‘Mayors key to boosting KZN tourism’

KZN’s Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (Edtea) recently met with mayors to discuss investment in socio-economic infrastructure to drive tourism and create jobs.

The Edtea MEC, Sboniso Duma held the meeting at the Ugu Sports and Leisure Centre on Tuesday this week.
Ugu District Municipality mayor Skhumbuzo Mqadi, Ray Nkonyeni Municipality mayor Sibusiso Shange and Umzumbe Municipality mayor Bongani Nyuswa attended the meeting.

Mayors from municipalities as far as Msunduzi in Pietermaritzburg and Mvoti in Greytown were also in attendance.

Speaking to the mayors, Duma said they all have a role to play in ensuring that tourism in the province is progressing.

The MEC said economic activities across the tourism value chain contribute significantly to the Gross Domestic Product.

“Today, we are meeting with mayors, and senior officials across all spheres of government and entities under the auspices of the Provincial Tourism Investment Committee. Our view is that local government is where tourism happens, and this is why local government is best placed to create a memorable experience for tourists. As the government, we are lobbying and bidding to host national and international events as part of the stimulation of tourism. We hosted, successfully, the MTN 8 finals over the weekend,” said Duma.

He added that KZN will be hosting the South African Music Awards at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban on November 17 to 18.

The MEC urged the Ugu mayor and others to find ways on how the district can benefit from the province hosting the South African Music Awards.

“KZN will be put firmly on the map as we host the jewel of the creative industry. We will be doing destination marketing and activations in various parts of the province. Our aim is to ensure that KZN is among the top tourist destinations. To achieve this, all municipalities must play a role. We must maximise the considerable job-creating potential of the tourism sector. And we must pride ourselves on a responsible, sustainable and transforming sector. It is for these reasons we are meeting today to assess progress in relation to investments in socio-economic infrastructure in various municipalities across the province,” he said.

He added that in Chapter 7, Section 152 of the Constitution, one of the objectives of local government is to promote social and economic development.

Duma said this section states that a municipality must structure and manage its administration, budgeting and planning processes to give priority to the basic needs of the community, and to promote the social and economic development of the community.

“Local tourism is also singled out in Schedule 4 (B) as one of the competency areas of local government. And also a concurrent responsibility between the national and provincial governments (Schedule 4 (a)). The tourism sector is a national priority sector with enormous potential to promote economic development, thus requiring municipalities to promote and support it. I am confident that we will use this session as an opportunity to explore ways of both harnessing the potential of tourism to transform the lives of people and to seek effective ways of achieving positive transformation in the sector itself. Each one of us here today has a special role to play in making this national aspiration a reality – in one way or another, we have a direct impact on the future of tourism,” said Duma.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Like the South Coast Fever’s Facebook page