SALGA together with its stakeholders and Oudtshoorn Local Municipality invites you and/ or your representative to attend the 6th Karoo Small Town Regeneration Conference scheduled to take place on 16-17 May 2022.

Karoo STR Programmme

SALGA together with its partners drive the Small Town Regeneration (STR) Programme to address the decline and/ or underperformance of small towns across South Africa. As part of the STR Programme, SALGA together with its partners are currently implementing the Karoo STR Programme, which is a strategic partnership between public, private, academic, non-government and community-based organisations within the Karoo across four (4) provinces (Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Northern Cape and Free State). The Karoo STR Programme is centred on formal bottom- up collaboration (inter-municipal cooperation) amongst thirty (30) municipalities that form a single biophysical and socio-economic functional region, namely the Karoo Region.

In October 2022 the Honourable Minister Thoko Didiza of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development proclaimed the Karoo as outlined in Section 18 of the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA), Act 16 of 2013. Furthermore, the Karoo Regional Spatial Development Framework (RSDF) has been developed and is currently out for public consultation.

Previous Karoo STR Conferences

Thus far five (5) STR conferences have been held annually across the Karoo. The inaugural conference was held in 2016 in Beaufort West Municipality (WC), this was followed by the 2017 conference at Emthanjeni Municipality (NC), the 2018 conference held in Dr Beyers Naude Municipality (EC), the 2019 Conference was held in Kopanong Municipality (FS) and the 2021 Conference was held virtually. The conferences serve as a platform for the municipalities to discuss common opportunities and challenges that require inter-municipal cooperation across the Karoo. The conferences also allow SALGA together with its partners to report on the progress in implementing the previous year’s conference declaration.
6th Karoo STR Conference

SALGA together with its partners and Oudtshoorn Local Municipality invites you to the 6th Karoo STR Conference to be held as follows:

Date: 16-17 May 2022
Time: Day 1 09h00-18h00 (Including site visit and Networking Dinner)
Day 2 09h00- 12h15
Venue: Surval Boutique Olive Estate, Oudtshoorn

The objectives of the Conference are to:

i. Discuss the Karoo Regional Spatial Development Framework and its implications for the municipalities;
ii. Discuss the National Small Town Regeneration Strategy;
iii. Discuss the Karoo region’s governance and institutional arrangements;
iv. Discuss the progress in implementing the District Development Model/Joint District and Metro Approach in the Karoo;
v. Present progress in implementing the outcomes of the 2021 Conference Declaration;
vi. Strengthen resource mobilisation and relevant research for the Karoo, including support from private, academic, civil society, non-governmental and community-based organisations within the Karoo region;
vii. Foster investment attraction and retention; and
viii. Encourage cooperation and knowledge sharing amongst municipalities in the Karoo.

Kindly indicate your availability to attend physically (no virtual attendance is possible) to Magda Marais at mmarais@salga.org.za before 06 May 2022. Should you have any special dietary requirements and/ or disabilities kindly email Magda Marais.

For technical enquiries, kindly contact Zimasa Vazi at zvazi@salga.org.za. The programme will be shared in due course.