Karoo Region Small Town Regeneration and Regional Economic Development Conference 07-08 April 2016: Beaufort West. Reflection on Outcomes 15 June 2016
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Karoo Region Small Town Regeneration and Regional Economic
Development Conference
07-08 April 2016: Beaufort West.
Reflection on Outcomes
15 June 2016
Contents
1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 3
2. Conference Aims and Objectives ................................................................................................ 4
3. Conference Discussion ............................................................................................................... 5
4. Conclusion and Way Forward................................................................................................... 10
Addendum 1: List of Presentations .................................................................................................. 11
Addendum 2: Conference Issues and Questions .............................................................................. 13
Addendum 3: Draft Karoo Small Town Regeneration and Regional Economic Development
Conference Declaration ................................................................................................................... 17
Addendum 4: List of Municipalities with towns invited to attend the conference ............................ 20
Addendum 5: Conference Presentations and Documents ................................................................ 21
Table of Figures
Figure 1: Map of Municipalities Invited to Participate in Karoo Conference ....................................... 4
Figure 2: Greater Karoo Biophysical Region in relation to other Regions ............................................ 6
The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) drives the Small Town
Regeneration (STR) Programme as one of its strategic initiatives in partnership with a
number of municipalities. Although there has been increasing trends towards
urbanisation, small towns continue to play an important role in the space economy of
South Africa as socio-economic service points, employment hubs and areas for
housing provision. They effectively link the rural and urban economies, which provide
opportunities for growth and development.
1. Introduction
In light of the above, The Karoo Region Small Town Regeneration and Regional
Economic Development Conference was convened by the SALGA in partnership with
district and local municipalities from the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape
and Free State that are located in the Karoo biophysical region. In addition to the
Karoo municipalities, the following key stakeholders also participated in the
Conference:
Development Bank of Southern Africa;
National Treasury (Government Technical Advisory Centre);
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research;
Karoo Development Foundation;
National Department of Tourism;
Department of Rural Development and Land Reform;
Western Cape Department of Agriculture;
Aurecon Group;
SMEC;
Council of Geoscience; and
Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning.
The theme of the conference was “Small Towns, New Futures: Karoo Region”, which
highlighted the role of small towns in the Karoo region as places of significant
economic and social opportunity. The conference endeavoured to formulate an
overall vision and discuss strategies that would place small towns on a new growth
trajectory. The two-day conference included a plenary with presentations, four
commissions and a buzz session. The commissions covered four topics, namely, 1)
tourism; 2) agriculture; 3) infrastructure; and 3) shale gas fracking, mining and uranium.
The buzz session included discussions on the contents of the plenary presentations and
possible solutions to the challenges facing the Karoo region.
Figure 1 Map of Municipalities Participating in Karoo Conference
2. Conference Aims and Objectives
The conference participants agreed on the need to pursue the following aims and
objectives:
Organising a Platform
- Lay a foundation and create a political and technical platform for all the role
players to come together and discuss an overall vision and explore strategies
for the Karoo region.
Situational Analysis
- Determine the challenges, trends and opportunities common to all districts
within the Karoo region.
- Focus on the contribution of small towns to the economic growth of the Karoo
region.
- Identify possible investment opportunities within the Karoo region.
Strategy Development
- Explore the full spectrum of economic opportunities for the Karoo region.
- Initiate an exchange of information and ideas that will help to realise the
Karoo’s economic potential, using small towns as the focal point of
investigation.
- Influence government to prioritise planning in small towns, and identify roles for
key stakeholders such as business and governmental agencies. This process is
especially important given the long-term decline in agricultural output and
continued increase in population size.
- Explore additional avenues of revenue generation given the growth in the
population in small towns and its dependence on the agricultural sector.
- Coordinate economic development plans of sector departments and
development agencies in the region.
- Establish Karoo economic development sub-regions, corridors and networks.
- Facilitate learning and knowledge exchange through research done by
academic institutions involved with projects in the Karoo region.
Best Practice
- Explore best practice models of shared services between municipalities and
provinces in the region.
Implementation
- Coordinate key national and provincial public investment in the region.
