CZECH REPUBLIC STUDY TOUR
REPORT
30 September to 09 October 2007
1. INRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND……………………………………..2
Study Tour Background……………………………………………………2
Objectives of the study tour…………………………………………….2
Date and Location…………………………………………………………….2
Participants……………………………………………………………………….2
Hosts and Facilitators……………………………………………………….3
Nature and Background of the tour…………………………………4
2. ECONOMIC OVERVIEW OF CZECH REPUBLIC……………………….5
Economic Development in Czech Republic……………………….5
Economic System of the Czech Republic………………………….6
3. TOUR ITINERARY…………………………………………………………………..8
DAY ONE (1/10/2007)………………………………………………………8
Day TWO (2/10/2007)……………………………………………………10
DAY THREE (3/10/2007)………………………………………………..14
DAY FOUR (4/10/2007)………………………………………………….16
DAY FIVE (5/10/2007)……………………………………………………19
DAY SIX (6/10/2007)……………………………………………………..21
DAY SEVEN (8/10/2007)………………………………………………..22
DAY EIGHT (9/10/2007)………………………………………………..24
4. SUMMARY OF STUDYTOUR LEARNINGS……………………………..25
5. TOUR LEADER’S OBSERVATIONS…………………………………………27
6. ANNEXES……………………………………………………………………………….30
Annexure I: Study tour programme
Annexure II: Presentations
Annexure III: Study tour evaluation report
6.3
Annexure IV: Photographs
1. INRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
1.1
Introduction
The study tour was funded by Gijima KZN LED Programme and
was organized by MEPCO (Centre for Advice to Municipalities) an
organization based in Czech Republic. All activities were done in
consultation with and endorsed by a Department of Economic
Development Representative.
1.2
Objectives of the study tour
The main issue of the study tour was to describe the situation of
the local economic development (LED) in the Czech Republic with
regard to the current situation based on the historical
background. The traces and anachronism of the previous political
regime before 1989 had a strong influence to economical
development of the Czech (and Czechoslovak) development. The
other milestone of the LED was the pre - accession and accession
period of the CR to the EU. The complexity of the topic
description was supported by different views of particular LED
players. The crosscutting issue was the aspect of the LED in the
Czech Republic with regard to the EU membership background.
1.3 Date and Location
The tour took place in Czech Republic. The date of the study tour
realization was set for the period of 30/9/200 – 9/10/ 2007. This
period included two days for the arrival and the departure. Totally
the delegation had 7 working days, 1 day off and 2 days for travel.
1.4
Participants
Participants included national, provincial and local government
representatives as well as business and NGO sectors.
Participants were:
1. Phetha Nomfundo:
Government
2. Radikoanyana Zanele:
Development
3. Shangase Sandile:
Development
4. Zondi Thami:
Development
5. Sibeko Mandla:
6. Mkhize Philisiwe:
Department of Provincial and Local
KZN Department of Economic
KZN Department of Economic
KZN Department of Economic
Gijima KZN LED Programme
Umgungundlovu District Municipality
7. Sibiya Bongani
8. Sibiya Nompumelelo:
9. Myeza Celani:
10. Baijoo Babu:
11. Shange Phillip:
Tenza Tholly:
1.5
Zululand District Municipality
Umzinyathi District Municipality
Amajuba District Municipality
Pietermaritzburg Business Chamber
NAFCOC
KZN SANGOCO
Hosts and Facilitators
The study tour was hosted and facilitated by VNG International
through MEPCO. MEPCO is an International Advisory Centre for
Municipalities based in Czech Republic. MEPCO focuses on the
implementation of international projects in Czech and foreign
countries. The personnel provided by MEPCO were;
Zdenek Husek: Senior Expert
Stepanka Litecka: Junior Project Manager
Vera Cermakova: Translator
1.6
Nature and content of the study tour
MEPCO in consultation with Gijima KZN prepared a draft programme
that was used for the tour. The programme concentrated mainly on
these topics:
 The similarities with regard to the economic strengths of
South Africa and the Czech Republic and their positions within
the global economy
 The extent to which democratisation has taken place at a local
level
 Regional versus local economic development
 How local government operates in the area, both in the city and
more rural areas.
 How the economy is dealt with at the local, regional and national
levels.
 Looking at local level examples of pro-poor local economic
development projects.
 Looking at the co-operative and/or social enterprise movement
either independent of local government or supported by local
government.
 Coops and social entrepreneurship – the move to single
entrepreneurs and away from collectivism (coops)
 The relationship between business and local government. Czech
has strong business associations
 Mono industries and the impact on economic development. Czech
economy is focused on the motor industry
 The levels of democratisation in the larger workplaces and
mechanisms established for democratic participation in the
economy.
 Tourism and tourism diversification – in the context of Czech
within European destinations vs. KZN within the South African
context
 TIK vs. Czechinvest and strategies regarding regional investment
2. ECONOMIC OVERVIEW OF CZECH REPUBLIC
2.1 Economic Development in Czech Republic
Czech Republic is in the heart of Europe and has10,2 million
inhabitants. There has been a transition in the economy since 1989
when the country entered the European Union. It was upgraded
from being a developing to developed country. Unemployment rate
is 8,9% has decreased by 15% since 1997.
