Durban — A total of 300 youth have been employed as part of the Urban Improvement Precinct (UIP), by the eThekwini Municipality ahead of the 2024 Africa Travel Indaba to be held from Tuesday up to Thursday (May 14-16) at the Durban International Convention Centre (ICC).
This was revealed by City Manager Musa Mbhele during a walkabout on the Durban promenade on Monday, to ascertain the City’s state of readiness to host the country’s premier tourism gathering.
Mbhele described it as one of the largest tourism events on the continent that showcased the diverse leisure tourism products in Africa.
The employment of the 300 youth would help with redirecting of the homeless, and lead to a decrease of criminal activity, he said.
“They also play a role in bolstering security, providing cleanliness and uphold standards to create a welcoming environment for tourists,” Mbhele said, adding that more than 8 000 delegates from across the globe would attend the Indaba.
He also addressed the issue of the Sky Car designed to add value to the tourism nature of Moses Mabhida Stadium but not being operational for years.
“There is good news though as we have employed the original designers of the stadium and they have been at work for the last two months. It will come back online and people will enjoy the aerial view of the city.”
With regard to the controversial closure of the popular Fun World on the beachfront, he said there was a lot of misinformation.
“The contract with the original owner had already expired and the facility was becoming a safety issue. There are over R360 million in potential investment regarding that area, we have identified a responsive bidder that will assist in face-lifting the area.”
Mbhele pleaded with the public to give the City time to fix the precinct and assured them that they were not folding their arms.
Last month, the Daily News reported on a leasing issue regarding the Warwick Avenue Museum and the City. Mbhele emphasised that the matter was being resolved.
“We have just done a site visit to come up with a strategy of how to make the museum functional as it’s an important part of our history.”
“Durban has the warmest climate and is filled with diverse cultures. We also have unique cuisine and a very diverse history. Our biggest draw is our beaches. We have vibrant entertainment and within a short radius, one has access to some of the city’s nature reserves. Last time, we saw 22 countries participating and they contributed more than R500 million to KZN’s economy.”
Mbhele also touched on another controversy – around the prime tourist attraction in Durban, the north pier at the harbour mouth – which has been closed to the public, saying: “The port manager engaged with us prior to closing the promenade as well as the subsistence fishermen regarding safety issues – which included people plunging into the pier. There is a consideration regarding a sanctuary where fish reproduce and we did not want subsistence fishing in case it destabilised the reproductive process. It is important to preserve the environment.”
Metro Police Deputy Commissioner Winnie Zama said there would be an additional police presence on the Durban Beachfront near event venues and the hotels.
Director of Operations and Complex General Manager at Suncoast, Adam MacIntyre, said tourism was an important part of the economy and the Indaba was a great opportunity to raise KZN’s profile.
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Daily News