Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian

A centre for the people of Alexandra

1 min read

A one-stop shop ? the People’s Centre ? was launched in Alexandra township last week to give the 300 000-strong community immediate access to government services. The centre’s facilities consist of the following:

  • An office for payment of municipal services.

  • A free telephone link service for accessing health, social development and sport services provided by the provincial government.

  • A help or information centre for enabling residents to access their local authority for service delivery of water and sanitation, including leaks and blocked sewage, damaged roads and traffic signs

  • Residents can also use the centre to report incidents of corruption encountered in the service delivery processes.

    • The Gauteng Department of Housing has a help desk to address queries relating to housing subsidies and related structural and maintenance complaints; housing ownership disputes and landlord-tenant disputes, and housing allocation waiting lists.

    Located in Wynberg, the People’s Centre is an initiative of the Alexandra Renewal Project ? a R3,1-billion urban rejuvenation plan that draws on a number of stakeholders.

    During the launch, MEC for Development, Planning and Local Government Trevor Fowler said the Alex community needs to take ownership of the centre. “Such infrastructure does not belong to government, but to the people of Alex,” said Fowler, adding that the community has a primary responsibility to ensure that it does not degenerate into a state of disrepair.

    The centre is managed by the Gauteng Department of Housing, drawing its staff from the provincial and local government as well as some technical experts.