It was intergovernmental relations in action when the Eastern Cape MEC for Arts, Sport and Culture Pemmy Majodina and Nelson Mandela Bay’s Executive Mayor, Cllr Danny Jordaan, officiated the signing of transfer of Bayworld Ocenarium to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality on Friday, July 1, 2016.
The transfer of the facility falls within the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s Five Year Plan, called the Five Golden Years Plan. The 5 Golden Years Plan was announced by the Executive Mayor last month during his State of the City Address. The Plan, led by the Executive Mayor himself, inter alia focuses on the diversification of the economy of Nelson Mandela Bay.
Ocean Economy and Tourism Development have been identified as key focus areas. According to the broader plan, Bayworld will be part of the proposed Waterfront Development along the Humewood coast-line. The Nelson Mandela Bay Development Agency has been mandated to conceptualise and implement the development.
Speaking to the guests and media at the event, Executive Mayor Danny Jordaan stated that Bayworld was one of the iconic tourism experiences in Nelson Mandela Bay. He said: “The Memorundum of Understanding (MOU) signed here today will provide the Municipality with a committed approach to working more closely together with the Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture, in our pursuit to create jobs.”
“Today marks the unleashing of the potential of the Five Golden Years (2016 – 2022) and this ceremony of the hand-over of the Bayworld will undoubtedly amplify our coastal and marine tourism. The extraordinary beauty, cultural wealth and great diversity of the Metro’s pristine coastline make it a preferred destination for many holidaymakers across the globe”.
The Executive Mayor emphasised that the key drivers of the Five Golden Years were job creation and the socio-economic transformation of Nelson Mandela Bay.
“I stand before you today to remind all and sundry that you cannot argue against progress and service delivery. No-one can doubt that Bayworld is designed to be a major source of growth and jobs, especially for the young. With the hand-over of Bayworld, we have our work cut out for us: the task that lies ahead is to exploit the potential sustainability in order to offer attractive jobs to our people,” added the Executive Mayor.
MEC Majodina said that relations between government entities must be centred on benefiting the people. “It was a conscious decision from us as the Province to transfer this facility to Nelson Mandela Bay, as they have a clear plan to take the facility to a global level. We are excited today after having seen the plans: it gave us confidence that we have taken the right decision,” said Majodina.
Nelson Mandela Bay Development Agency Chief Executive Officer, Piere Voges, commented: “Now the that signing of the transfer has been done, more intense work starts now. In reality, it will take us about a year to work on our concept before we can start seeing visible change in Bayworld. We are looking at more than R300 million that we will use on the Bayworld Facility.”
Voges added that the work would be done employing the combined expertise and contributions from different entities like the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, the tourism industry, the Municipality and the business sector.
NMB Communications
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