The Eastern Cape coastal belt has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past few years, driven mainly by large-canvas investment initiatives such as the East London and Coega Industrial Development Zones, as well as the mushrooming of numerous private golf estates, positioned to take advantage of the province’s spectacular seascapes.
Less obviously – but no less importantly – the province has also been nurturing a vivid revival of its hinterland, where many small towns are enjoying an exciting economic and cultural rejuvenation.
The reasons behind this transformation have been twofold. On the one hand, many small towns in the province are benefiting from a spontaneous anti-urban backlash that has seen people opt out of their hectic city routines for a slower, safer and less stressful existence.
“These are, for the most part, people with a lot to offer – people who have skills and professional experience and expertise that they are now ploughing into these smaller towns,” says Eastern Cape development expert Stuart Bartlett.
The other factor is a concerted drive by government – often through local, district and national government partnerships – to stimulate local economic development.
Driving development
Much of the spadework behind this economic revival can be attributed to the various local government development agencies at work in the province. Funded by the Industrial Development Corporation’s agency development and support department, these agencies – there are currently 22 in operation – have as their sole mandate identifying and driving sustainable and commercially viable development initiatives for their specific towns or regions.
One example of the muscle of these agencies is ASPIRE – Amathole Beyond Limits, the newly rebranded Amathole Economic Development Agency. ASPIRE has been awarded R300 million from, among others, the National Treasury’s Neighbourhood Development Partnership Grant specifically for local economic development.
“The money will be used specifically to develop the small towns along the four corridors of the N2, the N6, the R63, and the R72 road networks,” says Amathole district council executive mayor Sakhumzi Somyo.
Five specific projects have already been identified, including the regeneration of Hamburg, Alice, Stutterheim, Butterworth and Dutywa.
The Butterworth renewal, the largest of the projects, will undergo a spatial transformation that will include a new retail and services hub, and improvements to the educational heart of the town, says ASPIRE CEO Phila Xuza.
“Stutterheim, on the N6, will undergo a three-phase R65m renewal that will include a bridge linking Stutterheim and the Mlungisi township. Hamburg, located on the R72, is looking at planning proposals to regenerate the seaside town. Alice is looking for proposals that would link the town to the university.”
Somerset East
One of the small Eastern Cape towns that has arrived is Somerset East, where the local Blue Crane Development Agency recently secured Special Municipal Infrastructural Funding of R5m for the upgrading and expansion of the Somerset East Airport. This has led to numerous spin-off developments for the area, including the establishment of a world-class specialist flying academy catering for fixed-wing and helicopter, private pilot, commercial, senior commercial and airline transport pilot training.
“In Somerset East, they basically sat down and said, ‘What are our assets? And how do we utilise and develop these assets?’ ” says Bartlett. “What didn’t look like much of an asset initially – the fact that it was hot, and that there weren’t many trees in the area – proved to be the perfect conditions for flying, and for establishing a flying school.”
Albasera Aircraft, a Johannesburg-based ultra-light aircraft manufacturer will be relocating its operations to Somerset East. Subsequently, the Somerset East Development Agency has brokered an agreement with the Wits Aeronautical School to develop and manufacture a South African-designed light sport aircraft.
The town is also investigating setting up an agripark comprising a fruit farm, flower farm and vegetable seed operation.
Nieu Bethesda
In Nieu Bethesda, set in the fertile valley of the Sneeuberg Mountains, Helen Martin’s famous Owl House now draws in excess of 15 000 visitors every year. This has led to a small industry of restaurants, coffee shops, art galleries and accommodation establishments mushrooming in the town, driving a new spurt of economic activity in this once-sleepy village.
“The housing market has really taken off in recent years,” says Bartlett. “The town is attracting a lot of people – many of them from the arts communities”.
Innovation at work
This regeneration drive is evident throughout the province, from Rhodes to Patensie and all the way to Graaff-Reinet, where the Camdeboo Satellite Aquaculture Project has launched an ambitious fish-breeding initiative, where it is envisaged 50 fish farms will produce at least 10 tons of tilapia (bream) fish.
