The Central Special Ratings Area (SRA), an initiative supported and aided by the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) which was recently approved through a Council vote, is now taking its final steps towards the full establishment of a management company to oversee its affairs by holding its inaugural AGM on the 9th of March.

At a joint sitting of parliament last month, the SALGA president said the key challenges at municipalities are - Governance and oversight, including strengthening community involvement and ownership of development in their municipalities; Confronting basic services infrastructural challenges and making long-term sustainable choices; Intergovernmental debt and rising consumer indebtedness, as well as the declining revenue base of municipalities; and linked thereto, the viability and long term financial sustainability of municipalities, including consideration of the impact of continuous municipal demarcation reforms.

The Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA), the implementing agent for the Safety and Peace through Urban Upgrading (SPUU) programme funded by KfW Bank of Germany, on Thursday (30th January) hosted a delegation from the Bank. The main purpose of the visit was to assess progress and finalize other details related to counter funding and sustainability.

The largest South African flag has been re-installed at Donkin Reserve on the 16th of January after undergoing refurbishments and maintenance. The cause of the damage was triggered by severely wear and tear on the nearly 10-year-old mechanism used to hoist the flag. The flag was hoisted for the first time in 2010 amid a regal ceremony facilitated by members of the army.

I recently had the privilege of attending a course on the tools of urban planning hosted by the French Development Agency in Marseille. We spent the time exploring large parts of the city and the complexities of contemporary urbanism in this Mediterranean city of 1.6m people, a comparable size to Nelson Mandela Bay.