PPT is an independent public interest organization that specializes in the preparation of projects for historically disadvantaged communities and special needs groups.PPT is not for profit and was registered with the Master of High Court in 1993, the year before the election of South Africa's first democratic government.

PPT's primary beneficiaries or clients are historically disadvantaged communities, and especially those who are the poorest of the poor and those in special need such as people infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, vulnerable children, and people residing in highly marginalized rural or informal settlements.

PPT's Vision and Mission

PPT's vision is a society in which all citizens have equitable access to basic services and economic opportunities. PPT's mission is to enable sustainable socio-economic and built environment development for the benefit of disadvantaged communities. Our mission is achieved mainly through:

• Providing project preparation and related services to disadvantaged communities, their local governments, government departments and other development stakeholders
• Obtaining funding for project preparation
• Unlocking capital and other resources for project implementation
• Transferring skills to government and other stakeholders
• Promoting best practice, including holistic and sustainable development.

PPT's main focus is on:

• Housing,
• Special needs housing and HIV/AIDS relief,
• Economic development and poverty alleviation,
• Integrated development, and
• Skills transfer and capacity building.
• including Olive-PPT ODT Programme

PPT's preparation management services include:

• Project selection and prioritisation,
• Assessment of candidate projects,
• Pre-feasibility management,
• Feasibility management and
• Training and mentorship in project preparation.

Overview of Achievements

Capital approvals: The projects PPT has prepared have resulted in R1.21 billion in capital funding being awarded for over 64,000 disadvantaged households in 128 "pro-poor" development projects. The projects range from housing and infrastructure to special needs housing and HIV/AIDS relief and pro-poor local economic development to sustainable energies and capacity building, skills transfer and organisation development.

Projects under preparation: PPT is currently preparing 161 projects benefiting over 70,000 households with a projected capital value of R1.13 billion.

Programmes: PPT runs a range of development programs including housing, special needs housing and HIV/AIDS relief, economic development, training and skills transfer, land reform and integrated development.

Gearing: The effectiveness of PPT's focus on project preparation is evident in the high gearing it achieves on both its operating overheads and the preparations funds utilized when measured against the capital unlocked. There is also additional and un-quantified gearing which relates to such benefits as improvements in people's quality of life, livelihoods, income generation and operating funds flowing into projects.

Message from the CEO

There have been significant strides in development in South Africa since the advent of democracy in 1994 and PPT is proud to have played a part in the changes and transformation that have occurred. Our contributions include the leverage of over R816 million in capital for over 45 000 disadvantaged households in 85 projects ranging from infrastructure and housing to HIV/AIDS relief and economic development. PPT has also made significant contributions in respect of building capacity within government and civil society and in developing and mainstreaming improved development practices at various levels.

However, despite progress on many fronts, further challenges must be surmounted if transformation is to be made meaningful to those who are most disadvantaged or in special need. Daily life for many in our country is still characterized by poverty and hardship and there remain many areas where service delivery is inadequate. The challenges are numerous. Despite commitments to more integrated and co-operative governance, co- ordination between different spheres of government and delivery agents continues to be weak, with the result that development strategies have not been optimised. Integrated and sustainable development is thus seldom achieved, although its pursuit remains a top priority. The situation is compounded by acute capacity constraints, especially within the public sector. Addressing these capacity constraints is critical. In addition, insufficient attention is typically paid to the preparation and feasibility stages of the project cycle. This often results in projects which are poorly conceptualised or which encounter a range of problems during the implementation or operating and maintenance phases. This also adversely affects the rate of expenditure of capital and other developmental funding. The HIV AIDS pandemic also continues to be a critical factor. Of particular concern are large numbers of orphans and vulnerable children and the threat of another "lost generation" if efforts are not re- doubled to address the crisis.

Going forward, PPT will continue to concentrate on the preparation phase of projects since this remains a key weakness in the development sector and represents a strategy that delivers significant results relative to resource costs. The organization will continue to diversify its programmes and make them more integrated and will increasingly focus on the development of human capacity both within civil society and government. The development of partnerships and alliances will continue to be a central strategy. Attaining a balance between an urban and rural focus will also be a major objective as well as achieving greater equilibrium between physical forms of development such as infrastructure and soft forms of development focusing on developing people. PPT commits itself to continuing to address the many challenges that face the poor and marginalised and to assist other organisations as well as government at different levels to meet the challenge.