Bhisho looks to the future with new precinct

FUTURISTIC. A fit description for the brand new Bhisho Office Precinct which encompasses the Bhisho Massacre Memorial.

While the recently completed contact centre is ready for its public unveiling next month, the bigger news is this week’s announcement that R225-million will be spent on kick-starting construction of the smart Bhisho Office Precinct this year.

Some of the R225-million will be spent this year on building roads and building new office buildings for the Bhisho Office Precinct.

“The precinct is going to be a major business earner and job-spinner, with every million spent in construction expected to generate R102-million in downstream businesses and service providers,” MEC Thandiswa Marawu enthused.

The broader business economy will benefit from R450 000 in spin-offs from the precinct project.

One of the biggest winners will be Buffalo City Metro, which stands to earn an extra R408-million a year in rates and other services.

The precinct will create opportunities for 4 774 man-year jobs per year.

This measure describes the amount of work which is done by an individual throughout the entire year.

The Contact centre is an amazing facility, offering a 150-seat conference centre, and four breakaway rooms.

“This state-of-the-art facility complements the Bhisho Massacre Memorial site.

“The centre is nearing completion and forms part of the broader Bhisho Revitalisation Plan,” Marawu said.

A lot of government and public business and consultation will take place in the new contact centre.

The other big news is that an array of plans are coming together to bring to life the Bhisho Revitalisation Plan.

Bhisho was constructed in the ’70s by the apartheid regime in furtherance of its racist separate development policy which attempted to create a Republic of Ciskei for black people, thus providing the infrastructure.

Now the heart of Bhisho is being reimagined and reconstructed to serve the country’s new democracy.

The contact centre is the first standalone symbol of this new and exciting future.