Programme manager Eric Matlawe said that 20PTP had already identified three different nodes where the shopping centre could be situated and was busy thrashing out with the municipality which would be most suitable.

“The investor is ready with the funding,” he said, declining to name the investor.

Matlawe commented that the investor was already engaging with local businesses on the establishment of the mall.

ROAD BACKLOG

The 20PTP had originally set itself a target of tarring 3 022 km of unpaved township roads by 2009. Matlawe said that the programme had only managed to tar 811 km this far.

He believed that it would still be possible to clear the gaping backlog within the targeted time frame, if two conditions were met. The first was the release of additional funding from the government, but he said that 20PTP was also likely to look at donor funding. The second condition was that the programme was able to mobilise skills to implement the programme “at a very fast pace”.

At the launch of the 20PTP programme, Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa set a budget of R3-billion over the three years to improve the provinces townships. Matlawe, however, told journalists at a briefing that the budget had now exceeded R4-billion.