OPINION: Small-craft harbour will unlock ocean economy

I believe the South Coast needs to take a dive into its ocean economy, via the creation of a small-craft harbour in Port Shepstone.

This could be worth some R12-billion per annum and would help grow the region and create new investment and employment.
In June 2013, Ugu’s management and board took a really forward-thinking decision to establish a tourism driven ‘Special Economic Zone’.

What went wrong and who comprised this decision will never be known, it seems.
For 10 years this decision was buried until I found it on Google.

It is now a decade of development potential and investment that the people of the South Coast have lost.
The lack of action on such a positive and critical decision is a crime.

In my opinion, a small-craft harbour at Port Shepstone will offer safe access to one of the world’s finest shark and scuba dive sites, namely the Protea Banks (now part of Marine Protected Area No17), plus excellent marlin fishing (tag and release) grounds and more.

It is worth a Google on Protea Banks to understand the world-class ocean reef that we are blessed with.
Having been a SA Navy officer, and involved in tourism related watersport centres in the Comores and Seychelles islands, I see massive potential for the South Coast if, and only if, we had a small-craft harbour to safely and easily access our ocean economy.

What’s past is past and the time has come for Ugu to re-instate the process they undertook to do in June 2013 – that is, to create that tourism based SEZ with all the incentives to create new investment.
Google ‘Tourism SEZs’. You will be astounded how many countries have developed them to incentivise development of their tourist industry in all its manifestations – and in the process create new types of and more employment for their people.

Russia has about 28 different SEZ regions, ditto China, but South Africa does not have any, not even one.
Presently, South Africa has only industrial SEZs and this needs to change as tourism contributes a major component to national income and employment.

The South Coast’s maritime industry has the potential to generate billions.
The only way to garner this potential is to develop a fully fledged small-craft harbour, similar to Cape St Francis, at Port Shepstone between the lighthouse and the beach swimming pool.

This in on Lot 10 owned by the municipality but under the control of Cogta.
This will provide safe access to our maritime potential, control of our MPA No 17 and be the kernel of a new investment phase.

Designed by local maritime specialists in Stellenbosch, and based on the USA small-craft harbour principles and services, the proposed harbour will be planned to accommodate some 250 vessels up to 25m and an area for the SA Navy, plus a Maritime Academy inclusive of a wet and dry dock for repairs and maintenance.
The planned 800m breakwater will be constructed of rock from a Port Shepstone located quarry and delivered by rail thus alleviating road traffic congestion.

The nay-sayers will play on the cost of sand build-up at the breakwater and cost of removal.
This has been attended to, as was done in time past before sand pumps, by training the sand away underwater berms to deeper water and let the currents move it away.
Presently, discussion with government is ongoing.

TONY KAY

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