CIDA

RELATED LINKS: South Africa's first ubuntu university A university in the heart of Johannesburg's CBD that attracts students from around the country and costs students only R350 per year, compared to R15 000 per year in a conventional university? Read more Oprah donates US$1-million to CIDA Staff and students were left speechless after Winfrey and her television crew dropped in at the campus to announce her donation and film the campus. Read more Street traders to get money smart More than 500 street traders, who rent stalls at the various metro trading centres around the town, are expected to benefit from this financial literacy classes offered by CIDA students. Read more CIDA postpones enrolments Students hoping to study at CIDA City Campus next year are in for a disappointment. Enrolments for next year have been postponed to 2005. Read more

City gives CIDA a financial hand December 22, 2003 By Tshepiso Mogotsi THE City of Johannesburg is to give CIDA, the community-based university, a financial hand by writing off the monthly rates the institution owes the city. At the last City Council meeting of the year a recommendation was made by the City's Finance and Economic Development Department to write off CIDA's monthly rates. This means that over a two-year period CIDA could save more than R1-million in rates. Although current legislation did not allow for rebates or rates exemptions for institutions, such as CIDA, that were registered as non-profit, private higher education institutions, mechanisms needed to be put into place to "provide financial relief to such institutions", according to the council minutes. "It is essential that the proposed rates policy for the city, as required by the Property Rates Bill, incorporates a mechanism to provide financial relief to such institutions." The minutes of the City Council meeting noted that CIDA had also provided services to the City, such as the recent training of 350 informal traders. This, according to the council, was a major contribution to the Joburg 2030 strategy and to the regeneration of the inner city. The write off, however, will only cover those buildings actually registered in CIDA's name. Currently the university is the registered owner of two buildings, although it occupies a total of seven buildings in the inner city. CIDA's rates bill for one year comes to a total of R574 318. Executive director of CIDA, Thembinkosi Mhlongo, said the institution would consider taking ownership of the other five buildings once they had been refurbished, sometime next year. The city university, based in Joburg's CBD, offers tertiary level courses in business at minimal cost to students from financially or other disadvantaged backgrounds. CIDA, the Community and Individual Development Association, currently has 1 600 students. Mhlongo said the rates exemption would "provide a real relief" and would help CIDA maintain buildings with "less pressure on expenditure". Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za