Agriculture, industry and infrastructure have become pillars of the
Czech economy.
2.1.1 Agriculture in the Czech Republic
Agriculture is an integral part of the Czech economy. Its importance
lies not only in the production of foodstuffs and other agricultural
products, but also in the preservation of countryside and an
ecological approach to the environment.
All products that are characteristic for the geographical and climatic
location of the country are grown in the Czech Republic. These
products include all main kinds of grain (wheat, barley, rye, oat and
corn), white beet for sugar production, potatoes, oilcakes (Swedish
turnip), flix, hops, fruits, vegetables and grapevines. In livestock
production, mainly cattle are bred in the Czech Republic (for milk
and meat), as well as pigs and poultry. There is a very large
network of breeding ponds where mainly carp is bred – this is a
traditional Czech Christmas Eve dish.
2.1.2 Service Industry
The accessibility and range of services in the Czech Republic has
virtually reached the standards of the European Union. Services
include support for tourism, and also services for businesspeople
and students. The telecommunications, banking, accommodation
and gastronomic markets have developed rapidly. Healthy
competition has forced prices down and the rapid increase of quality
has attracted many customers.
2.1.3 Industry
The Czech Republic has a long tradition especially in a heavy
industry - in metallurgy and mechanical engineering related to the
raw materials resources. The auto, rubber making, armament,
energy and consumer goods industries are very important, as are
traditional industries such as glass-making.
The interest of foreign investors in Czech industry is also apparent.
Some of the largest industrial investments include Volkswagen's
investment in Mladá Boleslav's Škoda and the investment of Asian
auto and electronics manufacturers. South Korea's Hyundai will
begin production at its Nošovice factory in October 2008. Japan's
IPS Alpha, a strategic partnership between Hitachi, Panasonic and
Toshiba, has officially confirmed its plan to build a factory in the
Czech Republic to build LCD displays, an investment valued at CZK
2.6 billion.
2.1.4 Infrastructure
The strategic position of the Czech Republic as Europe’s
transportation hub came to the fore immediately after the Velvet
Revolution in 1989. That year marked the beginning of the
modernization and development of the country’s infrastructure in
preparation for the Czech Republic’s entry into the European Union.
The importance of the Czech Republic in the area of transportation
is obvious and is expected to grow in the future.
2.2 Economic System of the Czech Republic
The territory of the Czech Republic was one of the most
economically developed parts of Europe at the beginning of the last
century. It was the most industrial part of Austria-Hungary. After
the establishment of an independent state in 1918,
Czechoslovakia then ranked among the top twenty developed
states in the world.
After the Second World War, and as a result of the social changes
related to the rise of the socialist regime, significant changes in the
economy system were enforced. All industrial companies were
nationalized and the economy started to be controlled centrally on
the basis of a national economic plan. Within the Soviet bloc, the
Czechoslovak economic system focused even more on the heavyindustry development, which was demanding in resources and
energy. Traditional economical branches such as the glass industry,
the food industry and the textile industry were markedly
suppressed. The proportion of producing the means of production
grew at the expense of consumer goods. The national
collectivisation was on many occasions enforced in the agricultural
industry. Farmers independently managing their farms were forced
to give up their land and production means for the benefit of the
agricultural associations. Thereafter they became members of such
associations. Chemical fertilizers and heavy technology were used
to a great extent, hence the land resources were greatly degraded.
From the 1960s, animal production developed rapidly in the factory
farming plants. The Czech economy's development during the
socialist regime resulted in the loss of competitiveness and in a high
ecological burden on the landscape.
After the fall of the Communist party in 1989, the Czech economy
system was at the start again; previous competitors, who had not
been affected by socialism, were far ahead. In the years right after
the revolution, the Czech economic system had to absorb all
changes that had occurred on world markets; the changes were
often very dramatic. Within the restitution system, businesses and
land were returned to their previous owners; during the coupon
privatisation, a large majority of state companies were privatised.
Some important companies were sold to foreign investors (Škoda
Auto, Plzeň Brewery); some were bought by interested Czech
parties (ČKD, Škoda Plzeň).
Currently, the Czech Republic ranks among the fastest-developing
countries in the region and compensates for the delay that resulted
from the historical development.
3. TOUR ITINERARY
DAY ONE (1/10/2007)
Ministry of Regional Development (Prague)
Mr Damborsky, Department of Strategic Management of the
Ministry
The Ministry of Regional Development is the central body of the
State Administration of the Czech Republic in following areas regional policy, including regional support for private enterprises,
housing policy, development of housing resources, leasing of
residential and non-residential facilities, zoning, building
regulations, investment policies and tourism.
