City Think Space (an urban development consultancy firm), to put together the Mthatha Sustainable Development Plan. This plan constitutes a twenty year strategy adopted by the KSD Municipality, the community and all stakeholders as the Master Plan of Mthatha.
The DBSA adopted the Sustainable Communities planning methodology that utilises participatory development planning processes to ensure the participation of all stakeholders in development and their commitment to development through the social charter. To achieve this, the DBSA appointed Afesis-corplan, an NGO based in East London, to render social facilitation services in the process. The process ensured that Afesis-corplan maintained its independence in the process to work hand in hand with the technical team in ensuring the participation of all stakeholders. A situation analysis was conducted with the technical team as a basis of the planning process. The team packaged the situation in Mthatha into five themes that everyone would be able to work with to ensure the sustainability of the area namely: People, Home, Street, River and Market Systems. The plan flows according to these systems at each level of planning.
Afesis-corplan was responsible for stakeholder and community mobilisation behind the plan and the social facilitation of the process. Key to the process of development facilitation was the following:
A) Ensuring that key stakeholders are partners with the local municipality in the development of the plan and commit to support its implementation
Key stakeholders were identified, with the assistance of the municipality, namely the traditional leadership of AbaThembu, OR Tambo District Municipality, the community and representatives of civil society groups.
With the unfavourable relationship between the municipality and the king, it was a challenge to get access to the king. However, after a number of attempts and strategies, Afesis-corplan was able to present the process to the king. Introductory meetings were held with the participation of the municipality, DBSA and the technical team. Follow up workshops were held with members of the traditional authority to make inputs into the plan at Bumbane Great Place. The king and his advisors showed great enthusiasm and support for the project, going the extra mile to ensure that their views were included in the final draft.
OR Tambo District Municipality also had to be consulted as a major stakeholder in the process. Primarily, the Municipal Structures Act has clear guidelines in relation to the participation of the districts in the affairs of the local municipalities, and the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act requires that all spheres of government should work together in planning service delivery. This is quite important in the case of Mthatha, because the district is responsible for the delivery of infrastructure in the KSD Local Municipality. This means that whatever plans are made on infrastructure, the district must commit to their implementation. The team worked very closely with the Infrastructure Unit under Councillor Nduku who provided all the relevant information and made constructive inputs in the process of compiling the plan. This process assisted in establishing working committees between the two spheres of local government in support of the approved Master Plan.
The purpose of involving civil society groups in the planning process was to enhance the quality of engagements and to facilitate the representation of minority groups and sector specific inputs in the Plan. Civil society was represented by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO), Community-Based Organisations (CBO), Faith-Based Organisations (FBO), including traditional healers, the youth, women, people with special needs and business (formal and informal). There was a lot of interest in the plan from the business sector with much participation from Nafcoc, the African Hawkers Association and the transport sector (taxis and buses), particularly in the Street and Market Systems. NGOs, CBOs and FBOs seemed to have a keen interest on the River and Home Systems. Interesting engagements were held at all levels and added real value to the planning process.
B) Ensuring that all stakeholders are represented in planning forums as identified
The facilitation process as alluded above, entailed mobilisation and facilitation. The mobilisation process took place at sector and community levels. Various meetings and focus groups were held with different stakeholders to make inputs to specific areas of development and then a stakeholder workshop was held to consolidate inputs and allow for broad discussions. The following workshops were held up to the adoption of the plan by the municipality:
Situational Analysis Workshop: This process allowed all participants to make inputs into the current socio-economic and technical status of the area. This was done using participatory research tools and approaches.
The Visioning Exercise: This process allowed the participants to establish their vision for the KSD Functional Urban Areas spanning two decades for each of the identified systems.
The Development Planning Workshop: This process elicited inputs from stakeholders on what should be in the plan and their priorities to assist the technical team in conceptualising the plan.
The Sustainable Development Plan Review and Awareness Process: A workshop was held to go through the plan and make inputs on whether it reflected the views of the stakeholders; amendments were submitted to the technical team. Workshops were held with the management of the municipality, the mayoral committee and its councillors. These were to outline the contents of the plan and to receive inputs from the leadership of the municipality so that they could be accommodated in the final document. A final workshop was held once amendments were made before the plan was taken to council for approval on 31 March 2009. It was heart-warming to see the leadership taking ownership of the plan and being able to articulate it. These workshops were the beginning of many more engagements that have since been facilitated by the municipality in the implementation process.