- Develop and institutionalise economic development action plans located in
the integrated development plans (IDP’s) of participating municipalities.
- Share resources, skills and knowledge within the Karoo region,
- Strengthen Intergovernmental Government Relations between provinces,
municipalities and national government.
Key issues and challenges related to these objectives were discussed at the
conference. A key objective of the conference was to explore and initiate a process
that will result in the development of a practical Strategic Action Plan with timeframes
for the Karoo region.
3. Conference Discussion
A wide range of issues was discussed at the conference, details of these are captured
in the presentations available on the SALGA website1 www.SALGA.org.za.
Presentations delivered at the conference are listed in Addendum 1, while Addendum
2 summarises the key issues and questions discussed. The following provides an
overview of the issues raised:
1 Alternatively at the following url: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ouo7mg6x9nxl067/AAAn5ToVQw-
8yWUuDZz2xu5Ba?dl=0/
Karoo Study Area and Rationale
Discussions focussed on how the Karoo as a region should be demarcated and
participants noted that there is difficulty in defining the study area.
The rationale for a regional approach was strongly motivated by conference
participants and this should include ecological realities and continuities;
economic and markets transcending provincial boundaries; the cross-
boundary dynamics of poverty; cultural similarities within the Karoo region; the
need to co-ordinate large investments; the need for regional branding, etc.
It was agreed that the Greater Karoo Biophysical region should be the point of
departure and include municipalities and towns located within the Western
Cape, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Free State (See Figure 1).
The definition of the geographic region should, however, be multi-dimensional
and include also economic, functional, cultural, historical, town size and role,
administrative and other relevant considerations.
There is a need to identify clear criteria to determine the geographical area to
be included in a Karoo Strategic Action Plan.
Figure 2: Greater Karoo Biophysical Region in relation to other Regions
Situational Analysis
The socio-economic conditions of the Karoo were extensively discussed with
information sourced from the Municipal Barometer, the CSIR, Quantec Research
and StepSA. The presentations and discussions centred on issues such as:
Demographic
- Population size, growth, geographic concentrations and migration
dynamics;
- Household size; education and literacy levels; and
- Access to basic services, amongst other indicators, etc.
Urban Settlements
- The range and growth rate of small towns;
- The urban –rural continuum;
- The role of towns in terms of economic production, regional and national
economic networks; growing government and social services;
- Areas of vulnerabilities, work force, etc.
Economy
- Economic performance; gross regional product, gross value addition;
- Economic growth and distribution between urban settlements and rural
areas;
- Economic sector contributions by municipality; diversity and comparative
advantage; location quotient;
- Agricultural and manufacturing production areas;
- Areas of wholesale, retail and trade concentrations;
- Labour market structure and trends;
- Level of concentration, tress Index;
- Household consumption, expenditure and savings;
- Value chain analysis and local value addition;
- Availability of business data and related information;
- Impact of 6 monthly ‘boom and bust’ business cycle;
- Extent and distribution of unemployment and poverty;
- Service delivery, utilities and infrastructure, etc.
Budgets
- Capital budgets and spending in the Karoo Region and small towns;
- National, provincial and municipal budgets, etc.
Institutional
- Institutional arrangements between various spheres of government.
It was recognised that although significant analysis has been undertaken, gaps
exists and further assessment, interpretation and understanding is required of the
challenges, constrains and opportunities for the Karoo region.
Best Practice
Some of the best practices discussed included the following:
Lessons from small town development;
The Integrated Wild Coast Development Strategy.
Issues that Inform the formulation of interventions for the Karoo Region
A wide range of economic, environmental and spatial issues were discussed that
should inform the development of a regional economic/spatial development
framework for the Karoo region. The preparation and implementation of a Small
Town Development Strategy for the Karoo must be consensus based and requires
therefore community and public sector support and flexibility in terms of focussing
on the future. The environmental assets must be identified and the impact of
economic activities on the environment needs to be assessed. The development
of urban areas needs to be integrated in a manner that enables each town to
serve a functional purpose within the value chain. Issues discussed that are of
strategy importance included the following:
Environmental conservation, tourism growth and development in terms of the
Karoo’s unique assets and opportunities;
Growing agriculture and agri-processing;
Shale gas fracking;
Utilising available vacant land and associated infrastructure development;
Addressing crime issues;
Beaufort West as manufacturing hub;
Shared service provisions across municipal boundaries;
Provision of regional public facilities such as hospitals;
Community development including job creation for locals;
Mitigating actions to minimise negative impact of foreign businesses;
Investment from national and provincial government;
Partnerships with institutions of higher learning;
Human resource development;
High speed data connectivity;
Impact of planning procedures especially on small and local business;
Beaufort West airport;
Role of local railways;
Etc.
