This week the Executive Mayor of Alfred Nzo District Municipality, Cllr Vukile Mhlelembana, accompanied by the Planning and Economic Development standing committee members embarked on oversight visits to projects funded by the Local Economic Development unit of the District across the District.The purpose of these oversight visit was to assess the impact of the initiatives that the district is spending taxpayers money on, to see if the projects are sustainable and are yielding the expected impact on job creation. These projects include projects funded through Agri-parks program and the Resident Fashion Designer program.On the Agri-parks program alone, the District has invested over R29 million per year in ploughing and harvesting over 2000 hectares and provision of mechanisation to local farmers.The Resident Fashion Designer program is assisting Local sewing projects and turning them into Commercialised Fashion Designers.The Executive Mayor has expressed their satisfaction on the impact of the programs in creating much needed jobs and stimulating local economy.“We are happy to see that taxpayers money has not gone to waste. Our people have expressed it from their own mouths that these interventions have changed their lives. Our next step is to fund more people and to provide for them access to the market in order to turn Alfre Nzo into a food basket of the Eastern Cape” Mhlelembana said.
