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Municipal budget firstever delivered at Square

In a bid to promote public participation, the 2005/2006 Budget for the Mangaung Local Municipality was delivered at Hoffman Square on 27 May - an historic first for Bloemfontein.
In his address, the Executive Mayor, Mr. Papi Mokoena, said that it is “befitting that we hold this important meeting of the representatives of our people in Mangaung on this public square.”
Mokoena set out the following 8-point agenda to be met by the Council of Mangaung by 2006:
Economic growth to improve to 4,5% and 6 000 new jobs created;
Communities in Mangaung to be self-reliant, proud and strong;
80% of the residents must see Mangaung as a safe and secure place to live in, visit and do business, and crime levels must fall by 20%;
Percentage of HIV infection amongst antenatal women must be reduced to 20% and amongst the youth to 15%;
70% of the Mangaung residents must live in housing to NHBRC standards and the majority must own their own houses;
Matric pass rate must improve to 65% and literacy levels must improve to 90%;
All residents on existing formal erven must have access to water connection on their stands, 85% to basic RDP standard sanitation and 65% to a properly drained all weather street;
Mangaung must have an attractive environment with clean, well-kept natural open spaces, parks and well-maintained built environment.
The capital budget (84,39% allocated to infrastructure development) will amount to R277,4 million and the operating budget (day to day spending) to R1 434,6 million. This amounts to an annual investment in the Municipality of R1,7 billion.
Another historic feature was the attendance by a delegation from the City of Ghent in Belgium of the Council meeting. This formed part of their implementation of the sister-city agreement between Mangaung and Ghent.