- Loyiso Dotwana is president of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business
Small changes, better efficiencies that could get the Bay on track
It is not only ambitious future visions, major investments and mega-projects that are needed to get Nelson Mandela Bay resurging again — speedy and cost-effective interventions can make a big difference if city leaders collaborate for the greater good.
By city leaders I mean not only the municipal political and administrative leadership, but leaders in business and civil society as well.
If we can work together as change agents, adopting an open, optimistic-but-realistic growth mindset based on shared values and interests, there is much that is achievable in the year ahead.
Some of these “quick wins” will require public-private partnerships and co-operation; others are stumbling blocks which can be addressed by improving efficiencies in the municipality and putting political differences aside.
Quick wins include:
? Restoration of the Baakens River Valley: A chamber study to assess viability and develop a business plan in consultation with stakeholders, completed at the end of last year, shows the city’s “green lung” can be an economic as well as an environmental asset.
Clearing of water-sapping alien vegetation will not only restore the natural environment but create more than 700 jobs in ongoing removal operations as well as in new eco-friendly manufacturing enterprises processing the cleared timber and vegetation into profitable goods.
A healthy valley will support recreation, sports, eco-tourism and public events, and be a key resource in mitigating the impact of climate change by providing a natural flood barrier.
A minimal capital investment of about R50m will unlock massive and diverse opportunities.
Spin-offs include relatively easy job creation, enhancing the ecosystem value, improving safety, accessibility and use of the area by locals and tourists, with opportunities also in links to the urban renewal of the lower valley and future harbour and beachfront developments.
The chamber is taking the next steps to engage the municipality and the broad spectrum of stakeholders to get working groups going so this project can deliver tangible results by the end of the year.
? Cleaning and greening holds great potential to improve the metro living and business environment, and achieve sustainable job creation.
Pay local people to clear illegally dumped rubble and litter that can be directed to recycling or upcycling for income generation; clear alien vegetation that becomes input for manufactured products.
There is serious global funding available out of commitments at last year’s Glasgow Climate Change Conference, COP26, for green business and carbon emissions reduction initiatives — an opportunity the Bay should seize without delay.
? The PE Golf Club’s planned development of a residential golf estate is also relatively easy to implement. Approve the sale of the land, and allow the club to develop free-standing and high-density housing around the golf course, creating hundreds of direct and indirect jobs and an estimated additional R50m a month for the municipality in rates and service charges.
The proposed development has been stymied due to the ever-changing metro administrations and office-bearers of the last few years, meaning the club has repeatedly had to start its application and motivation afresh.
? Nelson Mandela Bay is losing out to more favourable destinations within our own country and beyond. The chamber can cite numerous cases of businesses that have wanted to invest in our area, but have given up and moved their investments to other provinces due to the metro’s drawn-out processes of dealing with rezoning applications.
These applications take many months, even years, to finalise and approve.
Our ask of the metro’s political and executive leadership is to swiftly put the resources in place and simpler, transparent processes to ensure rezoning applications are turned about within three months.
? Covid-19 delayed the establishment of a Conference Bureau to proactively market the Bay as a business events destination, and bid for hosting of conventions, exhibitions, trade shows and other major events.
With an affordable estimated budget of R3m a year, a public-private partnership to drive this could develop a new revenue-generating and tourism-supporting sector to benefit the metro.
? The appointment of a suitably qualified permanent city manager, accountable to clear and transparent performance indicators, is key to achieving much-needed stability in the metro.
It is time to resolve this issue — it requires a simple human resources process that needs to be rigorous, transparent and free of political agendas.
These and other quick wins have been tabled by the chamber’s leadership team in ongoing engagements with the metro’s political leaders, parties and city officials.
As organised business, we are passionate about this city and want it to succeed, and believe that through a collaborated approach we can ignite a resurgence of the Bay.