Veeplaas hub to be opened finally
Vandalised multimillion-rand facility undergoes redesign, with MDBA brought in to salvage project
AMULTIMILLION-rand hub for small business development in Port Elizabeth’s Veeplaas looks set to open finally after four years of delays. The Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) was roped in by the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality in December to salvage the project.
Small businesses that were targeted to operate in the hub included appliance shops, television and shoe repair ventures and a car wash.
But the hub remained vacant for years, with vandals stripping the centre of building material. Initially, R500 000 was budgeted for the project, but this was increased to R4.79-million when the MBDA was brought on board.
Economic development, tourism and agriculture executive director Anele Qaba said the history of the Veeplaas hub was similar to many incomplete projects in the city, such as the Motherwell Thusong Service Centre.
Almost six years since the building was completed and R46-million later, the Motherwell centre has yet to open its doors.
The centre – which the municipality said would be opened by the end of the financial year in June – will offer traffic services, easing the burden on the Korsten and Uitenhage centres.
Qaba said poor planning and lack of funding for the Veeplaas hub were just some of the factors that had brought the project to a standstill.
“The Veeplaas hub was done wrong in the first place, which is why it was not operating. The building was standing there for quite some time. It was not designed correctly and the MBDA had to redesign and complete the rest of it.”
The redesign was completed in January. “We are finalising the operational plan and it will go to council for approval,” Qaba said.
The municipality and the MBDA board were reviewing the project, which should be managed by the MBDA, he said.
“Since the building is the property of the municipality, legally there must be an agreement that gives consent for the MBDA to manage and operate the facility and the agreement in discussion [by councillors] is mainly for that purpose,” Qaba said.
If the project was not run by the MBDA, the municipality would have to step in and budget for its operations.
The facility would be opened before the end of the financial year in June.
On Tuesday, councillors at a municipal public accounts committee were not happy with the delays in opening the facility.
They requested that city manager Johann Mettler sign an agreement with the MBDA to ensure it was opened within a month.
ANC councillor Mbulelo Gidane said: “He must understand this is a serious matter. That facility has been standing there for years. The car wash next to it has already been vandalised.”
Gidane said residents had been waiting for years for the hub to open.
ANC councillor Makhi Feni said: “The city manager must not be tactical here. This thing is long overdue.
“We will not change the recommendation just because he is not comfortable.”
But Mettler told the councillors that opening the hub within a month was not ideal.
“I don’t think a month is feasible because this is an operational matter. But I will put pressure on my staff so that this can be finalised,” he said.