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October 2015
T
his forms part of the City’s fo-
cused efforts to rejuvenate this
important area and to unlock
opportunities. The Integrated Cities
Development Grant will be used to
unlock employment opportunities
and educational facilities for those
living within the Voortrekker Road
Corridor (VRC). This also includes
affordable, well located housing for
nurses, teachers and government
employees.
Other projects include R15million
for theWater and SanitationNorthern
Region Sludge Facility, R36million for
the Plattekloof Substation, R11,5mil-
lion for the Integrated Rapid Trans-
port Control Centre, R25 million for
the Bellville Wastewater Treatment
Works Facility and R5,9 million for
the Belhar/Pentech housing scheme.
The Integrated City Development
Grant provides the eight metropoli-
tan municipalities with incentives to
improve spatial development con-
siderations in their planning and job
creation. These embedded infrastruc-
ture projects will be well supported.
In addition, the Greater Tygerberg
Partnership is key in facilitating rela-
tionships between small andmedium
businesses and the public sector.
“Together with our partners, we
are doing everythingwe can to create
an enabling environment to revitalise
the urban infrastructure in this area
and to attract the large scale private
sector investment that is required.
The country’s low growth rate and
high unemployment rate means that
local authorities must step up to
design and to direct a more sustain-
able economic vision for residents,”
said Mayoral Committee Member for
Energy, Environmental and Spatial
Planning, Johan van der Merwe.
The grant aims to assist cities to
become more efficient, equitable
and sustainable. To qualify for this
funding, cities are required to identify
integration zones in which the funds
will be spent.
The Metro South-East and the VRC
have been identified and nominated
in Cape Town. The City has devised a
Strategy and Investment Plan, which
will undergo continual reviews and
updates, to prioritise and direct this
funding grant. “We believe that stra-
tegic public spending will encourage
further development and investment
from the private sector. It is not the
role of government to attempt to
manipulate market forces, or to as-
sume the position of the labour force
within the free market; instead it is
to create policy and service delivery
which encourages partnerships. We
are actively canvasing private sec-
tor support as part of our Strategy
and Investment Plan,” said van der
Merwe.
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R170 million for Voortrekker Road
The City of Cape Town has allocated R170 million in the current
financial year for infrastructure projects in the Voortrekker Road
Corridor.
T
he City of Cape Town has
budgeted approx ima te l y
R35 million in the current
financial year (2015/16) to assist
thousands of tenants who reside in
city-owned properties and earn less
than R3 200 per month. The tenants
of city rental and mortgage loan
schemes have already applied for
indigent grants.
“When arrears are written off, ten-
ants enter intopayment arrangements
with the City. They pay back onlywhat
they can afford,” says City’s Mayoral
CommitteeMember for HumanSettle-
ments, Benedicta van Minnen.
“The culture of payment is there-
Financial help for tenants
fore encouraged and at the same
time, the City is ensuring that some
revenue is received which is then
used for themaintenance of its rental
stock,” says van Minnen.
TheCity of Cape Town is the largest
landlord in South Africa andmanages
approximately 43 000 rental apart-
ments andmore than19 000 sectional
schemeunits. Whileproviding accom-
modation for thousands of residents
the city also has a responsibility to
maintain and upgrade rental stock.
“We rely on rental collections and we
know that instilling a culture of pay-
ment will ensure a sustainable future
for all residents,’ said van Minnen.
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