Business chambers focus on development

The meeting was designed to take a business view on the development and growth of Malalane and Nkomazi in general.

The chamber engaged with professional town planner and consultant Shivon Wiggins about spaces, places and partnerships. Wiggins’ long career has equipped her with a deep knowledge and understanding of urban planning and development.

She kept the attendees’ interest, especially when she included current and future expansions of Malalane, the progress in the planning for the N4 bypass road, the hospitals and other developments.

Wiggins started off by explaining the concept of the urban edge, which determined the absolute boundary of the town over time as envisaged by government planners and various departments, including agriculture. She explained that the Department of Agriculture would never tolerate all fertile land being built upon, as this would compromise the country’s ability to feed itself. Available water, land fertility and the role of the town as a regional centre were all determinants.

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Wiggins responded to illegal residential developments on farmland by stating that such developments derailed any ability of government to plan infrastructure and divert resources into crisis management, to the detriment of entire regions.

The poor state of infrastructure such as streets, public lighting, sewage and water reticulation was called into focus. According to Wiggins, within Nkomazi, local government spending on maintenance of existing infrastructure was only approximately 2% of the total annual operating budget, which was low, in particular considering the often-poor control over such maintenance spending.

Wiggins subsequently explained that construction of the N4 bypass had been delayed by the Covid crisis, and that the imminent expiry of the current Sanral toll concession held by TRACN4 created a level of uncertainty with several planned developments on the N4 within Nkomazi.

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She stated that with respect to the hospital mooted for Malalane, the licence had been allocated, but a developer had yet to enter the scene. When asked about existing residential developments, she explained that limited water availability, undersized water reticulation and poor sewerage infrastructure severely constrained investment.

“Business chambers are of huge importance to the local communities. Critical at individual town and developmental node level, it is also necessary to ensure that chambers across Nkomazi are aligned in order to ensure equitable allocation of local government resources where needed,” said Mel Preddy, the chairperson of the Malalane Business Chamber.

Jan Engelbrecht, a member of the chamber, stated that a workshop would be held in early 2022. The City Improvement District model would be introduced as a globally successful and proven one.

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