Anton Bredell, Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning was recently presented with the first online Integrated Development Plan for a municipality in the Western Cape. Dubbed the “IDP in your Pocket”, Swartland Municipality has launched its new Integrated Development Plan on a dedicated website and linked it to a QR code.
Minister Bredell said: “I want to congratulate Swartland Municipality for this innovative solution to an old problem. Integrated Development Plans are traditionally very large documents, written in technical language and difficult to access by ordinary people. With this webb based solution, anyone can access the Plan, which is written in an accessible style and supported by infographics. It also provides links to national and provincial government documents and budgets that are of relevance. This innovation will exponentially increase the local government’s ability to communicate and engage residents on medium- and long-term planning that affects them in their communities.”
Swartland Executive Mayor Alderman Harold Cleophas said the new draft IDP has recently been adopted by the Council. The final version of the IDP will serve before Council in May. According to him, “the use of a website will give residents easier access to important information. The IDP serves as the longer-term strategic plan for the Municipality and indicates the strategic goals and initiatives that the municipality will address in the coming years. The IDP is in effect the municipality’s business plan. It is compiled with the input of our residents through extensive public participation processes and updated annually. It is the steering force behind the annual budget and simply put, if it is not in the IDP it is not in the budget.”
Minister Bredell thanked Swartland Municipality for taking the lead with this initiative. “I want to encourage other municipalities to follow Swartland in adopting technology that supports better service delivery and community engagement.”
The Swartland Municipality Integrated Development Plan can be accessed at: https://sites.google.com/view/swartland-idp-2023/home, or through scanning the below QR code:
