THE mayor has joined the premier on a trip overseas to discuss ways of turning Gauteng municipalities into a global city region, with foreign government officials. 

THE mayor has joined the premier on a trip overseas to discuss ways of turning Gauteng municipalities into a global city region, with foreign government officials.

A HIGH-powered delegation is heading to Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom to investigate ways of implementing a global city region in Gauteng.

Johannesburg Executive Mayor Councillor Amos Masondo, accompanied by City Manager Pascal Moloi are part of the team, which is led by Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa. It includes the mayor of Tshwane Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, and the executive mayor of Ekurhuleni, Duma Nkosi.

Other members of the party are Finance and Economic Affairs MEC Paul Mashatile, Transport and Public Works MEC Ignatius Jacobs and Local Government MEC Qedani Mahlangu.

The idea of a global city region is to improve the co-ordination and facilitation of planning and development across political and administrative boundaries and between spheres of government. This would help make the province globally competitive and more socially and spatially cohesive.

Governance

The delegation will meet top government officials and academics in Tokyo, Japan; Randstad, the Netherlands; and London, the United Kingdom - all are well-established global city regions.

Annette Griessel, the premier's spokesman, says the issues to be discussed include governance and development.

"Practical examples of how cities co-operate will be explored, including in the areas of public transport, regional branding, alignment of development and social inclusion strategies, city planning and partnerships with other sectors."

The City of Johannesburg has declared its support for the idea of aligning the activities of municipalities in Gauteng with a view to sharing resources, integrating activities and improving service delivery.

This is the second overseas trip on the issue undertaken by Gauteng political leaders this year. In January a high-powered delegation visited Sau Paulo in Brazil, to learn about integrating municipalities into one global city region.

Integration

In April Shilowa hosted a Gauteng Intergovernmental Forum that explored ways of turning the province into a globally competitive city region. At the meeting, he urged all spheres of government to work towards turning the province into a global city region over the next 10 years.

"The fact that Gauteng will be the twelfth largest city region by 2015, means that it will be the only globally competitive city region in Africa because of population growth and economic development," he said.

He argued that Gauteng's connectivity to the global economy made it a prime candidate for the status of global city region in sub-Saharan Africa.

The provincial government is working towards officially launching the concept of Gauteng as a global city region before the end of 2005.

The delegation returns on 17 July.