The Ministry for Regional Development also manages financial
resources provided by the Government for areas of housing and
regional policy of the State, co-ordinates the activities of other
Ministries and central bodies of State Administration when
implementing the housing and regional policy of the State, including
the co-ordination of the financing of these activities in cases when
the Ministry itself does not directly manage these financial
resources. The Ministry for Regional Development also provides
information and methodology for counties, cities and municipalities
and their associations and supervises the activities associated with
the process of integrating regions into European regional structures.
Issues discussed
The expert from the MRD of the Czech Republic explained the
process and milestones of the regional and economical development
in the past 15 years in the Czech Republic. The delegates also got
basic information on the situation of the economy in the Czech
Republic (GDP, FDI, unemployment, demography figures, etc.). The
delegates also got the basic information on the difference between
Prague (as the strongest developing centre) and the regions. This
discrepancy in the LED was met during all other visits. Delegates
were also informed about the official National regional policy of the
Czech Republic.
The subsequent part of the meeting was dedicated to the overall
introduction to the local government system in the Czech Republic.
The delegates got more concrete and detailed information at the
end of the programme at the Union of Town and Municipalities.
While answering the questions of the delegates, the expert
compared the current situation with the previous years and with the
influence of the European funds to the LED in the Czech Republic.
Documents and Resources
www.mmr.cz
MEPCO
Mr Zdenek Husek, MEPCO Managing Director
Mr Zdenek Vyborny, Senior Project Manager
Mr Zdenek Hartman, former Mayor
MEPCO was founded 2004 as a joint venture between Czech
Association of Municipalities (SMO) and VNG International,
daughter company of Dutch Association of Municipalities VNG.
The objective of the MEPCO company is to support regional and
local governments in raising of the administration effectiveness
and quality, including the preparation related to the
implementation of the new legislation, connected for example
with the access of the Czech republic to the European Union. The
objective of the company is to reinforce the autonomies in their
high-quality and effective function and make use of Czech
knowledge and experience abroad.
Issues Discussed
The MEPCO managing director Mr. Zdenek Husek had an
introductory presentation covering the detailed situation on the
economy transformation with regard to the specific areas as e.g.
automotive industry, depressed regions, tourism diversity etc.
MEPCO senior project manager Mr. Zdenek Vyborny is a former
director of the RDA (Regional development agency) and his
presentation was focused on the role of the RDAs in the preaccession period mainly in the field of capacity building, LED and
the usage of the EU funds on the local level.
Mr. Zdenek Hartman, former mayor, explained the role of the
municipalities in the LED and their possibilities and obstacles for
better development of the municipalities. He also mentioned the
cooperation of municipalities with the private sector. Unfortunately,
there is still no concrete law, which could enable and simplify the
procedures of the PPP in the Czech Republic.
Documents and Resources
www.mepco.cz
Day TWO (2/10/2007)
Ministry of Agriculture
Mr Sekac, Head of Structural section
Mr Louma, Assistant Director of Africultural Union of the Czech
Republic
Mr Sladek, Department of the water management policy
Mr Hrabetova/Mr Mlejnek, Wine department
The Ministry of Agriculture is a central authority of state
administration for agriculture excepting preservation of agricultural
land fund, for water management excepting preservation of natural
water accumulation, preservation of water sources and preservation
of water quality, and for food industry. It is also a central state
authority administrating forests, hunting and game keeping and
fisheries outside territory of national parks.
The Ministry of Agriculture is also a governmental authority of
administration in the matter of stock exchanges of commodities,
which organize trading with commodities coming from agricultural
and forest industry, further in the matter of veterinary and plantcare, of protection of animals against cruelty, and of protection of
rights to new plant varieties and to new breeds of animals.
The Ministry of Agriculture administrates the Czech Agricultural and
Food Inspection, the State Veterinary Administration of the Czech
Republic, the State Board of Plant-Care, and the Central Institute
for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture, the Czech breeding
inspectorate, and the Czech Inspection for Improvement and
Breeding of Farming Animals.
The target of the Ministry is not to plan or to manage agricultural,
forest or food production, but to define space within the framework
of which our entrepreneurs can act. Meanwhile, the policy of the
Ministry of Agriculture is based on agricultural policy of the
government and of its official program. Its mission is to build up a
competitive agriculture and a food industry capable to sell products
in challenging foreign markets that will not produce any obstacles
on our way towards European Union. On the other hand, we also
want to conserve cultural landscape in regions where natural
conditions do not allow effective agriculture.
Issues discussed
The speakers (Head of the Structural section and deputy director of
the Agricultural association of the Czech Republic) shortly described
the current situation in the field of agriculture in the Czech Republic
(the more detailed information are available for the delegates in the
presentation). The presentation was followed by a fruitful
discussion. The delegates were interested in the agriculture in the
less favourable areas (LFA) of the country. Farmers in the less
favourable areas (as a mountain areas, preserved areas) of the
Czech Republic receive from the state a donation. The Ministry of
agriculture is facing the similar problems as the rest of the EU
countries (modernization of agriculture, GMO). The most crucial
issue of the Czech agriculture is a decreasing number of inhabitants
working in agriculture. Actually, there are only 130 thousand
inhabitants working in the agriculture.
