05 August 08

By Keotshepile wa Mogale

A GROUP of Americans was in town spreading the spirit of their organisation, the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL).

It was the latest visit by a foreign delegation intent on empowering Mogale City. It follows trips in 2007 by groups from Belgium and China, in town largely to help improve service delivery in the city.

Mogale City teamed up with the Belgian Chamber of Commerce for Enterprise Development to run the Plato mentorship programme in the city. The aim of the project was to transfer the know-how from the Voka Chamber of Commerce East – Flanders to a partner in Mogale. The knowledge sharing has been a boon for small and medium sized enterprises.

And the deputy executive mayor of Wujiang Municipality in China, Fan Jiankun, threw his weight behind the development of local farmers, sending a strong signal that the Chinese municipality wanted to boost and cement trade relations with Mogale.

The Americans were in Mogale to share ideas and contribute to heightening democracy through sharing knowledge on systems of government. The delegation included Linda Rotunno, the chief executive officer who joined ACYPL in January 2008.

They were given an explanation of the South African system of government by the municipal manager, Dan Mashitisho, at a meeting held in the Mayor’s Office.

Mashitisho spoke about how three spheres of government - national, provincial and local - work for its people. He touched on transformation in the government and how apartheid oppressed blacks before 1994.

“In the past, only a few citizens - whites - were protected by the constitution [but] after 1994 the Constitution protected everyone who lives in South Africa.”

During the question and answer session, the American visitors asked about how the South African government resolved conflicts between the spheres of government and the number of local political parties in comparison to the United States.

Finance portfolio head Farouk Bhayat lightened the atmosphere with anecdotes, but did not forget to urge the guests to invest in the city.

Executive Mayor Koketso Calvin Seerane was unable to attend the meeting as he was ill. It culminated in a tour of the municipal buildings and a trip to Maropeng in the Cradle of Humankind.

Speaking about how the American delegation came to hear of Mogale City, Shimmy Phate, the manager of rural projects and special projects in the Mayor’s Office, explained that as a young politician his name was submitted by the Department of Local Government to the ACYPL and that’s where Mogale came into picture. “I visited Washington, South Carolina, and Denver where I met mayors and councillors and in our meetings we thrashed out issues of government.

“This is a good experience that we need to share with the youth in Mogale City so that in future we will be able to see some of our students studying in the US through these types of relationships,” Phate said.

The delegation was Kevin Boyce, of Columbus; Angela Ylona Cockerham, a member of the Mississippi house of representatives; Jessica Lappin, a member of the New York City council; Jessica Ping, a member of Washtenaw; Nelson Balido, the president and chief executive of Balido & Associates; and Christopher Veis, a member of Billings City council.

Lappin, who was excited to be in Mogale City, said the visit was undertaken to learn more about the South African government and to boost understanding between the two countries. “We are here to learn more about your government and culture, to exchange ideas, and to create more understanding between two countries.”

She added that the visit was also aimed at strengthening South Africa’s democracy. The delegation was in the country for 10 days, and also visited Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.