Pretoria - A number of projects have been implemented in Elliotdale in the Mbashe Local Municipality, which is one of the 21 poorest district municipalities in the country, says Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.
Motlanthe detailed some of these projects in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
He was responding to questions on what interventions had been planned for the area where water, sanitation, roads, schools, hospitals, human settlements, sport facilities and refuse removal infrastructure were in decay.
Motlanthe noted that at the Cabinet Lekgotla in July 2011, Cabinet identified 21 poorest district municipalities throughout the country and that the Amathole District - under which Elliotdale and the Mbashe Local Municipality fell - was among these.
"The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has conducted socio-economic surveys in Elliotdale - namely Wards 18 and 28 in the Mbashe Local Municipality and a Community Profiling report has been produced," he added.
A number of projects were being implemented in the area. These included household water connection across the Mbashe Local Municipality, including Elliotdale; a housing project in Elliotdale; and the completion of 25 household gardens.
In addition, 50 hectares of arable land has been cultivated; the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform is supporting the Elliotdale community with agricultural inputs; 10 km of fencing of arable lands has been completed and 15 cooperatives had been registered, Motlanthe said.