Documents and Resources
www.mze.cz
CzechInvest Headquarters
Mrs Talafova, Head of the International Department
The main objective of CzechInvest, the Investment and Business
Development Agency, is to advise and support existing and new
entrepreneurs and foreign investors in the Czech Republic.
CzechInvest, the Investment and Business Development Agency, is
an agency of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Established in
1992, the agency contributes to attracting foreign investment and
developing domestic companies through its services and
development programs. CzechInvest also promotes the Czech
Republic abroad and acts as an intermediary between the EU and
small and medium-sized enterprises in implementing structural
funds in the Czech Republic. CzechInvest is exclusively authorized
to file applications for investment incentives at the competent
governing bodies and prepares draft offers to grant investment
incentives. Its task is also to provide potential investors current
data and information on business climate.
Since the Czech Republic's accession to the European Union,
CzechInvest has also administered resources from structural funds.
Through the Operational Programs Industry and Enterprise and
Human Resources Development, hundreds of millions of euros were
distributed to entrepreneurs in 2004-2006.
To further promote the Czech Republic's investment and business
environment, CzechInvest together with the Association for Foreign
Investment established a joint project called Partnership to Support
Foreign Direct Investment to the Czech Republic. Partnership in this
case involves cooperation in achieving CzechInvest's aims and is
open to all stable companies interested in supporting foreign direct
investment and in taking part in improving the business climate in
the Czech Republic.
Issues Discussed
The discussion focussed on the foreign investment and attraction of
the foreign investors. Czech agency CzechInvest presented the
services, which they provide to the possible investors. The main
activities of CzechInvest and its structure were also presented. The
expert (head of international department of CzechInvest) also
informed the delegates about services for potential foreign
investors, about investment incentives and about providing
necessary statistical data.
Documents and Resources
www.czechinvest.cz
Ministry of Industry and Trade
The Ministry of Industry and Trade is the central body of the
government administration involved in the Co—ordinates the foreign
trade policy of the Czech Republic in relation to individual states,
concludes bilateral and multilateral business and economic contracts
including commodity contracts, executes commercial cooperation
with EC, EFTA, WTO and other international organizations and
integration groups, controls and administers activities associated
with license regime application within the sphere of economic
relations abroad, investigates the dumping of imported products
and takes measures to protect against the import of such products,
controls hall marking and precious metals testing.
Issues discussed
Three main issues were discussed at the Ministry – transition
process to the market economy; automotive industry which is the
leading industry in the Czech Republic and the South African –
Czech economic relations.
Concerning transition to the market economy the delegates got
basic information about the steps that were made in the Czech
economy after the regime change (after 1989). The economy in this
period was completely without any private ownership so the political
assignment was to activate the Czech economy – to privatise (or to
denationalizate) the state possessions. The Czech transition process
is also well known because of the unique method – so called coupon
privatisation. There was also the necessity to change the market
production from the mass low-quality production and to orientate
the Czech market into more quality and specified Western Europe
country.
20% of the industry in the Czech Republic is composed by the
automotive industry (there are mainly car producers and producers
of the car pieces). Thanks to the automotive industry the
employment rate of the Czech Republic increased by 20 thousands
persons.
Documents and Resources
www.mpo.cz
DAY THREE (3/10/2007)
FOKUS Praha, branch Brevnov
Mr Novak (Director), Social Entrepreneurship in Czech Republic
FOKUS is a non-governmental organization gathering
psychotherapists, social therapists, vocational therapists,
psychologists, social workers, and professionals in field of
education and other professionals including volunteers. They
offer complex community care in non-hospital environment for
people with long-term mental illness. They try to promote
legislation and other changes in field of psychiatry and social
services in the Czech Republic and assert new standards of social
services duality. FOKUS PRAHA is an outstanding example of the
social entrepreneurship in the Czech Republic.
Issues Discussed
Special attention was paid to the issues of the social economy
and social entrepreneurship in the Czech Republic. This field
represents a minor part of the Czech economy, which is actually
without the sufficient legal basis. That is why we visited the nongovernmental institution called FOKUS Praha.
This organization provides care for the mentally ill people and
besides the therapeutic services the company also started to
undertake the activities and provides paid service within the frames
of the social entrepreneurship. As the legislation is not sufficient in
the Czech Republic, experts from FOKUS Praha also actively
participate in the formulation process of the general definition of the
term “social entrepreneurship”. T
he history of this process is clearly described in the materials from
FOKUS Praha as well as the description of the institution itself. The
materials and presentation of the director of the FOKUS are
attached in the Annex. The delegates received a book about the
social policy issues and also some presents from the clients of
FOKUS. Most of the delegates appreciated this visit because - when
talking about the development - also social issues have to be open
and solved not only in SA.
