ALEXANDRA TOWNSHIP MAKEOVER PROJECT LAUNCHED

The We Love Alexandra Community Makeover project was
launched to stakeholders on Friday, at a breakfast convening representatives
of business, the local
community and religious institutions.

The project aims to
convene these stakeholders to pursue a collaborative approach to bring about
real, sustainable change to
the township and its people, and is being spearheaded by the South Africa Day
movement.

South Africa Day is a non-public
holiday that will be celebrated yearly on the last Saturday of November to
celebrate nation-building and
social cohesion.

In August 2018, Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba met with
South Africa Day representatives,
which led to a partnership to embark on the project.

South Africa Day intends to build
strong towns and cities by placing economic and business development at
the centre of the project. The
Alexandra project will draw
on experiences and successes in previous town projects.

Speakers at the breakfast emphasised the need for
this project, given that
the township has not seen much change since the end of Apartheid in the early
1990s.

Speakers emphasised that while the township has its
myriad of challenges, it has and continues to produce exceptional people who
thrive despite their circumstances. This year marks Alexandra’s 107th
anniversary, where it will remember heroes and other iconic residents, such
as Nelson Mandela, Hugh Masekela, Dr Irvin Khoza and Linda Twala.

At the breakfast, attendees were given pledges to
sign, to indicate their commitment to the project and what
their contribution could entail.

The next steps will be support with resources and
bringing peers on board.

Following this, there will be a public launch,
through means of the Alexandra Tea Party, which entails business executives
meeting with local community members for tea at their residences in the
township. However, this will only go ahead if there is buy-in from the
community.

Several community upliftment projects have been identified for the project, such as the building of a high-tech secondary school; the building of a high-tech community clinic; a facelift of sports facilities; the upliftment and development of public spaces in the townships; building a high-tech computer centre; a facelift of the Alex Museum; development of the Alex tourist route; and the building of the Alex market. It is expected that this list will be augmented as the project gains momentum.http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/alexandra-township-makeover-project-launched-2019-10-18