Mpumalanga’s Nkosi City finally back on track
MEC Speed Mashilo expressed his disappointment at how long the city is ultimately taking to realise, and instructed the role players to expedite it.

Mpumalanga’s much-anticipated and -envisaged first agrismart city, Nkosi City, is finally taking shape.
So said the provincial MEC for co-operative governance, human settlements and traditional affairs, Speed Mashilo, during an interview with Mpumalanga News. He said he has met with all the relevant stakeholders, including the two municipalities involved in the project, namely the City of Mbombela (CoM) and the Ehlanzeni District.
However, Mashilo expressed his disappointment at the city’s slow progress. “I have dealt with the issue of Nkosi City. It’s a long outstanding issue. I realised that it has been in the integrated development plans of the CoM and Ehlanzeni District Municipality for almost 14 years, and this is quite unfortunate.”
Nkosi City is a major integrated human settlement in Daantjie in the CoM, developed in a joint venture between the Nkosi City Communal Property Association and Dovetail Properties, assisted by National Government, the Mpumalanga Provincial Government and the CoM.
This first-of-its-kind smart city is set to have 3 471 residential units, 1 747 RDP units, 1 166 apartments and 558 bonded housing units. Schools, a TVET college, clinic and a provincial hospital will also be established.
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The retail section will comprise a centre of about 40 000m², which will house the fresh produce market, entertainment and restaurants, and filling stations, while the hospitality section hosts a five-star hotel, lodge and guest houses. The agricultural section will consist of an agricultural process and packing facility, which is likely to take up up to 2 400m², as well as mini factories and warehousing.
Once complete, the smart city is set to create an estimated total of over 15 000 job opportunities.
“I have instructed and given the municipalities a time frame to design and to conclude a township establishment for the area. What is good here is the fact that we have the general plan approved by the surveyor general.
The municipalities must just move towards registering the area so that it’s no longer just a farm, but a livable area, so that it can be developed. This is a victory not just for the people of Pienaar, but also an achievement by this department in its first 100 days in office,” continued Mashilo.
Pienaar is one of the rural villages in the CoM with a huge population, which mostly lives in abject poverty due to a number of social factors, ranging from the high unemployment rate to a large number of child-headed households.
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This project has hit a number of snags, which has led to the community accusing the Provincial Government of deliberate sabotage. The residents have voiced their dissatisfaction on many occasions, and said they have lost confidence in the Provincial Government.