Implementation
Issues discussed with regard to implementation included the following:
Stakeholder co-operation across provincial and municipal boundaries;
Public-private partnerships focussing on heritage or historical aspects;
The role of the Karoo Development Foundation;
Municipal support ecosystem;
Infrastructure support;
Financial management support and political stability;
Intergovernmental co-operation, performance and delivery;
Partnerships with the private sector;
Role of national policy in local government;
Revenue generation;
Etc.
Some of the existing projects discussed included the following:
Municipal Infrastructure Grant projects;
Agri-parks;
Karoo Development Agency projects; and
Renewable energy hub;
4. Conclusion and Way Forward
The conference was able to mobilise the resources of all spheres of government and
secure the support of various not-for-profit organisations and academic institutions.
Some of the key actions identified to take the process forward included the following:
Establish a vehicle to implement outcomes of the conference;
Developing a Strategic Action Plan for the Karoo; and
Mobilising the private sector to actively participate in the development of the
Karoo region.
The conference concluded with the 2016 Karoo Region Declaration2.
2 See addendum 3
Addendum 1: List of Presentations
Presentation Title Organisation Presenter Type
1 Municipal Support for Small
Town Development
GTAC (National
Treasury)
Sharon Lewis Main
Presentation
2 Central Karoo District Situation
and Socio- Economic
Overview
SALGA Rachel Manxeba Main
Presentation
3 Spatial indicators & trends to
support small town and
economic development,
Spatial Planning and Systems,
CSIR and SALGA Collaboration
StepSA Elsona van
Huyssteen,
Mawande Ngidi
Main
Presentation
4 Public Sector Economic
Infrastructure Investment by
National & Provincial
governments for the Broader
Karoo Region
MISA Nomaza Nkopane Main
Presentation
5 Karoo regional discussions:
Conferences, Parliaments and
Workshops 2008-2015, and the
way forward
Karoo
Development
Foundation
Doreen Atkinson Main
Presentation
6 Unlocking Domestic Tourism
Growth in South Africa
Department of
Tourism
A McMaster Commission 1:
Tourism
Karoo Tourism: Trends,
Challenges and Opportunities.
Karoo
Development
Foundation
J.M. Maguire Commission 1:
Tourism
7 Karoo tourism: Trends and
Options
Karoo
Development
Foundation
Doreen Atkinson Commission 1:
Tourism
8 Agri-Parks (?) Department of
Rural Development
and Land Reform
Lubabalo Mbekeni Commission 2:
Agriculture
9 An Agricultural Strategy for the
Karoo: Some Perspectives
Western Cape
Government:
Agriculture
DP Troskie Commission 2:
Agriculture
10 Karoo Meat of Origin Project Northern Cape
Government:
Agriculture, Land
Reform and Rural
Development
Andre Swart Commission 2:
Agriculture
11 Pixley ka Seme District
Renewable Energy Hub and
Economic Nodes: Setting the
District on a Growth Path
Karoo
Development
Foundation
Sindisile Madyo Commission 3:
Infrastructure
12 Greater Karoo Initiative: Case
study for the application of
Integrated Strategic and
Infrastructure Planning
Aurecon Johan Van Den Berg Commission 3:
Infrastructure
13 Growing a Focused,
Sustainable and
Developmental DBSA
Development Bank
of Southern Africa
Lungile Mashele Commission 3:
Infrastructure
14 Uranium Mining (?) Peninsula Energy
Limited
George van der
Walt
Commission 4:
Shale Gas
Fracking,
Mining and
Uranium
17 Shale Gas Council for
Geoscience
Muvhuso Musetsho Commission 4:
Shale Gas
Fracking,
Mining and
Uranium
18 Strategic Environmental
Assessment for
Shale Gas Development
Process Overview
CSIR, SANBI,
Council for
Geoscience
Greg Schreiner Commission 4:
Shale Gas
Fracking,
Mining and
Uranium
Addendum 2: Conference Issues and Questions
Plenary and Commissions
Role of Municipalities
Can Municipalities be amalgamated?