Documents and Resources
www.fokus-praha.cz
Czech Tourism Agency
Mrs Kasova, Publicity of the Czech Republic Tourism
The Activities of the Czech Tourist Authority (CTA) is promoting the
Czech Republic Abroad. The travel and tourism industry constitutes
a significant factor in the Czech Republic’s economy; foreign
exchange earnings from tourism reached 118.13 billion Cz. crowns
in 2001, constituting 5.5 % of the GNP. Their share in the Czech
Republic’s overall export earnings was 9.3 %. Employed in travel
and tourism in 2001 were more than 110,000 persons (2.37%); in
other words, every tenth person is employed in the travel and
tourism industry or in some related sphere. All activities of the CTA
are concentrated on developing the country’s travel and tourism.
Issues discussed
The speaker from the foreign department of the CzechTourism
described the main purpose and activities of the state Agency
CzechTourism and described the diversification of the Czech tourism
nowadays. But the main point of the tourism diversification is to
invite tourist not only to Prague but also to the Region.
Documents and Resources
www.czechtouris.com
DAY FOUR (4/10/2007)
Technical and Economical University in Ceske Budejovice
Mr Vladimir Kostka,
Mr Peter Petr
Technical and economical university in České Budějovice was
founded in year 2006. Students visit these programs: Economics
and management. Economics is designed to prepare students for
business environment. In 2008, the university will be introducuing a
new programme namely; Constructive engineering.
Issues discussed
The Technical and economical faculty from Ceske Budejovice
described their activities in the field of local development
Involvement as well as research activities and international
partnership.
The description of the cooperation with the expert institutions and
universities from South Africa was also interesting. An example of
the cooperation was a conference in 2002 on “Transition process in
society”.
The Regional South Bohemian Office
Mr Jan Zahradnik, Regional Governor & Senior Management of the
Region
In a scope established by the law the region is governed by a local
authority of the region, which in the South-Bohemian Region has 55
members. Other authorities of the region are a Council of the
Region, a Governor of the Region and District Council. The Governor
of the Region establishes specialized authorities for transferred
activity performance provided that a special law designates so. The
local authority sets up boards and District Council committees as its
initiative and supervisory authorities. For fulfillment of its duties the
region can establish legal entities and organizational bodies
(organizations).
Issues discussed
The delegation was welcomed by the hejtman of the region Mr. Jan
Zahradník (hejtman=president/governor of the region) and the
delegates were invited to sign the official visitor’s book of the South
Bohemian Region.
Then the speakers introduced main characteristics of the region and
they described the situation regarding the agriculture, industry,
tourism and LED from the regional point of view. After the general
information the expert speakers held their presentation. Mr. Ludvík
Zíma, head of the regional development department, spatial
planning, building code and investment, talked about the territorial
planning in the Czech Republic. Mr. Ladislav Fňouka, head of the
internal relation and international cooperation referred to the
possibilities of cooperation at different levels between regions.
Documents and Resources
www.kraj-jihocesky.cz
Municipality of Ceske Budejovice
This visit was more of sightseeing and focused on the historical
and political background of the municipality of Ceske Budejovice.
The delegation had the opportunity to see the historical town and
renovated municipal hall.
Czech Brewery Budweiser Budva
The afternoon programme started with the visit of the brewery
Budvar (which belongs to the SA Breweries). The guide described
the technologies used for the production of beer and the
historical and social development of agriculture in South
Bohemian Region. The visit of the brewery wasn’t included in the
programme by chance. The brewery industry is together with
the automotive industry on the first rank in the South Bohemian
Region and plays a major role in the economy of Czech Republic.
South Bohemian Chamber of Commerce and South Bohemian
Agrarian Chamber
Mr Miroslav Dvorak; Chamber of Commerce Board Chairperson
Mr Jiri Strasky, Chamber of Commerce Director
Mr Pavel Dlouhy Agrarian Chamber Director
Hana Hricova Agrarian Chamber Executive Board Chairman
South Bohemian Chamber of Commerce
The south Bohemian (JHK) was established by entrepreneurs of
South Bohemia according to the code no. 301/1992 Coll. and the
following acts about the Chamber of Commerce and the
Agricultural Chamber of the Czech Republic. JHK is an
association of entrepreneurs that supports through its activities
the development of entrepreneurship in the region, co-operates
with state administration bodies and regional autonomy and
provides wide information, consulting and marketing service in
the field of entrepreneurial activities. JHK focuses mainly on
systematical distribution of information concerning the support
for small and medium enterprises, changes in the legislation,
businesses, offers and demands for products, services, invest
opportunities etc. Nowadays JHK has 1100 members, enterprises
and entrepreneurs coming from the whole south bohemian
region.
South Bohemian Agrarian Chamber
South Bohemian Agrarian chamber of commerce is the union of 7
district agrarian chambers of the South Bohemian region.
Throughout their members covers almost 700 members working
in the field of agriculture, forestry, fishing and processing
industry.
Issues discussed
Their representatives of the Chamber of Commerce described their
services for the local government in the field of Agriculture, LED,
entrepreneurship etc. The Agrarian chamber described the way from
collectivism to a single entrepreneurship.
