Harbour on the cards for Ugu region
Ugu District Municipality deputy mayor, Mandla Chiya told Fever that the harbour will create good jobs for the youth.
The only thing that is stopping the Ugu region from boasting a harbour of its own right now is the issue of investments and funding.
This was revealed by the manager of development planning in Ugu District Municipality, Zekhethelo Mshengu at the Uvongo Town Hall on Thursday last week.
Mshengu was speaking during the municipality’s Youth Indaba where she said there are proposals to build harbours in Port Shepstone, Hibberdene and Port Edward.
She said these proposals have been approved by Ray Nkonyeni Municipality as the local operating municipality.
Mshengu said the idea of a harbour in the district is part of the Eastern Seaboard Development which was presented by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Ugu Sport and Leisure Centre in November 2021.
The president had told the media that the Eastern Seaboard Development is a broad and multi-faceted vision.
He said it is a vision to translate from policy into practise the District Development Model, which aims to improve the coherence and impact of local service delivery.
“It is a vision to overcome the legacy of apartheid spatial planning, which continues to limit the economic opportunities of millions of black South Africans. It is a vision to strengthen economic linkages between our provinces through mutually beneficial development. This development aims to harness the potential of the vast natural endowments of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape for economic growth,” said Ramaphosa.
Mshengu said in order to implement the idea of the idea, government structures will have to align.
“What is holding us back is getting prioritisation in terms of funding so that we can start implementing. The funding can come from anyone, we will be searching for investors to help with implementation. Whether we go into private or public partnerships, it does not matter but the memorandum of agreement will have to speak to serving the people. Maybe government such as the Department of Public Works through operation Operation Phakisa, the Department of Human Settlements, and the Department of Trade and Investment can decide to give us money to build the harbour. The operations will fall under Ray Nkonyeni Municipality as the operating local municipality. We are not sure when the money will come but funding is being hunted by a collective from national, provincial and local municipalities within the district,” said Mshengu.
Ugu District Municipality deputy mayor, Mandla Chiya told Fever that the harbour will create good jobs for the youth, adding that they are hoping that by 2023 there will be visible progress when it comes to the harbour.
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