Imagining a better future
What does the future hold in a context of high levels of HIV/Aids and the need to provide access to land and shelter? That’s the focus of an innovative project underway in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Replacing old water pipes
Replacing asbestos water pipes with leakfree pipes will virtually eliminate the need for maintenance and save eThekwini Municipality hundreds of millions of rands every year.
Water – the five big questions
With increasing demands for water from a growing population and expanding economy, the way the country allocates, plans for and manages this scarce resource is critical.
Amending the Rates Act
By Sept ember a new- look Municipal Property Rates Act should be before Parliament for discussion and debate. Valuations expert JANET CHANNING looksat some of the problems that municipalities have encountered in the five years since the sector began rating properties.
World Cup helps reinvent public open space
The event has come and gone, but what can live on is the positive way many South Africans experienced public spaces.
Building a metro in the ‘place of peace’
One of South Africa’s six met ropolitan municipalities , Ekurhuleni, is the only one notable for not having a large, historic city at its centre. In forging a new identity the metro is taking on the legacy of inequality that shaped the old ‘East Rand’.
Setting a new goal
Let’s use the World Cup energy and enthusiasm into making our municipalities work, says YUNUS CARRIM, as he outlines plans for post-2010 sustainability in local government.
Creating local jobs
In KwaZulu-Natal a programme to retain and expand local business has taken off, providing lessons for other municipalities.
A big fat problem
South Africans are among the fattest people in the world, driven by rising obesity rates among middle-class urban black people, particularly women. This is a group that is also well represented in most local municipalities, and should be an increasing cause for concern.
A local approach to pothole repair
Using a creative approach to road maintenance, Ugu District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal has fixed more than 5 000 potholes in just three months in what is being seen as a model for the rest of the country.
From slums to homes
With a backlog of over seven million houses, the Brazilian government has launched an impressive mass affordable housing programme that is drawing attention across the world.
Getting the right ‘top six’
As part of government’s efforts to improve local government, the goal has been set to ensure that every municipality has critical posts filled by people with the qualifications, skills and experience to do the job justice. SARAH HETHERINGTON looks at the so-called ‘top six’ positions and what it will take to get the right person for each one.
Local approaches to HIV/Aids
Making sure that HIV/Aids is seen as ‘everyone’s business’ within a municipality is hard, but two committed officials in KwaZulu- Natal are succeeding in building support for their programmes.