Community Driven Asset Development for Sustainable Growth

Mr. Daniel Nolte, Head of Capacitation and Development at CMAM, advocated for Asset-based community development (ABCD): A bottom-up approach to asset management, contrasting with top-down asset-based community development models.

He emphasised deepening community involvement, aligning with Section 152 of the Constitution, which promotes community participation in municipal processes. Drawing from a UCT study showing socioeconomic benefits of improved infrastructure, Nolte proposed a development scheme for rural areas, involving community cooperatives to build terraces, inspired by historical examples mentioned.

This approach manages water flow, mitigates flooding, and preserves topsoil, addressing environmental challenges like violent rainstorms. Nolte highlighted potential funding from the Industrial Development Corporation for projects employing over a thousand people, suggesting community-led initiatives like building retaining walls to spark economic activity.

He stressed the need for communities to actively participate, shifting from passive receipt to proactive engagement, to drive economic transformation through collaborative development.