A BILLION rand worth of tenders will be awarded to youth, women and people with disabilities, Buffalo City Metro mayor Zukiswa Ncitha announced during the state of the metro address yesterday.
The mayor also apologised for poor service delivery with regards to waste management in the metro. Speaking at the Steve Biko Foundation Centre in Ginsberg, outside King William’s Town, Ncitha said 20% of the R5.3-billion budget for BCM will be ring- fenced from all directorates and only spent on these groups.
“I’m extending a challenge to our council and administration to conduct a review of our procurement policy within the next three months, to ensure that an increasing proportion of our procurement spend should be targeted at suppliers of goods and services in which women and young people have a significant stake,” the mayor said.
On unemployment, Ncitha said BCM was not the only institution that would fight unemployment but that the private sector, particularly the East London IDZ, would partner the metro on the issue.
“The reality is that the city is faced with major development backlogs and an increasing rate of unemployment,” she said.
During a media lock- up yesterday morning, Ncitha said the national and provincial government were working on plans to assist the metro deal with the landfill site and refuse disposal systems.
“The municipal manager was working with an operational task team to implement waste management strategies that will ensure cleanliness.
This task team intends to increase waste management workers to ensure efficient service delivery,” she said.
On crime prevention, Ncitha announced that the metro has finalised the establishment of the metro p olice and have awarded a tender worth R1.6-million for the erection of CCTV cameras at all problematic areas, including Buffalo Street and in the CBD area.
She said they will also focus on housing development and were building houses in areas where there were informal settlements.
“As part of our ongoing programme to address housing backlogs, 1080 new houses will be handed over to approved beneficiaries in the new financial year.
These include 265 formal houses for those beneficiaries who have been occupying informal dwellings adjacent to decommissioned Second Creek waste disposal site,” she added.
Last month, Duncan Village residents blockaded the Mdantsane Access Road complaining about poor service delivery, including the shortage of houses.
The mayor also presented BCM’s budget for the 2013-2014 financial year, which starts in July, which is up from last year’s R5-billion.
She said metro is expected to increase its budget to R5.7-billion in 2014-2015.
Ncitha stressed the need for infrastructure maintenance and development, saying cities that invested in infrastructure were more likely to succeed.
She said one of the biggest challenges faced by the metro was the ever-increasing cost of maintaining existing infrastructure.
“This is due to a number of contributing factors including urban migration,” Ncitha said.
She said the metro was working hard to support the auto sector by developing and maintaining infrastructure.
“As a rural metro, we also have to exploit our agricultural potential,” Ncitha said. — mphumziz@dispatch.co.za
Metro to set aside R1bn for youth and women
The mayor also apologised for poor service delivery with regards to waste management in the metro. Speaking at the Steve Biko Foundation Centre in Ginsberg, outside King William’s Town, Ncitha said 20% of the R5.3-billion budget for BCM will be ring- fenced from all directorates and only spent on these groups.
“I’m extending a challenge to our council and administration to conduct a review of our procurement policy within the next three months, to ensure that an increasing proportion of our procurement spend should be targeted at suppliers of goods and services in which women and young people have a significant stake,” the mayor said.
On unemployment, Ncitha said BCM was not the only institution that would fight unemployment but that the private sector, particularly the East London IDZ, would partner the metro on the issue.
“The reality is that the city is faced with major development backlogs and an increasing rate of unemployment,” she said.
During a media lock- up yesterday morning, Ncitha said the national and provincial government were working on plans to assist the metro deal with the landfill site and refuse disposal systems.
“The municipal manager was working with an operational task team to implement waste management strategies that will ensure cleanliness.
This task team intends to increase waste management workers to ensure efficient service delivery,” she said.
On crime prevention, Ncitha announced that the metro has finalised the establishment of the metro p olice and have awarded a tender worth R1.6-million for the erection of CCTV cameras at all problematic areas, including Buffalo Street and in the CBD area.
She said they will also focus on housing development and were building houses in areas where there were informal settlements.
“As part of our ongoing programme to address housing backlogs, 1080 new houses will be handed over to approved beneficiaries in the new financial year.
These include 265 formal houses for those beneficiaries who have been occupying informal dwellings adjacent to decommissioned Second Creek waste disposal site,” she added.
Last month, Duncan Village residents blockaded the Mdantsane Access Road complaining about poor service delivery, including the shortage of houses.
The mayor also presented BCM’s budget for the 2013-2014 financial year, which starts in July, which is up from last year’s R5-billion.
She said metro is expected to increase its budget to R5.7-billion in 2014-2015.
Ncitha stressed the need for infrastructure maintenance and development, saying cities that invested in infrastructure were more likely to succeed.
She said one of the biggest challenges faced by the metro was the ever-increasing cost of maintaining existing infrastructure.
“This is due to a number of contributing factors including urban migration,” Ncitha said.
She said the metro was working hard to support the auto sector by developing and maintaining infrastructure.
“As a rural metro, we also have to exploit our agricultural potential,” Ncitha said. — mphumziz@dispatch.co.za
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