SALGA hosts Highway Africa’s Local Government Day at the Rhodes University to reflect on 20 years of transforming Local Government

Posted: 30 August 2016

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SALGA hosted the Highway Africa’s Local Government Day at the Rhodes University in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape on Monday, 29 August, to reflect on the 20 years of transforming Local Government.
The 20th instalment of the Highway Africa conference was hosted in partnership with the Rhodes University’s School of Journalism and Media Studies, Corporate South Africa, development agencies and media associations. News editors and journalists also took part at the conference.

In light of the attention generated around the local government elections, the aim of this event was to broaden engagement between local government actors and the media, around issues relating to the understanding and reporting of local government issues in South Africa.

The Highway Africa Conference took place appropriately following the 2016 Local Government Elections which for many reasons brought overwhelming attention and interest in Local Government.

20 years of transforming local government took center stage during the conference panel discussions. The discussions were moderated by eNCA News Analyst Angelo Fick and among the panel members were South African National Editors Forum (SANEF) Chairperson Mahlatse Gallens and South African academic Steven Friedman, South African Cities Network CEO, Sithole Mbanga and specialist lecturers from Rhodes University.

Speaking at the conference, SALGA Executive Manager Seana Nkhahle said: “As part of SALGA’s role to transform local government, so as to fulfil its developmental mandate, it is important that a two way communication with the media is established beyond sound bites and commentary and move closer towards development communication which is about providing information that can help empower people to better their lives.”

The Highway Africa Conference was hosted by Rhodes University’s School of Journalism and Media Studies in partnership with Corporate South Africa, development agencies and media associations. For nineteen years the Highway Africa conference has been at the centre of Africa’s debates on journalism, media and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The conference has over the years become the largest annual gathering of African journalists in the world.

The 2016 conference theme was – The Internet and the Media – Celebrations, Reflections and the Future - focusing on the evolving impact of the internet on both journalism and the media, specifically the disruption that the internet (as a central organising intelligence) has had on the media in its broadest sense (film, music, books, journalism). At the conference, role players from local government, civil society, business, academics and media representatives took time to engage on matters affecting the local government sector.

Speaker after speaker concurred that there is a need to work together to improve working relationship between the media and local government.

Nkhahle said: “We see the Highway Africa Conference as a contribution to a process of making Africa a more reflective society, not only on the past and present but possible future urban realities in Africa, including how they act as vehicles for the development of communication systems, as well as the sites for innovation and progress.”