E Cape a ‘blank and neglected canvas’
The DA has identified tourism in Nelson Mandela Bay as having the potential to turn the metro into an 'opportunity city.'
|||Port Elizabeth - The ANC-run Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, which is heavily reliant on the automotive sector, could soon rival the City of Cape Town and Durban’s booming tourism industry.
That is if DA federal chairperson and Eastern Cape leader Athol Trollip receives enough votes to become mayor of the metro after the upcoming local government elections.
Trollip identified tourism in the metro, which comprises Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and Despatch, as having the potential to turn the metro into an “opportunity city” where people had jobs, housing, access to water and sanitation, and adequate delivery of services.
“This vision sees our city become the fastest-growing tourism destination in South Africa, attracting thousands of tourists and billions in revenue,” Trollip said, delivering his alternative state of the metro address in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday.
He said a growing tourism industry combined with infrastructure-led economic growth “is critical to ensuring we build a diverse and sustainable economy to attract investors and create employment”.
The metro’s beautiful coastline, game parks and favourable climate could be used and preserved to “directly benefit the people of our municipality”, Trollip said.
“Nelson Mandela Bay is the gateway to a province of unrivalled beauty, where over seven ecological areas exist against a backdrop of rich heritage and culture.
“We are a blank and neglected canvas, ready for a new, skilled, forward-thinking, committed and determined artist.”
Trollip said tourism had the potential to create jobs in the metro, where the unemployment rate, according to him, was estimated at 36.6 percent.
“We have seen it happen in the Western Cape, where we govern, where unemployment has dipped below 20 percent,” he pointed out.
Trollip said the DA would partner with role players in the tourism industry and NGOs, among other interest groups, to turn around the fortunes of the tourism sector.
The Star