By Nangamso Mabindla
25 January 2006

BUFFALO City's financial turnaround has received international recognition. The City has signed an agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The agreement, signed at the East London City Hall on Wednesday, 25 January, frees R110-million in guarantees for immediate use by the City for infrastructure investment.

Buffalo City is the first municipality in the province to sign an agreement with the IFC, the municipal arm of the World Bank.

Speaking at the signing of the agreement, Mayor Sindisile Maclean said the money would assist the City in its efforts to map out a development path over the next five years.

"We've swung from being in the red to being in the black, with some half a billion rand in our bank account, and private sector partners and investors in the queue to make things happen,” said Maclean.

On the agreement, Maclean said the City's chief financial officer Brian Shepherd and the IFC had been in negotiations for almost a year.

"It is a big feather in our cap as it not only guarantees us R110-million through consolidation of guarantees we gave to other financial institutions when they helped us in the past, but it actually makes a R410-million facility available to us through the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).”

As an indicator of the financial health of the City, Maclean pointed out that the R2-billion Gonubie golf estates development was on track. The investors, the Billion Group, expected the environmental impact assessment to be completed, along with the response from the Department of Environment and Tourism, by April.

"They are in a hurry to get on site as soon as possible and are now signing the deed of sale for the land for a R100-million shopping mall in Mdantsane's Zone 6,” added Maclean.

Maclean said the municipality's strategic intent extended beyond the loan. He said it was on a modern development path as outlined in the City Development Strategy (CDS), which would start to unfold in the next few weeks.

The CDS aimed to create jobs, address poverty and mould Buffalo City into a flourishing city.

"The CDS will also be shared with the business community at the Border Kei Chamber of Business think tank sessions in February and, of course, we are preparing to share elements of it at the [upcoming] job summit,” said Maclean.

"With developments such as the signing of the agreement with IFC and our CDS the future of Buffalo City looks bright.”

IFC's Gaetan Tiberghien echoed Maclean's words saying, "We are looking forward to working closely with the City in the efforts to improve the lives of the citizens.”