Document: Council Partners in the Eastern Cape

The giraffes and elephants quietly grazing in South Africa’s Doubledrift Game Reserve seem incongruous
partners for local government and economic development experts from Oxfordshire, England. But partners they are, in a complex and demanding project designed to reduce poverty in this beautiful corner of the Eastern Cape, where unemployment levels exceed 80 per cent.

The principal partners in this North/South collaboration are Oxfordshire County Council and Nkonkobe Municipality. Exercising their role as community leaders, and with funding from DFID, they have brought together associates from neighbouring authorities, local institutes of higher education, and local businesses, to bring about improvements in the South African setting.

This partnership is part of the CLGF Good Practice Scheme (GPS), in which SALGA is a partner.

CLGF is also a partner of the SA LED Network.