Development Charter Process: This process entailed identifying all stakeholders, their roles and responsibilities, and their commitments, putting these together with the vision and coming up with an implementation mechanism and its role. It involved consultation with all stakeholders at different levels and in collective forums. Various workshops were held with communities, stakeholder groups, OR Tambo and the kingdom of AbaThembu. It was exciting to see the eagerness of the stakeholder groups in identifying which areas they could participate in and what responsibilities they were to assume. This process led to the signing of the Charter on 02 September 2009, with all stakeholders represented, including the Province, DBSA and a national representation. The provincial leadership, led by Premier Noxolo Kiviet graced the occasion and gave a strong backing to the Plan.
[sub-heading] C) Depoliticising the development planning process and ensuring that all affected communities are aware of the planning process and their responsibility to participate fully
The project covered Wards 1 to 11 and 13 in Mthatha and Ward 29 in Mqanduli. The facilitators utilised existing structures to facilitate community engagements through Ward Councillors and Ward Committees. A Working Group with representation from each ward and each stakeholder group was formed to assist in the mobilisation process. There was a great commitment from this team and it assisted the facilitation process. A number of community meetings were held in each of the wards to create awareness of the project, update communities on the process and encourage greater participation of communities in stakeholder forums. The use of independent facilitators helped greatly in getting inputs from communities as the political climate was very sensitive leading up to the national elections.
To Sum It Up
The development facilitation process has been challenging, exciting, consuming and created much needed hope in Mthatha. The municipality has adopted the sustainability principles, as reflected in the Sustainable Development Plan, committing itself to working together with all the partners in ensuring that the vision of Mthatha is realised. Various stakeholders and interest groups have pledged their support for the process on paper and in action.
The charter signing ceremony illustrated that the people of Mthatha are united in wanting to see development in their area. A lot of activity is taking place as a result, such as the renovations of the sewerage plant, the rehabilitation of the old Transido Park in Ngangelizwe and the renovations and upgrade of the Ngangelizwe Clinic. The plan has become the talk of town and is the embodiment of hope for boosting the economy of the municipal area. What is also unique and encouraging in Mthatha is to see how the municipality’s leadership has owned the process and how they are running with it. The Mayor, Honourable S Mlamli, and Municipal Manager, Mr Monde Tom, have bought into the vision and are at the forefront of entrenching and integrating it to the current planning processes of the municipality. The plan is now central to the municipality’s IDP.
Much work still needs to be done to entrench sustainability principles in the communities, for all stakeholders to take part in the implementation and realisation of the plan, to have everyone play a positive role in making the old city a better place to live in from this generation forth, and for this generation to be remembered as the generation that chose to stand up and make the difference. The plan may require a lot of investment internally and externally, but it can only happen if the people of Mthatha are willing to make it happen.
Before the 1994 democratic elections in South Africa, Mthatha used to be the capital city of the former Transkei ‘homeland’ and it had a thriving economy. It hosted government departments and was a popular stop-over city between Durban, East London, Queenstown and other surrounding areas. Through the process of democracy, however, homelands were done away with. Most government departments moved to Bhisho as a result, and Mthatha’s downfall began.
Mthatha degenerated into a city of potholes, bad drivers, outdated sewerage systems, electricity and water outages and dilapidated buildings. The once majestic Mthatha River is now home to alien vegetation and raw effluent. The water is dirty and polluted, and the overgrown bushes on the banks have become havens for pickpockets and thieves. The people of Mthatha often have to go for extended periods without water, and sewerage spills are a constant sight.
The roads are congested with cars, pedestrians and informal traders. Parking has become a nightmare as one may have to go around a block three times, if not more, before finding an empty parking space. The main roads are also constantly overcrowded with trucks offloading supplies to numerous hardware stores in Maderia Street, which is also the main street connecting to the N2. And Mthatha is chiefly a pedestrian town. To make matters worse, the land is locked by the surrounding rural areas, whose land claims constrain the expansion of the city.
Mthatha’s economy is highly dependent on community and government services and a host of informal trading markets. Walking down the main streets, your ears are assaulted by shouts about a sale on one corner and loud music on another, all the while navigating your way around the hawkers’ stands and hardware store supplies offloaded on pavements. Unemployment is rife and in large part to blame for the emergence of a huge informal sector.
