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INFORMATION
LAND & SAFETY
Development
Support
Community information services
Lack of access to information has a debilitating effect on the development
and empowerment of poor and disadvantaged groups who are isolated from
opportunities. Access to information and technology immediately opens
up opportunities for self-improvement.
Consequently, the Project has undertaken a number of initiatives to improve
channels of communication and information transference between the communities
of Cato Manor and their development partners.
Izwi newspaper, written by a community-based team, has published 36 editions
and continues to be delivered to 17 000 households in and around Cato
Manor. A number of Izwi supplements have targeted relevant issues for
emphasis. Izwi can now be subscribed to electronically via the Project's
website: www.cmda.org.za.
Information is also provided via other media such as radio and the press.
"Road shows" provide an opportunity for community members to
interact with municipal service providers at specially organised community
open days. Covered bulletin boards where public announcements can be posted,
are being constructed. Equipped with seating, these "info shelters"
are located at busy thoroughfares and near taxi ranks. An outreach project
to promote the use of computers and the Internet is being planned.
Land
claims
The process to settle the 441 land claims affecting the Cato Manor Project,
in terms of the historic Cato Manor Land Claims Settlement Agreement,
has been implemented with much success. By June 2000, 333 of the land
claims had been 'settled' during the mediation phase:
- 278 claimants opted
for financial compensation
- 31 claimants opted
for alternative land to be allocated to them
- 24 claimants opted
for their original properties to be restored to them.
Although the CMDA
and the claimants have 'settled' on the basis described, these claims
must still be validated by the Regional Land Claims Commissioner/Department
of Land Affairs. Thereafter, the Land Claims Court grants the final approval.
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Of the remaining 108
claims:
- 10 claims were
withdrawn by the claimants
- 1 claim was rejected
by the Regional Land Claims Commissioner
- 68 claims were
found to be situated outside the boundaries of the Project area and
could therefore not be dealt with in terms of the Settlement Agreement
- 13 claimants were
unable to submit sufficient information to enable their claims to be
processed
- 6 claimants have
not come forward for their cases to be finalised
- 10 claims are
in the process of being settled.
Community
safety initiatives
A number of community safety initiatives have been designed to combat
the negative effect of crime and violence on the Project. A SAPS Special
Investigations Task Team was assigned to the Project in 1998 to investigate
priority crimes in Cato Manor. The team has successfully solved 50 cases
including murder, armed robbery and possession of unlicenced firearms.
By June 2000, they had made 120 serious crime arrests, 48 firearms had
been recovered and R450 000 worth of property including vehicles, jewellery,
cell phones and computer equipment had been recovered. A joint venture
involving the City of Leeds, the Durban Metropolitan Council and the CMDA
have devised a community safety programme, funded by Leeds, which has
experience in this field, to establish a holistic security strategy for
Cato Manor. A number of exchange visits have been hosted.
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