Gqeberha dialogue uncovers city change agents

On March 25 70 Christian influencers in 10 different spheres of society in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) participated in a dialogue aimed at changing the city for the better through multi-stakeholder collaboration.

The dialogue, which was initiated by the Nelson Mandela Bay Church Leaders Network focused on poverty and unemployment, crime and violence, concerns about the city’s youth, and local government.

Commenting on the network’s strategy of inviting individual Christians who are already making a difference in various domains to participate in the dialogue, Trevor Jennings, an executive member of the network, said it had taken them a long time to realise that they should not be asking busy church leaders to lead the change.

He said that through the initiative they had identified talented and willing change agents. Their next step was to regroup with these people and to give them a mandate to revive the city and to support them. He said they had ward-based structures in place, which they had developed over years, which could be put to effective use in the change process.

Dominee Danie Mouton, executive director of the Dutch Reformed Church in the Eastern Cape and executive member of the network said one of the most inspiring parts of the day was hearing participants explain how they were already contributing to the city — and what they hope to do going forward.

He said: “There was  a strong desire to build on what already exists. Participants said that instead of starting from scratch, we should support successful projects, share resources, and connect existing efforts.”

In a report on the dialogue, Dr Braam Hanekom, director of the Centre for Witness, who facilitated the session, shared the following recommendations from breakaway groups:

• The steering committee must try and host a follow up meeting with dialogue participants as soon as possible.
• The city must be rebuilt through family structures. The “First 1000 days programmes” and teenage pregnancies should be very high on the agenda. Churches must be asked to develop a strategy to restore family structures.
• The city must be returned :  Mayibuye — block by Block – building by building, school by school, street by school. Communities must take the responsibility for this.
• The city must be cleaned!
• Ssecurity: Special Rating Areas must be expanded (camera’s etc.).
• Economy: the business chamber should be asked to draft a document that will address critical policies that are harmful for economic growth. And the steering committee must ensure that this document is escalated to all levels of government. They should also facilitate a workshop to define the things that inhibit economic growth and those that will stimulate economic growth.
• The steering committee should ask for an urgent meeting with the metro. The steering committee should draft the agenda and go to the meeting with the mandate received from the dialogue on March 25.
• The steering committee must find a way to COMMUNICATE the findings of the dialogue to the broader community.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Please help us to keep on publishing news that brings Hope in Jesus:

>> Donate  >> Become a Super Subscriber

VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/gatewaynews100

COMMENTING GUIDELINES
You are welcome to engage with our articles by making comments [in the Comments area below] that add value to a topic or to engage in thoughtful, constructive discussion with fellow readers. Comments that contain vulgar language will be removed. Hostile, demeaning, disrespectful, propagandistic and off-topic comments may also be moved. This is a Christian website and if you wish to vent against Christian beliefs you have probably come to the wrong place and your comments may be removed. Ongoing debates and repetitiveness will not be tolerated. You will also disqualify yourself from commenting if you engage in trolling.