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The Uitenhage / Despatch Development Initiative has announced a bold vision to take the Development Agency into the future.
CEO, Patricia Dlamini, said on Thursday that their action plan is underpinned by four key pillars.
These are the regeneration of townships in Uitenhage and Despatch, Enterprise Development, Education and Skills Development Training and Good Governance and Organisational Development.
"The organisation has recently undergone a comprehensive organisational and strategy review process that should rekindle public confidence in the institution which is aimed at positioning the agency as a leader in socio-economic development," says Uitenhage-Despatch Development Initiative (UDDI) chief executive Patricia Dlamini.
Announcing the agency's 2012/13 performance results and its future outlook, Dlamini, who assumed her position in October 2013, says this work was done on the back of yet another unqualified audit opinion and a sharpened focus on stimulating economic growth, investment and supporting entrepreneurship, social uplifting through education and training.
While the UDDI is a Not-for Profit organisation, the UDDI places a premium on financial performance to building public, partner and funder confidence for the entity. These interventions have produced significant returns and were the building blocks for improved economic activity and operational efficiencies.
"The most exciting of UDDIs projects in 2012/13 was the launch of the flagship R30 million Nelson Mandela Bay Science and Technology Centre in March 2013. The centre is a ground-breaker in its own right being the first standalone centre outside an institution of higher learning. The centre created 500 jobs during its construction and launch phases.
"In addition, the agency also implemented its eco-hub pilot project in the Despatch area in partnership with the Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEDEAT). An amount of R500 000 was spent on the project which transforms illegal dumpsites in townships into workable vegetable production clusters using natural and waste resources," says Dlamini.
Dlamini, a former head of the Eastern Cape Information Technology Initiative (ECITI), says the UDDI also continued with its social upliftment projects such as the Back to School initiative. In 2012/13, the organisation distributed shoes, clothing and stationary to 1 800 needy learners from 15 schools in Uitenhage and Despatch. Since inception, about 5 000 shoes and other items have been donated.
