Restoration group on a mission to make New Brighton great again
● Move to transform famed Gqeberha township into a suburb of opportunity
Determined to see the development and restoration of historic New Brighton, a group of former residents are putting education, business, safety and cleanliness at the forefront of the township’s transformation
Spearheaded by its chair and former Bay mayor Nceba Faku, the members of New Brighton Vibes Restoration and its partners met at the Mendi Arts Centre in New Brighton yesterday to celebrate their upcoming one-year anniversary and to plot a way forward to turn the township into a suburb of opportunity.
The group was formed by community members who opted to stand together to try to stem the tide of the area’s deterioration, socially, politically, economically and recreationally.
The nonprofit organisation will celebrate its first anniversary on Saturday, just days before the New Brighton 120th anniversary celebrations kick off.
Faku said historically New Brighton was a residential area, housing people from around the country and serving as a labour producer for industry across Nelson Mandela Bay.
“We would like to see New Brighton as a suburb,” Faku said.
“We believe there are certain streets that have the potential to kick-start a better quality of life for the people.
“Ways where this could be done is by rezoning these streets into business zones.”
He said Avenue A and the roads of Jabavu, Ntshekisa, Mendi and Ferguson should be declared business zones, which would increase the property value of buildings, similar to other parts of Gqeberha.
“Cape Road was a former residential area and the neighbouring streets, including Newton Park.
“It was during the time of the first council after the apartheid dispensation where the council at the time made an overall zonal declaration where all of Newton Park, especially certain streets, were declared business zones.”
However, to make a longlasting tangible difference to the area, Faku said the community needed to play a role in protecting assets and not allow them to fall into a state of disrepair such as the dilapidated Red Location Museum.
He stressed that one of their goals was to revive the New Brighton that they grew up in, which was vibrant in entertainment, sport, culture and recreational activities.
“Schools are places to be educated about all aspects of life, including sports,” Faku said.
“There is no recreation in schools if we do not do that.
“[Subsequently] we cannot blame our children when they go to taverns in uniforms.
“They are easy targets of drug peddlers after school, we need to intervene.”
He said they would also focus on the greening of New Brighton through appointing street ambassadors who would serve as the middlemen in addressing illegal dumping and safety issues.
Community police forums were also pivotal towards fighting crime, and bins and public toilets were among other things they hoped to provide for the community.
The group’s treasurer, Wela Matomela, said the 120-year celebration was seen as a catalytic project with spin-offs for safety, music, theatre and entertainment in the area as a host of activities were planned.
He said there would be a jazz festival in September celebrating local jazz artists, with theatre masterclasses set to take place a month before.
“The SA Navy will run a career exhibition for the 120th celebration.
“They will display their submarines and they want to be involved with Cowan Secondary School also,” Matomela said.
Other members of New Brighton Vibes Restoration include Ndileka Mfunda (secretary), Gailer Major (sport), Vuyelwa Luzipho (education), Ncamile Toni (information and communications technology), Mike Pantsi (tourism), Mike Bukani (safety and security), Sizwe Johnson (infrastructure and environment), Sizwe Zako (arts and culture) and Nceba Moss (entertainment).
Jendamark Automation and PPC Cement were some of the businesses that had representatives at the media briefing yesterday.