Get moving and open Mendi centre
It has taken 18 years for the Mendi beer hall in New Brighton to be transformed into the Mendi Multipurpose Centre and it is now tantalisingly close to being functional. To the layman, it appears to be relatively minor, or at least non-structural, issues which are delaying a date for cutting the ribbon and seeing the centre serving the community. So why is this project still dragging on? Surely it should not be this hard for the department of sports, recreation, arts and culture to wrap it up and move on to its many other duties and tasks?
Yesterday’s report in The Herald revealed that council must still decide on operators for the centre, but it was advised in April that the original staffing (from the Opera House) needed to change. It is now September so we ask: why have the operators not yet been decided on?
We sincerely hope the change in leadership at City Hall will not mean more unnecessary delays.
Yesterday’s paper also publicised mayor Mongameli Bobani’s promise that 100% of the municipal budget must go to the township. Ironically, he was speaking at Nangoza Jebe Hall, in the very same area that is home to the Mendi Multipurpose Centre.
We would like to remind our administrators that the budget should not only be about fixing sewers and smelly drains – important though they are – but also about providing venues for residents to celebrate, as well as artists to perform and show their talent.
Services are one aspect, indeed, but so too are facilities. Creatives have been crying out for years for a great township arts venue and when Red Location Museum opened in 2006, it at least partly met that need.
However, that iconic building has been closed since October 18 2013 and despite vague promises from officials there is no opening date in sight.
This makes it all the more urgent for the Mendi Multipurpose Centre, which has such a rich heritage behind it, to be a cultural beacon for New Brighton.
Let’s get it open. Many artists have been waiting in the wings for too long. It is time to offer them a relevant and up-to-date stage to let their light shine.