Leadership Woes
There are three levels of leadership in Mthatha: the local municipality, the district municipality and the traditional leadership. Tension between the three levels is tangible and runs high. There was a general concern amongst the leadership regarding the lack of cooperation and support between the council members, with the King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) Local Municipality being the most affected. KSD is dependent on the district for the provision of significant infrastructure services, while the traditional leadership with the support of communities is claiming land that has previously been assumed to be part of the urban landmark. The people of Mthatha have been hard hit by this tension, and disagreements over the lack of service delivery can be attributed as the main cause. The people of Mthatha are discouraged, disillusioned, disgruntled and dispassionate about progress in the area and the querulous political leadership.
Many have left Mthatha to seek employment elsewhere; others have left because of the living conditions. Those that remain do so with the hope that something good will still come from the old capital city of the Transkei.
Evidence of Development
These observations confirm that it would be a herculean task to try to rescue the town, despite a growing population that continues to rely on Mthatha for economic activity. It is these realities that led to the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) being mandated to support the Urban Renewal Programme in Ngangelizwe Township by making Mthatha a pilot project for the Sustainable Communities Study. This process led to the appointment of a technical team, called the Sustainable Mthatha Consortium, led by City Think Space (an urban development consultancy firm), to put together the Mthatha Sustainable Development Plan. This plan constitutes a twenty year strategy adopted by the KSD Municipality, the community and all stakeholders as the Master Plan of Mthatha.
The DBSA adopted the Sustainable Communities planning methodology that utilises participatory development planning processes to ensure the participation of all stakeholders in development and their commitment to development through the social charter. To achieve this, the DBSA appointed Afesis-corplan, an NGO based in East London, to render social facilitation services in the process. The process ensured that Afesis-corplan maintained its independence in the process to work hand in hand with the technical team in ensuring the participation of all stakeholders. A situation analysis was conducted with the technical team as a basis of the planning process. The team packaged the situation in Mthatha into five themes that everyone would be able to work with to ensure the sustainability of the area namely: People, Home, Street, River and Market Systems. The plan flows according to these systems at each level of planning.
Afesis-corplan was responsible for stakeholder and community mobilisation behind the plan and the social facilitation of the process. Key to the process of development facilitation was the following:
A) Ensuring that key stakeholders are partners with the local municipality in the development of the plan and commit to support its implementation
Key stakeholders were identified, with the assistance of the municipality, namely the traditional leadership of AbaThembu, OR Tambo District Municipality, the community and representatives of civil society groups.
With the unfavourable relationship between the municipality and the king, it was a challenge to get access to the king. However, after a number of attempts and strategies, Afesis-corplan was able to present the process to the king. Introductory meetings were held with the participation of the municipality, DBSA and the technical team. Follow up workshops were held with members of the traditional authority to make inputs into the plan at Bumbane Great Place. The king and his advisors showed great enthusiasm and support for the project, going the extra mile to ensure that their views were included in the final draft.
OR Tambo District Municipality also had to be consulted as a major stakeholder in the process. Primarily, the Municipal Structures Act has clear guidelines in relation to the participation of the districts in the affairs of the local municipalities, and the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act requires that all spheres of government should work together in planning service delivery. This is quite important in the case of Mthatha, because the district is responsible for the delivery of infrastructure in the KSD Local Municipality. This means that whatever plans are made on infrastructure, the district must commit to their implementation. The team worked very closely with the Infrastructure Unit under Councillor Nduku who provided all the relevant information and made constructive inputs in the process of compiling the plan. This process assisted in establishing working committees between the two spheres of local government in support of the approved Master Plan.
The purpose of involving civil society groups in the planning process was to enhance the quality of engagements and to facilitate the representation of minority groups and sector specific inputs in the Plan. Civil society was represented by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO), Community-Based Organisations (CBO), Faith-Based Organisations (FBO), including traditional healers, the youth, women, people with special needs and business (formal and informal). There was a lot of interest in the plan from the business sector with much participation from Nafcoc, the African Hawkers Association and the transport sector (taxis and buses), particularly in the Street and Market Systems. NGOs, CBOs and FBOs seemed to have a keen interest on the River and Home Systems. Interesting engagements were held at all levels and added real value to the planning process.
