The community of Masiphumelele in Cape Town will soon see the construction of two multi-million rand Early Childhood Development centres.
The project is the result of donations received from private funders, with completion expected by the end of May 2015. The City of Cape Town approved the donation of two Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres to be developed by the Masiphumelele Corporation (Masicorp) and the Rotary Club of Newlands. The two facilities will cost R2.6 million and R3.7 million respectively and will be built on City land earmarked and reserved by the Social Development and Early Childhood Development Directorate. The City will cover the development costs of the project – an estimated R1.3 million – from its Capital Replacement Reserve, as these costs were not provided for in the original estimates for the project. Once the project is complete, the buildings will be handed over to the City.“We cannot put a price on community development. Masiphumelele is classified as one of the most vulnerable communities in terms of the Socio-Economic Status (SES) Index and the construction of these facilities will provide accessible ECD services in an area where there is a very great need,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Social Development and Early Childhood Development, Councillor Suzette Little.
The directorate has, since 2011, implemented a number of measures to enhance the quality of and access to ECD opportunities for children across Cape Town. This includes the construction of a number of Centres of Excellence in areas identified through a Council for Scientific and Industrial Research study. The directorate is spending more than R16 million in the current financial year on its infrastructure development programme. Little added that the City is always willing to work with other sectors to make progress possible, and she encouraged other organisations and corporates’ to approach the city if they have ideas or funds that they would like to invest in projects to improve the lives of the residents.
