July 10, 2003
By Jonews Reporter
DEVELOPMENT in the impoverished township of Alexandra is set to pick up the pace this year as the Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP) pumps in R250 million to get two years of planning off the ground.
The ARP, now in its third year, changes its focus from planning and research to that of implementation. The upgrading of the township will take seven years in total at a cost of R1,3 billion.
Central to the programme are the issues of economic and social development and housing. The ARP, in its 2003/2004 proposals, also emphasises three aspects crucial to its success: reducing social stress, HIV/Aids and the youth.
The 2003/2004 plan focuses on several areas that will boost the local economy and upgrade local living conditions: business development, education, welfare, health, housing, engineering, spatial planning, land use and the environment, public safety, heritage arts and culture, sports and recreation as well as communication.
One of the improvements Alexandra residents can expect to see this year is the creation of a public square in Watt Street and the development of the Pan Africa Taxi Rank at the Wynberg entrance to Alexandra. Here pavements will be improved, landscaping will be undertaken, and benches, streetlights and storm water drainage will be installed.
Up to six small business nodes will also be built in old Alexandra, providing opportunities for budding entrepreneurs such as hairdressers, shoe repairers and butchers.
The ARP also intends to implement various skills upgrading courses in the township.
Training programmes, emphasising science and technology, will be run for foundation phase teachers and those involved in early childhood development.
In the area of health, the ARP plans to emphasise HIV/Aids prevention and care, focussing on women and the youth. Two workshops will be held for pregnant women and 140 people will attend Peer Education and Training the Trainer courses.
More primary health care nurses will be employed and trained and, according to the ARP, this will help ease pressure on the public health facilities. Eighty health care volunteers from various non-governmental organisations will be trained in home care for the terminally ill.
Alexandra's housing crisis is also under the spotlight, with the ARP planning to upgrade the informal housing by providing services, relocating 2 500 households from dangerous areas such as along the Jukskei River or land needed for redevelopment, planning and building housing developments, and refurbishing the M2 Men's Hostel.
Several existing facilities have been identified for upgrading and improving, such as the Marlboro Transit Facility.
