Housing in Southern Africa June 2016

Housing

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 ‘We have provided world class facilities of the highest standard.’

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.” ■

June 2016