Supporting integrated spatial planning...
Interested in unlocking investment opportunities in the Eastern Cape's rural areas? Are you interested in the development and the economic growth of the former Ciskei and Transkei? The Rural and Spatial Programmes Unit assists initiatives or projects that focus on strategic economic development clusters in the province.

Our objective is to unlock the investment opportunities in the former Transkei and Ciskei, fast-track government decision making, provide planning advice to municipalities and provincial government departments, project scoping and planning, facilitate active participation of communities, and co-ordinate development efforts in those areas.

Bringing you quality services at no cost...
Our unit has structured these services for you at no cost:

1. Structuring economic empowerment deals on public-private partnerships and community-public-private partnerships;
2. Liaison and consultation with stakeholders; and
3. Accessing ECDC's services in Mthatha and Butterworth.

Our priority sectors...
Our unit prioritises projects that are focused on the nodal point towns like Mthatha, Butterworth and Port St Johns.

Our current programmes focus on:

• The tourism cluster in Port St Johns;
• Timber processing;
• IPD support programme;
• Rural development programme;
• The coastal programme; and
• Critical infrastructure planning.

Highly qualified team...
Our team is highly trained and knowledgeable with thorough knowledge of sector dynamics in the Eastern Cape and an understanding of the economic issues that impact on the province.

Getting you started...
If you are still reading then you are probably at the right place, so this is what you should do. The unit requires that you fill in its scoping questionnaire which requires the following information:

• Project name;
• Sector;
• Requested ECDC intervention;
• Project objective, description and status;
• Appraisal;
• Locality (how strategic);
• Project's capital expenditure;
• Empowerment considerations;
• Market;
• Private sector involvement;
• Ownership structure;
• Number of jobs created and beneficiaries impact; and
• Implementation schedule and monetary contributions.

Other considerations include:

• Empowerment of local communities;
• Environmental impact of the projects; and
• Project outputs that could penetrate the export market.

A favourable approach...
Our unit is well-disposed to:

• Projects that have clustering potential in the designated geographical areas;
• Projects that involve capital expenditure exceeding R5 million, especially in communal areas;
• Projects where ECDC property is involved;
• The resuscitation of under-performing projects which will lead to wide spread employment and improvement of quality of life;
• Communal projects that will lead to jobs and income; and
• There must be private sector involvement in the projects
• Free hold areas within the former Ciskei and Transkei
• Private sector involvement in projects

For further information contact:
Spatial and Rural Programmes Manager
Vuyani Dudula
Mthatha and Butterworth
Tel: 047 501 2258
Email: spatial@ecdc.co.za