Chairperson and hon member, allow me to clarify an issue of terminology at the outset. The Presidential Nodal Zones were part of the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme, ISRDP, and the War on Poverty Campaign. With the configuration of government departments in 2009, these programmes and the nodal areas were integrated into the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme.
Regarding the first part of the question, studies that were conducted in the nodes by the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the Department of Social Development found that poverty levels were declining and the number of households with income for food had increased. An improvement in infrastructure service delivery was also indicated, with a number of the areas showing an increase in access to basic services.
Although successes could be seen, a number of challenges persisted, including co-ordination across government spheres and funding challenges in the ISRDP. Currently 23 district municipalities have been prioritised for attention, due to the prevalence of extreme poverty and underdevelopment there.
The July 2011 Cabinet lekgotla adopted various action plans to further improve service delivery in these priority areas. The action plans are led by identified departments responsible for co-ordination and service delivery of the agreed targets.
Furthermore, regarding the provision of social and economic infrastructure in the 23 district municipalities experiencing the largest number of backlogs in one of the strategic integrated projects contained in the infrastructure development plan adopted by Cabinet and the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission, PICC, districtwide infrastructure action plans are being developed in conjunction with all three spheres of government.
A national interdepartmental task team is collating and evaluating projects submitted by various district municipalities. In each district two catalytic infrastructure projects will be identified to kick-start sustainable social and economic development. We expect that this process will be completed by the end of May this year.
The entire Jozini Dam area falls within the Umkhanyakude District, which had previously been part of the ISRDP but is now one of the 23 prioritised districts. Various projects focusing on enterprise development, basic services and agricultural development are currently in various stages of implementation in that area. These include the revitalisation of several irrigation schemes in the area, such as the Makhatini irrigation scheme and the Ndumo schemes. The Ndumo A scheme has been nonfunctional for many years and the plan is to bring the first 150 hectares into production this year. Ndumo B currently has 150 hectares under production and an additional 200 hectares are to be brought into production in this financial year. It is anticipated that these projects will contribute to food security and small- farmer development in the area.