Documents and resources
www.jhk.cz
DAY FIVE (5/10/2007)
Regional CzechInvest (Pisek)
Mr Bartu, Director
Issues discussed
The delegates were introduced to the different services and more
concrete activities of the Regional branch. The representatives of
the Regional office of the CzechInvest described the programmes
they offer to the municipalities and to the entrepreneurs in the
region of South Bohemia. The speaker also described the
situation in the region within its mono-industry.
Documents and resources
www.czechinvest.cz
CzechTourism Pisek Regional Office
Mrs Jitka Fatkova, Director
Issues discussed
Although this institution was established by the Office of the
South Bohemian Region the activities are based on the same
principles as the National agency CzechTourism. It was explained
how it advertises South Bohemian tourism potential and how it
cooperates with different national institutions.
The director of the office had a presentation dealing with the
destination management and marketing tourist authority of South
Bohemia. There was a discussion about the tourism and tourism
diversification in the context of Czech within European destinations.
Documents and resources
www.jccr.cz
Municipality of Pisek
Mr Miroslav, Mayor
In Pisek the delegation was welcomed by the mayor and by the
project manager of the municipal industrial zone.
The town of Pisek is a rather important regional centre due to the
number of its inhabitants, being the third largest town in the
Southwest Region (following Ceske Budejovice with 98,876
inhabitants, and Tabor with 36,804 inhabitants) and the fourth
largest town of the NUTS II Southwest region (in which the above
cities are surpassed by Pilsen, with its 166,274 inhabitants).
Issues discussed
The delegates spent one hour in the municipality of Pisek. The
mayor Mr. Miroslav Sladek introduced the municipality and officials
and briefly described obstacles to LED caused by the emphasis on
tourism. Examples of pro-poor local economic development projects
were presented to the delegates. After the visit of the city centre
the delegation visited the municipal industrial zone.
Based on the wish of the delegates a visit to a hospital was
organized.
Documents and resources
www.english.mesto-pisek.cz
DAY SIX (6/10/2007)
Golf Club Prachen
Mr Cesky, Head of the club
Golf Club Prahen is a
9-hole course, 100 km far from Prague, is situated in hilly
terrain by village Kestřany (between towns Písek and Strakonice) and bears the stamp of
Japanese architect Shunsuke Kato. He says that the golf course is a distinct tablier on the
local landscape body. The quiet scenery of the course is ranged by grown forests and
formed by water surfaces of two ponds. A covered driving range, putting green and golf
tools rent shop are available.
This Golf club is a demonstration of an alternative tool for the local
economy development as well as demonstration of the successful
example of PPP in the Czech Republic. The golf club is privately
owned and the land belongs to the municipality.
Orlik Castle
The castle Orlik is one of the most beautiful Czech castles built by
the Vltava River and these castles can be compared to the French
chateaus of the Loir River in France. They are silent witness to
times of glory, but also to times full of grief and despair. The last
owners - the Schwarzenberks - got the castle back in the
restitutions after the end of the Communist Regime. Perched high
upon a rock above the left-hand Vltava bank, Orlik castle derived its
name from the resemblance to an eagle’s nest ( Orlik is the Czech
word for eaglet ). The castle originally from the 13th century was
reconstructed in neo-Gothic style in the last century. The general
appearance of Orlik castle changed fundamentally by the
construction of a river dam in the years 1957-1962 and the
subsequent flooding of the entire valley. The tour inside the castle
includes the romantic interiors, unique displays of weaponry, orders
decorations and artifacts - all these were accumulated in the course
of time by various owners particularly by the Schwarzenberks.
The visit to the castle show how the historical buildings are utilized
for tourist purposes and what the tourist services are.
DAY SEVEN (8/10/2007)
Union of Towns and Municipalities (SMO)
Mrs Ludmila Nemcova, Legislative Department of SMO
Mrs Gabriela Hermannova, External Department of SMO
The Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic is a
voluntary, non-political and non-governmental organization. Its
regular members are municipalities in accordance with the Municipal
Order.
The Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic is a
partner of the Government, Parliament and, at present, also
European Union institutions. Cooperation with these bodies mainly
entails participating in the preparation and creation of proposals for
legislative and other measures in the form of submitting
amendments in the areas concerning competencies of
municipalities.
The Union’s activity is primarily based on the activity of mayors,
lord mayors, local government councilors and employees, who apply
their knowledge and skills when tackling the problems of
municipalities and towns.
Issues discussed
Although the first presentations at the Ministry for regional
development briefly overviewed the municipal structure and the
delegates had opportunity to meet several examples of the Czech
municipalities, at SMO they received detailed information from the
SMO lawyers about the structure of the self-government in the
Czech Republic, about the responsibilities of the municipalities and
services for the inhabitants. The presentation was also about the
financial income of the municipalities and of course about the
municipal background for the LED
Documents and resources
www.smocr.cz
Chamber of Commerce
Mr Cilek, Chamber of Commerce vice president
Mr David Fullsack, International department
Chamber of commerce Czech republic is focuses mainly on
systematical distribution of information concerning the support
for small and medium enterprises, changes in the legislation,
businesses, offers and demands for products, services, invest
opportunities etc.
