9 March 2006
By Nangamso Mabindla
A violence prevention programme will soon have an impact on the Buffalo
City township of Mdantsane.
The South African and German governments have signed a co-operation agreement,
with the German government earmarking some R35-million for the Mdantsane Violence
Prevention Programme, a project that plans to tackle the issue holistically.
The suggested programme has six components:
To ensure the success of the Mdantsane project, a feasibility study is being
conducted by German Company SUM Consult along with local violence prevention
experts Safrica Development Services.
The experts worked closely with Buffalo City's Mdantsane's Urban Renewal
Programme unit. Workshops were held with various interested parties. The comments
and suggestions gathered helped inform and refine the eventual programme proposal,
said Safrica Development Services' Mxolisi Khalane.
The proposal will be submitted for consideration at the end of the week.
"We have a fantastic document and we think that people will be amazed
when we present it to them," he said.
The proposed Mdantsane Violence Prevention Programme will tackle the issues
identified through recently held workshops in an integrated manner, focusing
on the underlying problems not just on the symptoms, Khalane said.
"It will also be in line with other crime prevention initiatives in
the township," he added.
"Some memorandums of understanding have already been signed, formalising
the co-operation between the programme and various government departments
and corporate sector players."
Once the feasibility study is complete, the final programme proposal will
be submitted to Buffalo City for consideration.