By Akanimo Sampson
South Africa is currently pursuing public-private partnership with Sun City Resort in a bid to revamp the city.
A delegation of South Africa’s North West Provincial Government led by Premier Prof. Tebogo Job Mokgoro, recently met with the management of the Sun City Resort which is located north of the platinum rich Rustenburg town, for the deal.
In the discussions, parties were looking at ways to expand the resort and improve the different infrastructure that will unlock the maximum tourism boom in the resort which is regarded as the key tourism asset in the country, during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
The resort presented future plans to expand the establishment which included the new hotel to attract more visitors for sports, conferencing, arts and culture activities or leisure amongst others.
Speaking during the meeting, the Sun International General Executive Office, Anthony Leeming, said that the resort is a massive asset which requires a massive investment in infrastructure through collaborations across different industries, to secure the ability to stimulate tourism activities and create much needed jobs in the sector.
“Getting Sun City Resort to work better will help the province. It is critical that we find a balance between what the resort and what the provincial government is doing. We have got an amazing beauty in this country that we can really take to the next level and attract foreigners in large numbers and Sun City is the key in achieving that,” he said.
Chief Operations Officer of Sun City, Graham Woods highlighted the importance of the support from government for growth and sustainability of Sun City.
“We need the support in the road infrastructure especially on the maintenance and upgrade of roads around the resort, improvement of roads and buildings in the Pilanesburg National Park, renovations of the Pilanesburg Airport infrastructure, support in the sports campus marketing and bidding of massive events,” said Woods who also requested government to assist in fighting illegal gambling which is affecting their business.
According to Premier Mokgoro, this is a very important initiative. “Here we’re talking about the economy of a region. The Office of the Premier will take care of ensuring that all key departments are on board. This is the business case that we would also broaden to look at other economic sectors in the region because the inter-linkages are very important” said Premier Mokgoro.
All parties agreed to formulate an action plan with deliverables to kick-start the partnership of the Sun City Resort revamp. A follow up meeting to monitor progress will be convened in due course to achieve the envisaged vision of bringing the tourism boom in the resort to the benefit of the surrounding areas and the province.
