The MEC for Local Government and Housing
The Executive Mayor of the City of Tshwane
Members of the mayoral committee
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Programme director
The vote for democracy is a strong indication of what the people yearn for. It is a powerful symbolic act that expresses confidence and faith people have in the current government and its progressive programs. Change for the better is what our people asked for when they fought and won the right to vote democracy. So change should not be an ideal that is elusive and beyond reach. It is incumbent upon the ruling party and government to make change meaningful and tangible such that people begin to appreciate perceptible improved conditions in their immediate environment.
Time for change has come in Winterveldt. It is time for people of Winterveldt to fully experience change that they voted for.
Unbearable conditions under which our people live must be transformed. Poverty must be conquered; unemployment must be reduced; hunger and poor health must cease; illiteracy and crime must be defeated.
Winterveldt has suffered decades of systematic marginalisation as the result of apartheid spatial development plans. It is one of the areas that have been kept on the periphery of what is generally regarded as development and progress. Consequently decay and rot have become synonymous with this settlement.
Today, we come together to breathe new life in Winterveldt. We gather here to publicly declare our intention to reverse years of neglect and suffering in Winterveldt. It is the period of renewal. Through the launch of the Winterveldt Integrated Development Programme, the Gauteng Provincial Government and the Tshwane Metro intend to forever change the social, economic and geographical landscape of Winterveldt. The face of Winterveldt will never be the same again after this intervention.
In late 2008, the Gauteng Department of Local Government, together with the Tshwane Municipality, began talks which culminated in the ratification of Winterveldt as a priority development project of the province. This meant that like other urban renewal projects the area would receive special attention in terms of planning and funding.
In fact the upgrading of Winterveldt as a special reconstruction and redevelopment project has been promoted since 1999 and will end in 2017. The City of Tshwane inherited the project under the cross-boundary agreement with North West province in 2000. And the Gauteng Provincial Executive Committee adopted the Winterveldt Urban Renewal Project during October 2008, proceeding with technical and construction activities. Winterveldt Urban Renewal Business Plan was formulated and approved in 2010. In terms of this plan the project is structured as a six year urban renewal programme with the estimated project value of R4,939 billion.
The project area consists of an urbanised southern sector accommodating close to 31000 beneficiary families, and rural northern sector of approximately 1 411 small farms. In a nutshell, this intervention aims to reconstruct and develop Winterveldt into a sustainable, integrated suburb in line with the national policy of Breaking New Ground.
As we implement the program, we intend to focus on the following projects:
- infrastructure development (Bulk services: water, sanitation, electricity roads and storm-water etc)
- Mixed housing development
- Economic Development (Agricultural development, LED,etc)
- Social Development and Support (Schools, clinic, health,sports etc
- Urban Planning ( Integrated spatial development planning, urban land use management etc
- Resource mobilisation.
Programme director,
As we are aware a significant part of 30 000-strong households in Winterveldt is rural we will work very closely with the municipality and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to ensure that rural development takes place. We will also be looking at turning unused agricultural land into productive enterprises in order to boost the local economy. The revitalisation of such economies has been identified as one of the priorities of the Gauteng Provincial Government and we will therefore do all in our power to ensure that it receives adequate support.
Our experience with reviving neglected, yet important, regions of our cities such as Alex, Evaton and even the Johannesburg Inner City, has taught us that with determination, cooperation and a strong will and partnership we can achieve great things, make great strides and turn what was once a heap of decay into a centre of great socio-economic progress. However, this can be accomplished if the program enjoys the full support and participation of the community. We therefore call on civil society organisations which have been active in this area for so long to come forward and assist in developing Winterveldt into a community in which all residents can live in peace and comfort.
As it happens with all infrastructure development of this scale some of the community members might be inconvenienced during construction. This will be a temporary inconvenience to be followed by comfort, peace and a better life.
We appeal to the community to exercise patience and understanding throughout the development process.
Dankie
Ngiyabonga
For more information contact:
Sipho Mokoena
Cell: 082 566 0515
Fred Mokoko
Cell: 082 447 8404
Tel: 011 355 4013
Source: SAPA
