12 June 2008

By Nangamso Mabindla

THE face of Mdantsane is starting to change for the better and we are responding to the needs of our people - this is word of Buffalo City Executive Mayor Zintle Peter.

She was speaking at an Urban Renewal Indaba in Mdantsane on Monday, 9 June. The indaba was held to showcase the progress of three urban renewal programmes: Mdantsane in Buffalo City, Sol Plaatjie in Northern Province and Motherwell in Nelson Mandela Metro. Attending the indaba were City councillors from Buffalo City; the deputy ministers of Arts and Culture and Social Development, Ntombazana Botha and Jean Benjamin; and representatives from Sol Plaatjie and Motherwell.

“With this indaba we seek to guarantee a better life for the people of Mdantsane, and improve the response to the plight of our people,” Peter said.

The City would like to focus on reversing the infrastructure backlog, upgrading the township’s roads and improving the bulk sewerage system, among other issues.

In the next financial year, it would spend R91-million upgrading and repairing roads in Mdantsane. The Mdantsane Urban Renewal Programme would receive R120-million from the European Commission and R128-million from the Neighbourhood Development Partnership Grant in 2009 to be used to upgrade the CBD and for other projects.

Deputy Minister Ntombazana Botha and Buffalo City Councillor Luntu Bobo at the Organic Farming site in Mdantsane - leading pic

“We also want to improve job creation and get rid of poverty in Mdantsane; if we do that, we [will then be] able to improve the livelihood of the people of the township. We also want to improve the local economy through skills development programmes,” the mayor said. She added that the newly opened R520-million shopping mall, Mdantsane City, proved that business people had confidence in the township.

“The mall has already created 1 000 jobs; we are looking forward to more initiatives of this nature. We also hosted a business breakfast at which investors were impressed with what they saw in Mdantsane.”

Buffalo City was also promoting urban agriculture in Mdantsane and encouraged people to look into organic farming as a way to fight poverty.

Botha said she was impressed by what the City had managed to achieve in Mdantsane. “I am able to make an accurate assessment because I am a Buffalo City resident. I am happy that the Mdantsane Urban Renewal Programme is committed to restoring people’s dignity.”

She encouraged Mdantsane organic farming co-operatives to start selling their produce to the retailers at the new mall. “We want to create more job opportunities so that our people do not depend on social grants.”

Source: BuffaloCity.gov.za