Alexandra will soon be a recipient of another ‘ARP’ developmental grant from the government.
This was said by Obed Bapela, Deputy Minister for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency, recently at Sankopano Community Centre while meeting with local leaders.
The Alex Renewal Project (ARP) was initiated by former President Mbeki and has been on going for years with a mix of successes and challenges – some controversial due to alleged mismanagement and misappropriation. Its purpose was to de-densify the area in order to improve services and develop essential infrastructure and amenities to modernise the township.
The Deputy Minister said current funding for the ARP was almost exhausted through visible and non-visible underground infrastructure – water, sewage piping, electricity lines, social amenities – sports fields, schools, roads and bridges, taxi ranks and also transport and housing for those who were relocated to Tsutsumani, Diepsloot, Thembisa and Braamfisherville. “Despite these, several initiatives are still to be implemented and the President has said they have to be implemented to improve Alexandra’s image and to offer dignity to its resident. He will be coming to Alexandra this month to pronounce on a 10 to 15 year master plan and budget allocation for the last development phase of the township. The budget allocation will be drawn from local, provincial and national governments to make sure its sufficient for all the remaining projects,” said Bapela.
He urged local leaders to form a leadership forum to compile integrated and comprehensive plans for non negotiable projects to be included in the master plan. “The forum will also help to thwart competitive sectoral interests which could undermine programmes and projects which are for broader community benefit,” he said.
A follow up meeting of the leadership and a task team from government would be convened to verify the plan submissions and budget allocation.
While appreciating the pending presidential announcement, the audience asked the Deputy Minister to ensure stringent and transparent tendering processes for the implementation process and also for local service providers to be prioritised for the work.
Also, they urged service providers in Alexandra to update their status with appropriate authorities in anticipation of the work opportunities.