Which attributes lead to under-spending?
What is cause of people moving out of rural areas”
Is there a duplication of activities from the various stakeholders?
What support do municipalities get from MISA as opposed to COGTA?
Role of Small Towns
What can be done to future-proof towns in the face of increasing natural resource
constraints? (E.g. the need to re-align planning for infrastructure with global trends and
innovations).
How to deal with potentially irreversible trends in declining economies and
populations?
How to manage peak season service demands in a cost-effective way?
How to build a distinct brand and identity for a town?
What are the minimum service standards that must be maintained before considering
growth strategies (e.g. back-to-basics and beyond)?
What can be done to initiate and sustain partnerships?
Shale Gas Fracking, Mining and Uranium
Some municipalities do not have by-laws to regulate mining.
The Peer –Reviewed studies shows that there is no consensus on the impact.
Small towns do not get benefits from mining activities and mining companies.
Municipal development should be prioritised.
When mining activities begin, there is a huge in-migration of people. When the mining
comes to end, the municipality has to deal with high levels of unemployment.
Studies show that the negative impacts of on health are not because of the mining
itself, but because of bad practises by mining companies.
South Africa needs fracking because of energy concerns.
More information and discussions on mining is needed before a final decision can be
made.
Water is a core concern and what needs to be addressed is how to deal with the
cumulative impact of mining activity.
There is not enough water and the community will have to compete for water with the
mining companies
Technology exists that allows mining projects to be waterless.
An estimated 80% of jobs for low skilled workers are short term, while mining is mostly a
highly skilled activity.
Mining companies take the money out of the community and the BEE partners are not
from the area in which they mine.
There is a need for persons with skills and resources, which are not available in Beaufort
West.
There needs to be an open dialogue with the local business community about
beneficiation.
Buzz Session
Buzz 1
There is no value chain because the districts only focus on the extraction of raw
materials within the sectors like agriculture.
The investment from national and provincial Government is not sufficient.
Buzz 2
The different spheres of government should strive to eliminate the duplication of
activities through inter-sphere co-operation that can be done by, for example,
encouraging all relevant stakeholders to participate in the IDP sessions.
An example of duplication is if both the MEC and Mayor announced the
commencement of similar projects, resulting in 2 separate projects with the same
objectives.
Buzz 3
The different spheres of government must work together to improve the performance
of deliverables.
This should include inter-municipal co-operation, regional planning, a regional Social
Charter, joint IDPs, cross-boundary networking, joint MIG applications.
There should also be partnerships with institutions of higher learning.
Buzz 4
There is a great “small town vibe” in Beaufort West that can be harnessed.
Despite the vast amounts of open space, there is no enabling infrastructure for
investment.
Buzz 5
The potential of the Karoo area to attract investors in public-private partnerships (PPP)
should be unleashed.
This can be done by emphasising the heritage or historical aspects of any particular
area, improving infrastructure and addressing issues of crime.
Buzz 6
The towns are only economically active for 6 months and economically inactive for the
next 6 months; they go through 6-month ‘boom and bust’ business cycle.
The funding model does not provide enough money to assist with developing the area.
Small towns cannot attract critical staff.
Buzz 7
As the centre of the region, Beaufort West can act as a tourist hub of connectivity to
different provinces.
However, this might be misconstrued as Beaufort West centric- attempt to centralise
resources and opportunities in the largest town and marginalising the rest of the Karoo.
One way of addressing crime is to develop an App that tracks crime stats. However
this could result in economic marginalisation of poor areas perceived as crime
hotspots.
Buzz 8
A regional development framework for Ghariep was developed which can be seen as
a ‘charter for social development’.
