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June 2016
notes Baloyi. “In attracting growth
and investment, we have made
progress. Over the past three years,
we have also placed a strong em-
phasis on our agricultural strategy in
Midvaal, sharing the vision of an agri-
tropolis. We appointed a service pro-
vider to provide an overall Turnkey
Management Solution for Midvaal,
which includes: Market Feasibility
Study; Monitoring, coordination and
facilitation of stakeholder consulta-
tion; Community Engagement; Facili-
tation of training for capacity build-
ing, skills development and technical
production; Financial management
and marketing programme.
“From 2011 until 2015, we spent
R19 million in Sicelo and R 23 million
in Lakeside on capital projects, as
well as an additional R7 million for
gravel to tar programmes in these ar-
eas. Over R50 million has been spent
on general projects in disadvantaged
areas.” Almost 1 000 housing benefi-
ciaries in Sicelo have already received
title deeds. This is an ongoing process
in Lakeside. The municipality built
a sports stadium, outdoor gym as
well as a community hall and library
in Sicelo. In Lakeside, a new sports
field has already been planned and
construction of the Mamello housing
project will start shortly.
Baloyi is proudof Midvaal’s accom-
plishments, “What is important is that
we have not simply provided a small,
standard, tick-the-box type of facility
in these areas – we have provided
world class facilities of the highest
standard. We are also building RDP
houses on prime land overlooking the
Vaal Marina dam, which would once
have been the preserve of the rich.”
Midvaal, like other municipalities,
has an obligation to support and
promote the development of the
youth within its municipal jurisdic-
tion through programmes that are
aimed at: Skills development and
training; Entrepreneurship; Business
development; Support for coop-
eratives and Small Micro Medium
Enterprises; Support for graduates
who can’t find employment. Baloyi
concludes: “The Kgatelopele
initiative involves identifying
250 young people in Mid-
vaal, and providing them
with training and skills in
business development and
entrepreneurship, with the
vision that they will cre-
ate employment for them-
selves and their peers. “As a
catalyst in the process, the
municipality will provide
training in service deliv-
ery sectors such as grass-
cutting, fixing water leaks
or filling potholes. These
young people will then
form cooperatives, which
can provide the services
which they were trained
in as a starting point. The
municipality has identified
almost R7 million worth of
job opportunities within
service delivery that can
be accessed by the youth
cooperatives.”
■
Housing
‘We have provided
world class facilities of
the highest standard.’