KwaZulu-Natal to sink R500m into rural community
BDFM Online
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
DURBAN - KwaZulu-Natal's local government, housing and traditional affairs department will invest more than R500m in the impoverished district of Mkhanyakude, in northern KwaZulu-Natal, to stimulate economic growth there.
Local government, housing and traditional affairs MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu, health MEC Peggy Nkonyeni and newly appointed agriculture and environment MEC Mtholephi Mthimkhulu visited the area at the weekend.
Mabuyakhulu said his department would inject R548m into housing development in the region.
"The projects are at different stages of implementation. While others have already been rolled out, others have not, but have been approved.
"These projects will go a long way towards stimulating the economy."
It is the biggest sum of money to be invested in one area by his department in the province.
The district, which borders Mozambique, is one of the poorest in KwaZulu-Natal. Apart from being hard hit by HIV/AIDS, the district was also characterised by high levels of illiteracy, said Mabuyakhulu.
About 113867 people in the area do not have any school education while only 37870 have some primary school education.
Eskom plans to build two power stations to bring electricity to the rural community.
"We have also invested R45m to bring water to the people from this area," Mabuyakhulu said.
Mthimkhulu said his department was working with the community to stimulate the area's agricultural potential. His department was involved in fighting alien weeds, which threaten natural vegetation in the area.
Nkonyeni said HIV/AIDS was endemic in the region. "This area has an increasing number of child-headed households as a result of HIV/AIDS. We can only win the war against HIV/AIDS if we work together."
Nkonyeni said the Bethesda Hospital had done well in attracting 12 doctors to an area where many health professionals did not want to work.
She said the health department would work with the 12 co-operatives that the finance and economic development department had established in the region.