One of the key aspects is to encourage stakeholders to abandon the ‘silo’ mentality.
In other words, they should co-operate across boundaries instead of prioritising their
area specific region to establish a broader, more advantageous framework.
Buzz 9
Establish a warehousing hub within Beaufort West, which would not only be beneficial
in terms of logistics, but also reduce the number of truck related deaths due to trucker
fatigue.
Reduce crime.
Buzz 10
Getting data on the number of businesses is problematic and three solutions is
suggested, namely:
- Snowballing – asking businesses and the community to identify other businesses.
- Looking at business or telephone Directories; however, this might introduce a racial
bias or element.
- Data on business could help to create new opportunities within the communities.
Buzz 11
The services among towns and municipalities should be shared and there should be
cross border networking because IDP’s don’t stop at borders.
The tourism industry should identify unique tourism opportunities such as the diamond
mining, the big diamond hole, the Vaal River, the convergence of the rivers
Buzz 12
Create growth by exploiting local landscapes, flora, historical architecture, etc.
There does not seem to be any assistance from government for business development.
Buzz 13
Areas that can be exploited for local development in Beaufort West include mining
and its historical significance of being the first and oldest municipality in South Africa.
However, stakeholders need to get together and solve problems such as the lack of
infrastructure.
Buzz 14
Aspects of the Karoo that can be used for tourism include the Orange River and the
daisies.
Issues that need to be resolved is funding to improve the quality of health care, e.g.
through the building of hospitals.
There should be joint IDP programmes between municipalities.
Buzz 15
Guard the national landscapes, protect historical sites and upgrade roads
Implement sound financial management and ensure political stability so that
municipalities can be well managed.
Buzz 16
Listen to the people (tourists) who will be spending money in towns.
Understand what it is that they are looking for and implement programmes that will
satisfy tourist needs.
Buzz 17
Get the basics right.
Enhance revenue potential (by, for example, charging for services).
Improve partnerships with private sector.
Buzz 18
It is important to collect and understand the relevant statistics. Sources of these
statistics include Statistics South Africa and municipal data.
There should be training interventions to enhance the relevant potential within the
area.
Community development is essential.
Establish a vehicle to implement outcome of the conference.
Buzz 19
Beaufort West has the oldest railway in South Africa, but there are no locals working at
this railway
There are concerns that Chinese businesses are hampering local businesses.
Promote high-speed data connectivity.
Exploit the local authenticity and avoid theme park type developments.
Promote local support for local initiatives.
Clarify the role of national policy in local government.
Assess the impact of planning procedures especially on small and local business.
Ascertain what developmental role can the Beaufort West airport play?
Enhance the role of local railways.
Addendum 3: Draft Karoo Small Town Regeneration and Regional Economic
Development Conference Declaration
KAROO SMALL TOWN REGENERATION AND REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
CONFERENCE
2016 DRAFT Karoo REGION DECLARATION
We, the representatives of municipalities, provincial and national stakeholders and private
sector gathered in Beaufort West Municipality, on the occasion of a Regional Conference on
Small Town Regeneration and Regional Economic Development, appreciate the efforts of
SALGA for initiating the process and convening this Karoo Regional Conference to discuss
matters affecting the Karoo area and initiatives of the Karoo region.
We commit ourselves to the objectives of the Conference programme as outlined on Day 1
and hereby adopt this Declaration in the firm belief that it paves the way towards a
coordinated cooperation of all stakeholders from the Karoo and those with an interest in the
Karoo.
RECOGNISING:
• The need for cooperation and coordination of municipalities in the Karoo Region
through a inter municipal cooperation mechanism;
• The need for supporting and capacitating municipalities to fulfil regional cooperation
commitment;
• That, while progress has been made to date by other stakeholders in collaborating in
the Karoo Region the need for an institutional arrangement to coordinate the work done and
plan future work is important;
• The imperative for intergovernmental planning and cooperation in order to enhance
regional spatial planning, regional economic development, regional infrastructure planning,
regional investment initiatives and regional priorities;
• The role of a number of organizations that have done work, drafted research papers,
developed plans for the Karoo region;
• The need for national and provincial government, State Owned Enterprises and
agencies to participate and support the initiatives of the Karoo Region.
