By Nangamso Mabindla
16 February 2005

START small, start now, urges Craig Sam, the Buffalo City director of development planning, speaking of the newly launched R250-million Duncan Village Redevelopment Initiative.

The initiative aims to improve the lives of the residents of Duncan Village, near East London, by turning it into a lively, vibrant area and creating chances for economic development. It was designed to bring visible change quickly, said Sam.

"We looked at the overall urban structure of Duncan Village Precinct based on a three-neighbourhood structure created by the division of the area by two river courses, the Umzoniana and Amalinda rivers," Sam said.

Residents' needs were taken into account through consultations between them, the City and its Dutch partners, Van Der Leij Foundation and Bouwfonds Nederlandse Gemeenten. These meetings also made it possible for the City to identify minor land parcels where housing development could begin in the interim.

"We also identified the Douglas Smit Highway as a central access-providing corridor, which is essential to external and internal linkages," said Sam.

In addition, the City looked at other aspects that needed to be tackled before the projects got under way.

For the two Dutch companies, the initiative is also about transferring skills to local residents. Rob van der Leij, the chairman of the Van Der Leij Foundation, said the Dutch companies wanted to focus on the sustainable improvement of Duncan Village.

"We want to strengthen the economic base through the creation of opportunities for employment and income," he said.

To ensure community participation, local contractors will be employed on the project. "Some of these smaller contractors have emerged through the various contractor-training programmes in Duncan Village," added Van der Leij.

Unemployed residents will also have the opportunity to be employed in either on-site construction or in materials manufacturing.