B) Ensuring that all stakeholders are represented in planning forums as identified
The facilitation process as alluded above, entailed mobilisation and facilitation. The mobilisation process took place at sector and community levels. Various meetings and focus groups were held with different stakeholders to make inputs to specific areas of development and then a stakeholder workshop was held to consolidate inputs and allow for broad discussions. The following workshops were held up to the adoption of the plan by the municipality:
Situational Analysis Workshop: This process allowed all participants to make inputs into the current socio-economic and technical status of the area. This was done using participatory research tools and approaches.
The Visioning Exercise: This process allowed the participants to establish their vision for the KSD Functional Urban Areas spanning two decades for each of the identified systems.
The Development Planning Workshop: This process elicited inputs from stakeholders on what should be in the plan and their priorities to assist the technical team in conceptualising the plan.
The Sustainable Development Plan Review and Awareness Process: A workshop was held to go through the plan and make inputs on whether it reflected the views of the stakeholders; amendments were submitted to the technical team. Workshops were held with the management of the municipality, the mayoral committee and its councillors. These were to outline the contents of the plan and to receive inputs from the leadership of the municipality so that they could be accommodated in the final document. A final workshop was held once amendments were made before the plan was taken to council for approval on 31 March 2009. It was heart-warming to see the leadership taking ownership of the plan and being able to articulate it. These workshops were the beginning of many more engagements that have since been facilitated by the municipality in the implementation process.
Development Charter Process: This process entailed identifying all stakeholders, their roles and responsibilities, and their commitments, putting these together with the vision and coming up with an implementation mechanism and its role. It involved consultation with all stakeholders at different levels and in collective forums. Various workshops were held with communities, stakeholder groups, OR Tambo and the kingdom of AbaThembu. It was exciting to see the eagerness of the stakeholder groups in identifying which areas they could participate in and what responsibilities they were to assume. This process led to the signing of the Charter on 02 September 2009, with all stakeholders represented, including the Province, DBSA and a national representation. The provincial leadership, led by Premier Noxolo Kiviet graced the occasion and gave a strong backing to the Plan.
[sub-heading] C) Depoliticising the development planning process and ensuring that all affected communities are aware of the planning process and their responsibility to participate fully
The project covered Wards 1 to 11 and 13 in Mthatha and Ward 29 in Mqanduli. The facilitators utilised existing structures to facilitate community engagements through Ward Councillors and Ward Committees. A Working Group with representation from each ward and each stakeholder group was formed to assist in the mobilisation process. There was a great commitment from this team and it assisted the facilitation process. A number of community meetings were held in each of the wards to create awareness of the project, update communities on the process and encourage greater participation of communities in stakeholder forums. The use of independent facilitators helped greatly in getting inputs from communities as the political climate was very sensitive leading up to the national elections.
To Sum It Up
The development facilitation process has been challenging, exciting, consuming and created much needed hope in Mthatha. The municipality has adopted the sustainability principles, as reflected in the Sustainable Development Plan, committing itself to working together with all the partners in ensuring that the vision of Mthatha is realised. Various stakeholders and interest groups have pledged their support for the process on paper and in action.
The charter signing ceremony illustrated that the people of Mthatha are united in wanting to see development in their area. A lot of activity is taking place as a result, such as the renovations of the sewerage plant, the rehabilitation of the old Transido Park in Ngangelizwe and the renovations and upgrade of the Ngangelizwe Clinic. The plan has become the talk of town and is the embodiment of hope for boosting the economy of the municipal area. What is also unique and encouraging in Mthatha is to see how the municipality’s leadership has owned the process and how they are running with it. The Mayor, Honourable S Mlamli, and Municipal Manager, Mr Monde Tom, have bought into the vision and are at the forefront of entrenching and integrating it to the current planning processes of the municipality. The plan is now central to the municipality’s IDP.
Much work still needs to be done to entrench sustainability principles in the communities, for all stakeholders to take part in the implementation and realisation of the plan, to have everyone play a positive role in making the old city a better place to live in from this generation forth, and for this generation to be remembered as the generation that chose to stand up and make the difference. The plan may require a lot of investment internally and externally, but it can only happen if the people of Mthatha are willing to make it happen.