Plans to develop an industrial precinct in Perseverance took a step forward when a senior delegate from the National Treasury recently visited the area and held high-level discussions with the Perseverance Business Association (PBA) to guide them on available funding models.
The meeting which included representation from the PBA, the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber and the Municipality, strongly supported the proposal from the association. The team was also taken on a tour of the area to expose representatives from National Treasury, to what Perseverance has to offer and the companies that are situated in the precinct, including some of the challenges they are grappling with.
PBA Chairperson Siyolo Dick says that the development of the precinct forms part of a broader strategy for the association as it seeks to enhance the area and become a well-resourced and maintained investment destination. “We aim to create an enabling environment for the businesses within this zone and ultimately create self-sufficiency which will add value for all the stakeholders.”
Chamber CEO Denise van Huyssteen says that Perseverance was the first geographic cluster to be established under the banner of the Chamber. “Since then the Perseverance Cluster has been a trailblazer, becoming the first to set up a business association, and then the first to develop a detailed strategic plan. The precinct approach, also a first, could provide a strong base from which the cluster can drive actions to ensure that an enabling environment is in place so as to retain and attract investment and jobs to the areas.”
“The geographic cluster concept has become an effective platform for enabling businesses to pool their resources together to address common issues,” she emphasises. “We currently have six geographic clusters in place with three having already registered as Business Associations.”
Dick says that since last year, the team has been working hard to address some of the key service delivery challenges in the area such as safety and security, illegal dumping and vandalism of key electrical infrastructure such as substations and traffic lights. “Even before its formalisation, the forum has been focusing on substation protection, water supply stabilisation, and road infrastructural improvement.”
Perseverance is one of the oldest industrial zones in the Metro and has a competitive advantage of housing world-class businesses and brands, who employ over 10 000 people within an area that is equidistant to customer locations and harbours. It contributes 5% per month of the total municipal rates paid in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Alan Straton
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