We Remain Focused On Fighting Poverty

Throughout this period the government has been burning the midnight oil in an effort to improve the lives of all South Africans, particularly those who live in abject poverty. In 2001 the government identified Inanda and KwaMashu as areas that needed special attention. Later, Ntuzuma was added to form INK.

The Municipality now deals with five priority areas: INK, Cato Manor, the Inner Thekwini Regeneration and Urban Renewal Programme (iTrump), the South Durban Basin and the Rural Area Based Management. The national government proposed urban renewal programmes as a way to fight unemployment, social dislocation, poverty and other social ills. Besides being poor, these areas have inadequate infrastructure. The aim of establishing area based management and urban renewal programmes was to facilitate joint government action to reduce poverty and unemployment by improving the living conditions and empowering citizens to realize their potential.

In Cato Manor there has been a vast improvement in infrastructural development and in the lives of people. Some people have formed co-operatives; others have gone for skills development. The Municipality has urban and rural areas within its borders and this calls for different interventions. Rural communities are more interested in the land because they are focused on agriculture. The emphasis in their case will be on empowering them to excel in what they do best.

The Area Based Management teams have done a wonderful job in acting as facilitators. Through their efforts partnerships have materialised between residents and business people. There has been infrastructural development as well as skills development and job creation. The government is truly showing its commitment to pushing back the frontiers of poverty. Construction projects, including hospitals, clinics, malls and roadworks are under way day in and day out, contributing vastly to poverty alleviation.