Czech Chamber of Commerce has become an integral part of Czech economic
life and a trustworthy partner for thousands of companies. It has
become the place where key services can be found. It meets the
needs not only of the Czech, but also foreign, businesses. It is a
partner for the support of mutually beneficial relations and a
place where contacts can be made. From the further discussion
we realized that The Czech Chamber of Commerce is a selfgoverning organisation of entrepreneurs that consistently
defends their rightful interests in the Czech Republic and the EU
and it is the only subject in the Czech Republic that represents
entrepreneurs and that was established by a special law.
Because of its regional network of chambers and trade
associations and newly opened information centres across the
whole of the Czech Republic it has become the most extended
unique service place for entrepreneurs and potential
entrepreneurs.
Issues discussed
The vice president and the director of the foreign department
provided basic information about the Chamber of Commerce. The
Chamber’s main task, and the area where most of its products
and services are focused, is the improvement of the
entrepreneurial environment and the support of the trade. Most
of its products and services are focused on this task. A
comprehensive range of professional services in all areas related
to trade, industry and commerce are available to all
representatives of the business community in the Czech
Republic.
Documents and Resources
www.komora.cz
Closing dinner at South Africa Embassy
Her Excellency, ambassador of the South Africa in the Czech
Republic hosted a dinner for the delegation. She appreciated the
study tour as an opportunity to foster the relationship between the
Czech and the South African municipalities and institutions. Her
Excellency also supported the overall course of the study tour e.g.
by the presence of the second secretary of the Embassy at all
meetings. Business institutions of Czech Republic also attended the
dinner and this provided a networking platform between the
delegation and the business representatives of Czech Republic.
DAY EIGHT (9/10/2007)
MEPCO offices: Evaluation of the Study Tour
On the last day an evaluation of the tour was conducted and all 12
delegates completed an evaluation survey.
According to the evaluation survey, the delegates were generally
satisfied with the overall study tour to the Czech Republic. The
overall satisfaction with the realized study tour was 84, 7% which
also indicates several imperfections in the programme, eg some
institutions did not have their presentations in powerpoint.
Concerning the logistics, even though the delegates were in the
Czech Republic almost ten days the programme was very busy and
because of the several transfers per day the delegates were tired at
the end of the day. Although the delegates were aware about the
way of transportation in Prague (on foot – which is the most
convenient and reliable means of transport within Prague) the
combination of the several transfers and several meetings was very
demanding. When having such a long study tour there should be
only two meetings per day. The added value is also that they have
the chance to get to know the environment where the visited
institutions are located.
Because there were too many meetings in one day, time for
discussions was not enough, however delegates have send list of
additional questions to MEPCO who will be working with the visited
institutions on answering the questions.
.
Another hiccup was the language barrier; most of the presentations
were done using Czech language. Although there was an
interpreter, it is difficult to follow a presentation with slides in a
different language and listening to an interpreter. However, the
translator Ms. Vera Cermakova proved her quality and orientation in
the topics.
Based on the meetings and also based on the evaluation survey
more active contacts between RSA and the Czech Republic should
be established in the near future. MEPCO committed to support the
possible partnership between the KZN Province and any other
regions in the Czech Republic. MEPCO will also actively support
direct cooperation on the municipal level. At the delegates side
some areas and ideas for the mutual cooperation were already
identified (e. g. cooperation in the field of tourism – spa cities and
spa tourism in the Czech Republic could serve as in inspiration for
further LED in the certain municipalities of KZN Province).
SUMMARY OF STUDY TOUR LEARNINGS &DISSEMINATION
Summary of learnings
A workshop to review learnings was held with study tour
participants. The following members of the delegation
participated and consolidated their individual reports:
Babu Baijoo
Nomfundo Phetha
Philisiwe Mkhize
Bongani Sibiya
Nompumelelo Sibiya
Celani Myeza
Tholly Tenza
Thami Zondi
Zanele Radikoanyana
The participants indicated that the following were the main
lessons learned and will be disseminated to their individual
municipalities/organizations:
The structure of Czech Republic Government
The Czech Republic government is very similar to South Africa and
has three spheres of government; national, regional and local
spheres. However there are so many regions (provinces) and over
6000 municipalities. Although this may seem complicated but it
works very well because each municipality is very close to the
people and tend to be responsive to their needs. However this
requires a very efficient system of governance in order to
administer and coordinate the work of all these institutions.
The structure of the Economy
The Czech Republic is relatively a well-developed country with no
significant inequality between people, however there are
elements of inequalities between the provinces. To address this
they have a Ministry of Regions and Regional Policy, which
addresses inequalities between regions with a focus on
infrastructure development. Comparing to South Africa, there are
regional disparities between the former homelands and urban
areas, but the greatest challenge is inequality between the rich
and the poor. The South African government is addressing this
through programmes like ASGISA.
