Use Xonxa to creat jobs: expert
An Emalahleni man who knows his way around tourism has shared his vision about what could be done to create jobs by making use of the Xonxa Dam.
King Sambu has offered to mentor tourism students to understand the practical side of the industry.
He said he had gained his expert knowledge about tourism after serving in the sector for 28 years as a tour operator and later becoming a tour guide.
The fact that Sambu’s company, SK Tours and Transfers, which operated in Johannesburg, took a hard knock from the pandemic has by no means blurred his vision of the industry. Instead, moving back to Cacadu has made him identify the gaps in his own soil.
After taking the time to view Xonxa Dam, he said he did not see the need for people to drive all the way to East London to the sea. “Xonxa Dam holds the riches of Emalahleni. With a dam like this at our disposal there is no-one who should have to travel to East London to have fun. The dam should be turned into a tourist attraction. The dam has fish.”
Sambu said he recently engaged with someone in the fishing department in Pretoria who had requested a picture of the Xonxa Dam.
“He said he would come to do research. He wants to try to establish what type of fish are in the dam. There is a lot that can be done with the dam. There were chalets built which were vandalised. I think the government failed to explain to the people about the importance of the place to their economy.”
But with investors getting on board, he believed the place could be renovated again.
“When I got back to Chris Hani I noticed that people from the rural areas were not that well equipped about tourism, yet there is plenty. The Eastern Cape Province is very rich.
He felt that tourism students and pupils from schools were not exposed to the way the industry functioned in real life.
“This makes students uncertain about tourism as a career to follow. I recently took Ikhala TVET College students from Queen Nonesi Campus to the Dubeni Waterfalls in Emalahleni and they were excited and began to show interest in the sector.
“My aim was to get their minds to open where I only spoke the tourism language, placing emphasis on its importance. The students said they had never received such exposure before.”
He said he also took them to the caves which have ancient rock paintings in Emalahleni. On his next expedition, he says he will be taking them on a hiking trip in Nonesi.