The Alexandra Renewal Project’s (ARP) reign as the main driver for infrastructural and social development in this township ends in July.
This was announced recently at a meeting of its stakeholders by the ARP’s acting director Neels Letter together with Thanduxolo Mendu, director of the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) which will be assuming overall management and operational responsibility of this presidential initiative.
ARP outlived the tenure of its initiator, former President Thabo Mbeki who allocated over R1 billion to the project, and the former Premier of Gauteng Mbhazima Shilowa who also gave an additional grant.
Recently the former Deputy Minister for Evaluation and Performance Monitoring, Obed Bapela said the ARP would be receiving its last grant from President Jacob Zuma, and this will extend its operation since its inception in 2001.
Despite the huge allocation, the results of the ARP’s work has been a mixture of success and failure resulting in ongoing criticism of its role, capacity and direction. It has been fraught with allegations of impropriety and corruption in the allocation of contracts and completed houses, instability in management and accusatuibs of political agendas that are incompatible with expectations of a community in serious need of basic services, especially shelter. Although some of its work is visible like the new and upgraded houses, so is the mushrooming of shacks which it sought to replace. To the effect that amenities like stadiums, schools, clinics, roads and bridges have been developed, so are some of the incomplete white elephants and many projects which have overran their timelines and budgets like the Alexandra heritage centre and stadium.
The main objective of this initiative (ARP) had been to depopulate the area in order to provide key infrastructural services to support housing development and access to and by service providers like the emergency management services. The checkered results of its work compromised its positives outcomes. A comprehensive outcomes or assessment report to its stakeholders could have assisted the ARP exit its leadership role of the development scene in Alexandra gracefully. A requested interview with the ARP’s acting director to profile its work outcome could have helped but instead this paper was referred to the JDA as the up coming authority on Alexandra’s development.
The JDA assumes responsibility of the ARP from this mixed perspective which will require it to move in quickly to restore public’s confidence in state agencies’ commitment and capacity to execute and achieve on their development mandates.
