Pictured at the official launch of GGNRDP were, ltr, SRD Task Team co-leader Dr Sibongile Pefile of the CSIR, Canny Geyer and co-leader Prof Nic Olivier, UP. Construction of a primary healthcare clinic as part of the SERA Health Project - a spin-off from GGNRDP.

Only six months after its official launch, the Greater Giyani Natural Resource Development Programme (GGNRDP) - undertaken by the SERA Task Team on Sustainable Rural Development (SRD) in conjunction with the Greater Giyani Local Municipality and the Limpopo Provincial Government - has moved successfully into its implementation phase.

According to Canny Geyer, SERA's Programme Coordinator for GGNRDP, the programme's projects - which include mopani resource management, processing and marketing; beekeeping and oyster mushroom farming - have benefited greatly from a R150 000 funding contribution from the Mopani District Municipality. He says that this contribution has provided much needed bridging finance for procuring infrastructural items.

In addition, the Limpopo Department of Economic Development Environment and Tourism (DEDET) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Greater Giyani Local Municipality with a commitment of R2 mil towards GGNRDP. Geyer adds that what is most exciting about this development is the fact that DEDET has defined the role that it will play, in terms of the MoU, for itself. "This is really important to ensure sustainability of the programme. We wanted not only to get a number of different departments involved, but to let them tell us where they see themselves fitting into the picture - thereby by fostering a greater level of commitment", he says.

According to Geyer, effective monitoring is another element that is important for sustainability. As such, the SRD team is currently conducting its first Annual Impact Assessment which will be available for internal review in mid-November. "We have had a number of successes as well as challenges. The aim of the assessment is to identify what these are so that corrective measures can be taken where necessary and also so that we can continue to build on the successes we've had so far", says Geyer.

Also as part of the programme, a baseline survey was completed in the three communities in which GGNRDP is active. A sub-aspect of this is a land tenure report which investigates the pattern of land holding in the Giyani area and aims to ascertain what the people's perceptions are of the land. "It's important that we understand these aspects more deeply, especially in the communal areas, if we are looking at natural resource development", says Geyer. On this project, the SRD team worked with a group of interns from Canada's University of New Brunswick, who conducted assessments within the tribal councils of two of the communities around Giyani.

In fact, the Task Team's relationship with the Canadian University led to a visit by a second group of interns who will be at UP until February 2007. Two members of the current group are working specifically on GGNRDP projects, with one formulating a template for business plans - based on best practice of various government departments and parastatals - as well as a standard framework within which the municipality can evaluate the business plans that they receive.

Geyer again stresses the importance of sustainability, which he says is always the number one challenge in any developmental context. For him and the SRD team, the ultimate aim of GGNRDP is to leave the Greater Giyani Municipality with a tangible blueprint of how to approach aspects of local economic development. In the case of Giyani, the development vehicle will be natural resources, but the blueprint is intended to be able to be transposed to any rural municipality - whether its development will be based on industry or agriculture.

Geyer says that, in his view, half the battle for the sustainability of GGNRDP has already been won. "The Municipal Manager of Giyani has always been the chair of all board and programme steering committee meetings. Not only that, but some of the GGNRDP programme staff have actually been employed by the municipality. This is a real indication of the level of commitment that the municipality has to the Programme", he adds.

There are also strong indications that the Giyani Municipality is truly beginning to make this approach to local economic development a part of its municipal structure, with the organogram currently being adapted to allow for the incorporation of the management structure that has been established by GGNRDP, and eventually the possible constitution of a brand new municipal department.

For more information on SRD or the Greater Giyani Natural Resource Development Programme, contact Canny Geyer on +27 12 420 4516.