Ramaphosa To Host Presidential District Development Model Imbizo In Ekurhuleni

President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to lead a Presidential District Development Model (DDM) Imbizo in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng on Aug. 23.

Presidential Spokesperson Vincent Magwenya announced the upcoming Imbizo during a media briefing on Wednesday. This Imbizo will be the first held by the current administration.

"The DDM was established to improve coordination and alignment between the different spheres of government. This is an important initiative to improve planning, budgeting and implementation at a local level by bringing all spheres, departments and stakeholders together, towards uplifting our communities," Magwenya said, SA News reported.

He added, "You will recall that the planned District Development Model (DDM) oversight visit during April 2024 to the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, had to be postponed due to challenges faced by the municipality at the time."

The president is looking forward to visiting the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, according to Magwenya. The president is expected to be joined by all members of the National Executive, who will be preparing for the visit.

During the media briefing, Magwenya dismissed claims that the DDM Imbizos have not been successful. He highlighted that there have been significant achievements in municipalities like Sedibeng in Gauteng, where an Imbizo was held in 2022.

The Imbizo helped make a clinic fully operational. The clinic - built before the COVID-19 lockdown - had shut, forcing residents in Zone 17, Sebokeng to travel long distances for basic medical care.

At the August 2022 Imbizo, a task team with members from national, provincial and local governments, as well as Eskom, identified what was needed to get the clinic running. The main issue was that the clinic wasn't connected to the power grid and there was disagreement between different government levels about who would cover the costs.

Magwenya noted that the Presidential Imbizo helped resolve the issues. Eskom and various government departments provided the necessary transformer and funds to connect the clinic to the power grid. As a result, the community is now benefiting from the clinic.

He also mentioned that the seventh administration will keep engaging with citizens, adding that the second round of Presidential Imbizos will begin later this month at the Tsakane Stadium in Ekurhuleni, with many more planned over the next five years.