GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - The Garden Route District Council on Tuesday 30 March approved a document that articulates the Garden Route District's development path.
Executive manager for Planning and Economic Development, Lusanda Menze, said the Garden Route Growth and Development Strategy (GDS) is part of the Garden Route District Municipality's (GRDM) vision of changing the trajectory of the district's economy and building prosperity with equity.
The GDS was developed in collaboration with the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership (WCEDP).
"The Garden Route, similar to other parts of South Africa, continues to illustrate stark contrasts of spatial and economic circumstances. In fact, the haves and the have-nots are still living worlds apart, although in many instances, spatially less than a kilometre away from one another. It is for this reason that the GRDM spearheaded the process," said Menze.
The first stakeholder workshops took place on 29 and 30 October 2019, and the draft Garden Route GDS was presented to all Garden Route local government mayors and municipal managers on 11 February 2021. Menze said the process was delayed due to Covid-19.
The GDS encompasses a number of objectives. "One of these is a shared 20-year vision for the regional economy stretching until 2040, how to do things differently, and developing a common economic agenda to improve economic development."
The strategy is shaped by the profile and regional priorities of the district, which are divided into themes such as water secure future, circular economy, resilient agriculture, sustainable tourism, support for well-being and resilience, sustainable local energy transition and a connected economy.
"The document is further grounded in several core principles such as being people-centred, valuing cultures, preserving ecological heritage, approaching change collaboratively, being conscious of sustainable and resilient factors directly impacting the region, and good governance," said Menze.
"It would not have been possible without broad consultation, which greatly assisted the GRDM to build a collective and shared strategy for the region. It is an aspirational strategy, which would need to align to the GRDM five-year Integrated Development Plan (IDP) going forward."
Menze said the GDS frames the IDP and ventures the GRDM's long-term ambitions, strategies and decisions that will bring to effect the change the region wants to see by 2040.
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