Issued by: Ministry in the Office of the President
Reconstruction and Development Programme
BUSINESS PLANS WORTH R250 MILLION PASSED IN JANUARY BY RDP
Ten business plans worth more than quarter of a billion rand were passed by the RDP Programme Steering Committee in January, according to Dr Bernie Fanaroff, deputy director general in the Office of the President.
The committee meets once a month to approve business plans submitted by various government departments for money from the central RDP fund for projects identified by the core Cabine cmmittee.
Plans detailing the implementation of the Municipal Extension Programme - for money allocated in October lst ear -show that work has begun on more than 200 project sites around the country.
"To dte,a total of 421 rojects amounting to R422 millionhave been approved. Of these, the Western Cape and Northern Transvaal have the most projects - 118 and 85 respectively - compared with the Eastern Cape (36), Free State (14), Gauteng (34), Mpumalanga (36), KwaZulu Natal (13), North West (33) and the Northern Cape (26)," Fanaroff said. A list of sites in each province is available on request.
De Department of Transport was iven the green light to proceed with the planning for the development of four metropolitan "corridors". These are the:
Wetton-Landsdown Roa Corridor (Cape Town): a 20 kilometer corridor between Wynberg and Khayelitsha along Wetton and Lansdown Roads in southern Cape Town;
"This urban restructuring programme is a state initiative and involves other ministries - Transport, Housing, Land Affairs, the RDP Office and relevant provincial and metropolitan departments," Fanaroff said. Further details of these plans are available on request.
Foreign funding from a donor consortium (Denmark, the European Union and the UK) and Switzerland was approved for business plans submitte by the Dept of Land Affairs and the Special Integrated Presidential Project on Urban Renewal at Ibhayi (Port Elizabeth) respectively.
"The Programme Steering Committee approved R9 million from the donor consortium for organisational, capacity building and operational support to communities participating in the Land Reform Pilot Programme, and R11,35 million towards training and technical assistance for management and staff of the Department of Land Affairs involved in the programme," Fanaroff said. The donor consortium will be giving R132 million over the next two years for the Land Reform Pilot Programmes.
The R11,9 million donated by Switzerland will be used to upgrade 500 families in Walmer and 277 families in Kwazakhele by providing them with a flush toilet, a water tape and improving the roads and stormwater system, he said. "The balance of the money will be used to construct roads in Missionvale and contribute to the construction of the swartkops Low Level Sewer."
Another Special Integrated Presidential Project on Urban Renewal which received approval for funding in January was the Molopo River Basin (North West Province).
"We have approved a sum of R13 million to upgrade the services and improve the quality of life of neglected communities living in poor circumstances (no clean water supply, electricity, good access, drainage or sewerage facilities) along the Molopo River, which divides Mafikeng/Mmabatho from East to West," Fanaroff said. further information is available on request.
The Dept of Sports received its first allocation from the central RDP fund in January, with R50 million being approved for the construction of 126 basic sports facilities around the country. Further information is available on request.
Plans for increasing support services to Parliament were also approved in January, with funding for the project coming from foreign donors. The total cost of the programme is R82,7 million which will be funded by a consortium of overseas donors from the European Union and some of its member states. to date, R25 million has been sourced.
Two provinces - the Northern Province and the Northern Cape had business plans totalling R2,1 million and R1,6 million, respectively, approved. The money will be used to fund the formulation of an integrated strategic plan for growth and development, aligned to the national strategic vision.
ISSUED BY: Mandy Jean Woods Director: Communications Ministry in the Office of the President (Reconstruction and Development Programme)
Phone: (012) 341-5569 Fax: (012) 341-9612 Pager: (011) 804-2777 code 71799
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT MANDY JEAN WOODS IN PRETORIA.