Alexandra community members have united with South Africa Day to launch the We Love Alex Community Makeover Project.
The project’s goal is the beautification and the upliftment of the township. The project is being led by Alex’s legendary philanthropist Linda Twala and it is hoped that it will bridge the divide between Sandton and Alexandra, creating investment opportunities and revitalising the economy of the township to benefit all.
Speaking at the launch of the project on 8 May, Kevin Wakeford who is the chairperson of South Africa Day, said for the makeover project to be a success, the community had to work hand-in-hand with the government and the business community. Hence, South Africa Day was contributing towards building and improving the community through partnerships with SMMEs that operated within the Alex community.
“South Africa Day is willing to garner resources to get the investment fund going but we need to help develop local people capable of running successful small businesses as the makeover project also focuses on the development of SMMEs.
“The four key areas of the makeover include the cleaning and beautification of the township, embarking on community upliftment projects, driving or accelerating business and economic development, and fighting crime with the aim of making both Sandton and Alex crime-free zones,” Wakeford said.
As the leader of the Alex Chapter of SA Day which is implementing the project, Twala said this project was his last throw of the dice to try and fix the township so it may become a beautiful place of peace and harmony.
“In my life, I’ve witnessed Alexandra turn from a township that was progressively developing, to one that was sliding down into the abyss. I am now throwing my last grenade so that we may resuscitate the development of this township once again with the help of the community and the government,” Twala added.
Chris Hart, the executive chairman of Impact Investment Africa and fundraiser for Alexandra Investment Fund, said they were planning on raising about R30 million for the project.
He told Alex News that currently there was no money in the kitty for the project but that he was hopeful of raising the funds needed to fulfill its goals.