Key Development Sectors
Over the past decade, there has been a structural change in the
Czech economy with the transition from communism to
capitalism. There has been a shift from primary sectors such as
mining and agriculture to secondary and tertiary sectors such as
automotive industry and IT.
Structural funds
The Czech Republic since its entrance into the European Union,
receive most of financial support in terms of grants from the EU.
They also experience challenges in terms of EU administrative
processes.
Foreign Direct Investment
The Ministry of Trade and Industry has very advanced policies
and programmes aimed at bringing foreign direct investment in
the country. Working closely with Czech Invest which has
national and regional offices as well as offices in developed
countries, these offices identify investment opportunities and
priority sectors for investment and this has brought significant
investments into the country. South Africa until recently did not
have a policy specifically aimed at guiding investors. The
Industrial Policy of the DTI has identified priority sectors for
investment. However the DTI will have to develop clear
implementation programmes and identify institutions to drive
such programmes.
The role of educational institutions
The universities in Czech Republic are specialized according to
the type of skills needed. One university visited focus on
commerce and their curriculum is developed with the
consultation of the business sector. Furthermore students are
placed in companies and spend a fifth of their studies doing
internship. This initiative can contribute significantly in solving a
problem of unemployed graduates in South Africa. A working
relationship between the educational institutions and businesses
is vital.
TOUR LEADER’S OBSERVATIONS
Nature and content
The nature and content of the tour was appropriate to the
objectives that were set. There was a balance of government,
business and social institutions in the programme, which is a
good reflection of LED. However there were few municipalities in
the programme, most of government institutions visited were
regional (provincial) government. Although the presentations
indicated a good relationship between all spheres of government,
this was not evident because there was no balance of all spheres
of government in the programme.
However, there is no doubt that the objectives of the tour were
achieved and generally the tour was successful and beneficial for
delegates as well as host organizations.
Selection of participants
Selection of participants did not go according to plan, the process
was supposed to be competitive but due to poor response all
applicants were selected. Initially two international study tours
were planned, i.e. Czech Republic and Brazil and it was indicated
in the PSC meeting that municipalities couldn’t go to both study
tours. The reason for poor response could be that municipalities
were interested in Brazil and therefore did not want to close that
opportunity by applying for Czech Republic study tour. It is
recommended that in future an approach of targeting specific
individuals who would be deemed appropriate for the tour, be
adopted.
However there was a representation of municipalities and
business associations. Like the Netherlands study tour there
were fewer business associations, this is an indication that there
is no cooperation between business associations and local
government in the province.
Organization and logistics
Although there were few imperfections, the tour was well
organized. The coordinator had to do visa applications for all
participants and this was problematic because other participants
did not submit correct documents and some submitted late and
this delayed the whole process of obtaining visas.
Selected participants should be engaged in preparations of the
tour and should not rely entirely on the coordinator for
everything. They should take responsibility of obtaining their
visas and only engage the coordinator where there are problems.
This means that selection should be done well in advance of the
tour.
Concerning the logistics, there were no problems, the
programme was finalized well in advance, all hosts were
prepared for the delegation and where there was transport, it
always arrived on time. Most of the time, delegates had to use
public transport and walking, which proved to be physically
challenging for most but this is the only reliable and convenient
means of transport in Czech Republic.
The programme was a bit overloaded; in one occasion there
were five meetings in one day. Combined with travelling on foot,
this was indeed a challenge. A maximum of three meetings a day
is recommended.
The fact that participants arrange their own meals was a huge
challenge. Some participants who received allowances from their
organizations were required to keep all receipts and submit on
return. To obtain receipts from restaurants was very
problematic, most restaurants do not use a till system and
therefore could not produce receipts and this was coupled with
language barrier. In the interest of time the host made bookings
in certain restaurants for lunch. This was also problematic
because delegates had their own preferences.
Sustainability of learnings
A post tour workshop was held with participants to consolidate
and agree on lessons learnt, reporting format and individual
follow-ups and dissemination plan. Whether participants will
apply the lessons learnt in their day-to-day work, or not is
entirely their responsibility, however Gijima needs to monitor the
process and make follow-ups with participants to ensure that it
happens. It is recommended that Gijima Monitoring and
Evaluation unit consider this in their activities.
Group cohesion
The participants related to each other very well, there were no
serious problems experienced. They actively participated in
discussions. Based on individual discussions with the hosts, all
institutions visited were surprised how active the delegation was
and how many questions they asked.
Participation of the SA Embassy in Czech Republic
Also contributing to the success of the tour was the involvement
of the South African Embassy in Czech Republic. Her Excellency,
the Ambassador supported the tour and the Second Secretary of
the Embassy was present in all meetings and also provided
support and assistance where necessary. This definitely raised
dignity of the delegation and South Africa in general.
ANNEXES
Annexure
Annexure
Annexure
Annexure
I: Study Tour Programme
II: Presentations
III: Study Tour Evaluation Report
IV: Pictures