R120m 'safe node' for Khayelitsha
27 July 2004
A pilot urban renewal project has been launched in Cape Town's Khayelitsha township, financed to the tune of R120-million, half of this coming from the German government and the other half from South Africa.
The German government has committed R60-million, to be channelled through the KfW development bank, for the project, to be matched by an equivalent commitment from the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape and national governments.
Speaking at a ceremony at the city's civic centre on Monday, Cape Town mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo said the money would be used to establish a "safe node" in the township, incorporating social and commercial services, community space and recreational facilities in a safe environment.
Khayelitsha houses more than half of the city's unemployed people, and has a notoriously high crime rate.
In 2001, President Thabo Mbeki named Khayelitsha as one of the national focal points for a presidency-led urban
renewal programme.
The development will build and upgrade a library, a community hall and sport facilities at the still-to-be-selected "safe node". More facilities will be added at a later stage, said George Penxa, the city's director of urban renewal.
The node will be within walking distance for about 20 000 to 50 000 people, and will "cluster" the community, making it easier for residents to interact, Penxa said.
Some of the money will also be used for training young people as "peace development workers".
Mfeketo said the safe node would be managed by the community through community-based organisations.
"We do not expect to reverse the effects of decades of apartheid social engineering in a matter of months, or even years", Mfeketo said.
"But I do believe that, working in partnership with other spheres of government, the private sector, communities and donors, we are witnessing real improvement."
Source: City of Cape Town
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