From synthetic pitches to clinics and the restoration of historic buildings, the City’s Community Services and Health Directorate is juggling multiple projects for the benefit of communities across the metropole.
A number of capital projects in the City’s Community Services and Health Directorate are slated for completion later this month.
These include the Heideveld Early Childhood Development Centre and the synthetic pitch in Gugulethu. (pictured)
‘This is about ensuring access to quality services and facilities for our residents, in their communities, for their communities. Each project that the City undertakes is preceded by public participation, which gives everyone a voice in the development of their area, and helps develop a sense of ownership and shared responsibility for these facilities,’ said Executive Mayor, Alderman Dan Plato.
The Directorate is managing a capital budget of just more than R366 million in this financial year across its four departments – Recreation and Parks, City Health, Social Development and Early Childhood Development and Library and Information Services.
The budget is earmarked for new developments, as well as upgrades of existing facilities.
‘The City has hundreds of facilities across the metropole, but we recognise that the ever-growing list of needs outstrips supply and that’s why we are investing heavily in expanding our portfolio of community facilities, whether it be clinics, libraries or recreational spaces,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Zahid Badroodien.
Other exciting developments in the pipeline is the tender for the Fisantekraal Clinic project that will be advertised late in November. Construction of the facility is pencilled in for April 2020.
This will be the next ‘big ticket’ item for City Health, following the successful completion and opening of the Pelican Park Clinic in September this year.
To accommodate the growing need for burial space, Recreation and Parks has a number of cemetery developments underway. The contractor working on the Welmoed cemetery development has been on site since the end of May 2019. Work on the Metro South East Phase 2 development is expected to start in the coming weeks, following the awarding of the tender.
Examples of other projects that are on the horizon include:
- The construction of the new Zakhele Clinic in Khayelitsha, which is a multi-year project
- The extension of the pharmacy at the St. Vincent Clinic in Belhar
- The commencement of the in-house planning phase for new regional libraries in Nyanga and Manenberg
- Upgrades for the following Arts & Culture facilities: Hugo Lambrechts Auditorium, Rust & Vrede, Goodwood and Parow Museums, Rhodes Cottage, Langa, Bellville and Delft precincts
- Upgrade of Atlantis Cemetery extension
‘We are very excited about all of the projects that are on our dashboard, but the reality is that they take time, from inception to completion. We therefore urge communities to work with us to ensure the seamless delivery of services and facilities and to help safeguard those community assets once completed.
‘Vandalism remains a major threat to these assets and just recently we highlighted how our libraries are being hamstrung by it. There are countless other examples of how our communities are left at a deficit by the actions of a few, leaving the City to spend millions of rand on fixing infrastructure and delaying plans for new projects,’ added Councillor Badroodien.