The Great North Development Forum is an Independent Organization of Public, Private and Civil Society Entities focused on harnessing regional economic and development opportunities into a robust Trans-District Municipality center of economic and development activity.
BACKGROUND
The rationale behind the Great North Development Forum (GNDF) is an outcome of private and public policy’s response to the economic challenges as well as business development opportunities and activities within the northern region area of KwaZulu Natal province, South Africa.
GNDF is founded through an extensive process of business and development activity and experience within the northern regional area of KwaZulu Natal Province, South Africa. It is an economic region, whose boundaries transcend politically demarcated boundaries and whose delimitation is based on standard economic and regional planning disciplines.
The Concept
As envisaged, the Great North Development seeks to consolidate business development opportunities in Kwa-Zulu Natal Province into a business,trade, investment and economic hub’ by establishing a framework for two levels of communication, engagement and partnership ‘clusters’ within the economic region, including:
- Strategic regional and global business and trade partnerships between South African and other investors from different parts of the world;
- Partnerships between private sector organizations; Local and District Municipalities in South Africa; State Agencies; State Departments; Traditional Local Councils, and Civil Organizations Communities.
The GND initiative targets an economically marginalized region in South Africa. The initiative is pillared on:
- Development concepts of private-private and public-private partnerships;
- Long-term sustainable development partnership for the development of infrastructure, the economy and supporting the enhanced service delivery programme within the economic region;
- Institutionalization of the partnerships for effective management and monitoring of projects, programmes and associated processes;
- Establishing a dedicated technical and financial resource bases for projects, process management and administration to ensure control and delivery on commitments; and
- Independence from government bureaucracy without reducing accountability to government and communities based on management agreements and associated institutional mechanisms.