Review of Activities and Project Highlights

The National Developmental Goals as presented earlier, the priorities as stated in GLM's IDP and the overarching Millennium Development Goals contribute towards the selection of priority projects by GDF. The projects that are eventually funded would have gone through a rigorous selection process involving consultations with various stakeholders especially GLM and beneficiary communities.

The following table details approved allocations for 2012. Due to the fact that GDF uses a project lifespan approach in terms of project implementation, the project implementation is not bound to audit financial year, but follow project lifespan as indicated in each project implementation plan, hence the project implementation cuts across years.

Detailed Approved Allocations

  2012
  Approved amount
Education & Development  
FAMSA - Hope Programme R 5 591 595
Curriculum educator development and learner support R 1 711 378
District Skills Performance (maths) - Augment Skills R 2 021 795
GDF Bursary Fund R 1 183 049
Provision of ECD games and Learning Material R 642 613
Sub-Totals 11 150 430
   
Land and Buildings  
Construction of 200 subsidy homes - Feasibility Study R 2 600 000
Mapoteng Multi-Purpose R 26 233 546
Sub-Totals R 42 189 210
   
Enterprise Development  
Incubator programme - Phase 1 R 2 500 000
Deben bakery (variation) R 941 304
Sub-Totals R 3 441 304
   
 TOTAL R 43 425 280

Education and Development

The Education focus area has consistently received one of the highest allocations and 2012 was no exception with it coming second to Land & Buildings, but still leading as far as the actual expenditure is concerned. The following are some of the highlight projects implemented. The Infrastructure; Land and Housing focus area was involved in most the ECD and school buildings throughout.

Ya Rona Day-care Centre in Mapoteng

Ya Rona Day-care Centre was completed and launched in October 2012. The facility has an average enrolment of over 200 children over each year. It runs on 4 levels according age groups as follows:

  1. 0-2 years;
  2. 3-4 years;
  3. 4-5 years; and
  4. 5-6 years.

Previously the children were attended to in shack in the backyard. With the age starting at 0 there is greater need to be vigilant all the time. The teachers undergo continuous training to attain the highest level of proficiency in their work. The crèche also feed the children hence the need for food handling hygienic conditions. A total of 5 ECD centres have been completed in the various communities of Gamagara

Deben Primary Grade R Classroom

Children need to grow up and developed in a nurturing and secure environment that can ensure their full development, protection, survival and participation in family and social life. From an environmental perspective, it means safe water, basic sanitation and protection from violence, abuse, exploitation and discrimination to give our young children the best start in life.

Gamagara High School Improvements

The school was provided 12 classroom block, media centre (computer lab), ablution block and introduction of the Sangari Mathematics and Science learning aids. The major construction work was completed in 2012. The workmanship is evidently very good. The work was done by one of the contractors supported under the contractor incubation programme of GDF.

Kathu Media Resource Centre

Planning of the Media Resource Centre commenced during 2012 but construction would only start the following year. There were already indications from hardware and software suppliers that they would like to collaborate with the Centre and offer their equipment and services at concessionary rates. The construction will be done by a contractor trained under the GDF contractor programme.

Welfare and Humanitarian
Mapoteng Soup Kitchen

The Mapoteng Soup Kitchen (or Tsholofelo Community Health Workers) was opened in October 2012. It is a drop in centre for hunger affected as well as members of the community that may require counselling for various social problems including terminal illnesses and substance abuse.

The Soup Kitchen serves two meals every day to the hunger affected, i.e., breakfast at 9:00am and 1:00pm. The centre employs 8 people. And the facility supports an average of 80 community members per day.

The soup kitchen concept provides an entry point into a conversation with the affected and frequently homeless people who may need counselling to better deal with the causes of their problems. The facility is also used as a community hall for other events including training.

FAMSA Hope Programme

A detailed Business Plan was formulated indicating the objectives, milestones/activities and outcomes. The Business Plan also describes methods to be used in data collection during the Door-to-Door activity that forms a major part of the process. The project was to employ a Project Manager, Coordinator, Supervisor and Volunteers (mainly youths). It was affected by the Olifantshoek protests. The other foreseen threats to the project was the volunteers withdrawing before completion of tasks due offers of employment. Youth agitation with certain processes has been identified as a general threat to development as some tend to incite defiance campaigns that may derail certain GDF programmes. The Hope Programme is best positioned to deal with such challenges as they emerge as they are likely to them up from their surveillance.

Infrastructure
Gamagara High School Upgrading

The Beneficiary appreciated the facility as it which raised their enrolment from 300 to 800 with state of the art facilities, 12 classroom blocks, ablution blocks, media centre there was no maths and science was previously not there and have now been introduced. There are still some finishing touches that are due such as completion of a palisade fence and roof gutters for possible rainwater harvesting. There some issues of budget limitations or shortfalls that could only be resolved on the next year's budget in order to meet the costs of these minor finishing touches.

Land and Housing

This was the largest budget allocation in 2012, it came second on expenditure. Project selection and design is mainly done in conjunction with Municipality's IDP. The Municipality gives the prioritized list of indigent households needing housing that would have been allocated stands who qualify on the basis of incomes of up to R3500. The implementation process involves several project steering committee meetings with various stakeholder as well as project coordination committee involving consulting engineers and the community representatives. The projects should involve the beneficiaries more to ensure their relevance straight from design stages.

  • Construction of 200 subsidy homes - Feasibility Study
    The project was approved in November 2012 which is to support the Gamagara Municipality with its quest to upgrade and improve the standard of living for its community in line with the Government policies. This project will benefit the indigents.

  • Mapoteng Multi-Purpose
    The Mapoteng MPC will be a one-stop centre for the community of area and it will provider variety of services to them. The centre will have a multipurpose community hall, Municipal Offices, Library (currently contracted by the Municipality), a budget R26 233 545.82 is committed to this project.