• The socio economic status of communities within small towns and the need for job
creation, skills development and entrepreneurship development in the plans of the
Municipalities of the Karoo Region is imperative
The Regional Conference therefore recommends:
• That the outcomes of the conference be distributed to all delegates to report back to
their organizations;
• That all Municipalities in the Karoo Region formally consider their participation in a Inter
Municipal Cooperation in terms of the Municipal Systems Act to start the discussions on
regional spatial planning and economic development Framework;
• That the Declaration be tabled at the Municipal Councils in the Karoo region for
adoption;
• That the status of the initial cooperation between Municipalities from the Karoo area
from the Western Cape, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape be clarified and be revived with
the inclusion of Free State Municipalities within the Karoo region;
• That a process be initiated to discuss with relevant role players at national, provincial
and local level to consider a Karoo Regional institutional arrangement;
• That the Karoo Brand initiative be formally discussed by all Municipalities and the
relevant role players from the Karoo Region and include all the relevant initiatives that could
enhance the Karoo Brand initiative;
• That the geographic area to be defined as the Karoo region be discussed and
finalized;
• That the details from the Commission reports be processed through the relevant forums
and organizations;
Conference, therefore, calls on the other spheres of government to support the above
commitments by:
• Supporting the desire for a Karoo Regional spatial, economic and infrastructure
planning process in line with the National Development Plan and SPLUMA.
• Supporting the intergovernmental institutional arrangement for the Karoo Region in line
with the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act and the Intergovernmental Fiscal
Relations Act;
• Supporting the identified social, economic and infrastructure investment plans of
Municipalities IDP’s of the Karoo Region.
Conference, therefore, calls on the SALGA and Karoo Development Foundation (KDF) to
support the above commitments by:
• SALGA drafting the outcomes of the conference and distribute to all delegates and
other key stakeholders that did not attend;
• SALGA and KDF in consultation with role players develop an operational plan to give
effect to the recommendations of the Commissions
• SALGA in consultation with relevant stakeholders and Municipalities finalize a concept
document on the geographic area of the Karoo region;
• SALGA and KDF collate all relevant information in consultation with relevant
stakeholders on the Karoo Region;
• SALGA and KDF in consultation with CSIR and Stats SA develop a socio and economic
profile and trends of towns in the Karoo Region;
• SALGA engage with relevant provincial and national government departments to
discuss the IGR institutional arrangement and regional spatial and economic framework for
the Karoo Region;
• Each of the above commitments be realised through dedicated project task teams
representative of the leading stakeholders;
• Convening the Karoo Small Town Regeneration and Regional Economic Development
Conference on a regular basis (Annually or every second year) to consult and report on
progress;
Addendum 4: List of Municipalities with towns invited to attend the conference
District
Municipalities
Local Municipalities Towns
Western Cape
Central Karoo Beaufort West Beaufort West
Murraysburg
Nelspoort
Merweville
Laingsburg Laingsburg
Matjiesfontein
Prince Albert Prince Albert
Leeu Gamka
EASTERN CAPE
Sarah Baartman Baviaans Steylerville
Willomore
Rietbron
Camdeboo Graaff-Reinet
Arbedeen
Nieu-Bethesda
Kou Kamma Stormsrivier
Kareedouw
Tweerivier
Joubertina
Blue Crane Route Somerset East
Pearston
Petersburg
Coockhouse
Ikwezi Jansenville
Klipplaat
Waterford
Chris Hani Inxuba Yethemba Craddock
Middleburg
Northern Cape
Namakwa Hoogland Frazerburg
Sutherland
Williston
Pixley kaSeme Ubuntu Victoria West
Richmond
Loxton
Free State
Xhariep Kopanong Edenburg
Mohokare Zatron
Naledi Petrusburg
Letsemeng Wepener
Matjhabeng Welcom
Addendum 5: Conference Presentations and Documents
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ouo7mg6x9nxl067/AAAn5ToVQw-8yWUuDZz2xu5Ba?dl=0/
end
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