22 July 2004 Press Release Money For What Residents Want In a groundbreaking move on 20 May 2004, the Mayoral Committee approved a total of R110million ward allocation to be spent on projects identified jointly by the Ward councilor and the Ward Committee in consultation with the community. "There has been an overwhelming response within the timeframes set and we are now preparing to evaluate the top three prioritized projects for each Ward", said Mayoral Committee Member for Finance and Economic Development, Councillor Parks Tau. During the latter part of June a series of meetings were held between Ward Councillors, the Infrastructure Co-ordination Committee and the Budget Office to assess projects received and do the first evaluation. Projects were assessed on the following broad principles: Community needs based projects Low impact on Operational budget Within the framework of the Regional Spatial Development In relation to this a consultation process was put in place that entailed: A briefing session for Ward Councillors Ward meetings Regional meetings Evaluation Tau said, "Verification and costing of projects is very important in preparation for the final assessment and funding allocation in respect of each project in the different Regions". He further said that another round of Ward and Regional feedback meetings will be held in the Regions to confirm that projects are indeed a true reflection of community needs before being presented to the Mayoral Subcommittee on Services and Infrastructure for approval. Some of the projects received include multi purpose sports centres, streetlight upgrades, soccer field upgrades, clinic upgrades, speed humps, fencing and paving of parks, retirement homes and sidewalk upgrades. "As a City we are committed to good governance and assisting Councillors in building meaningful relations with the communities they serve". He continued," We want to maintain the momentum achieved during the Outreach Programme of the Integrated Development Plan and put to practice the theme of "working together for service delivery" Ends Virgil James Media Liaison Officer Communications Telephone: 407 7226 Facsimile: 403 3494 Cell: 082 467 9415 Email: Virgil James@joburg.org.za