KZN INVEST 21

INVEST

Logistics

Special ports and logistics feature

Point Promises

Hard questions about city catalytic project

Zimbali Lakes

Massive boost promised for North Coast

Love Durban

A timely reminder of our city’s gems

Growth Guru

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COVER

Prasheen Maharaj, President of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Copyright: All material in this issue is subject to copyright and belongs to Famous Publishing unless otherwise indicated. No part of the material may be quoted, photocopied, reproduced or stored by an electronic system without prior written permission from Famous Publishing.

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- 06The Point of few returns?

- 12The waiting game A hopeful future for Durban port hauliers

- 16At a standstill Road and rail need urgent attention

- 30Rubber hits the road Entrepreneurial opportunity

- 08Fuel entrepreneurial growth DCCI President Prasheen Maharaj’s dream for economic growth - 26Lift off Aiming to be the preferred domestic airline

Councillor Alan Beesley shares his views regarding the future of the Point - 38Farming dreamfields Whetstone Business Park

- 14Trucks driving up the cost of business Durban port inefficiencies are bad for business

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- 20KZN designs Architects and the changing face of our city

- 34Zimbali Lakes Taking the KZN North Coast to a whole new level

- 28Box business Retail convenience for townships

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a vision of GREATNESS

Hilton Lawrence

Architecture was established in 2008 and is responsible for a host of top-end residential, commercial and industrial building designs around the country, including two stand-out projects in Durban – the Rewardsco complex in Ridgeside and DSV in Riverhorse.

Rewardsco

Ridgeside is a four-precinct development that occupies the seafacing triangle created by uMhlanga Rocks Drive and two major highways, the M4 and the M41. It supplements the uMhlanga Ridge Town centre and creates a mixed-used environment along the primary transport route of uMhlanga Rocks Drive.

Sitting on the prominent south-west corner of the site the new Rewardsco building completes a vision outlined in 2018. This five-storey structure acts as the southern anchor to the Rewardsco campus and is a bold architectural statement with a five star green building rating. The final phase of the development gave us the opportunity to create a central landscaped public open space between the three buildings that integrate staff with the outdoor space via pedestrian walkways filled with trees, water features, benches and “grassed” surfaces.

Our design for Rewardsco at Ridgeside includes high atriums with huge interior volume and sloped walls that echo the external architectural language and also assist with the acoustic properties. In one instance, a sealed white oak feature wall with aluminium linear graphics runs up behind three suspended internal bridge links to create a “warm” colour palette

within the space. Ceilings are floated off the steel and concrete bridge links, and the linear recessed LED lighting complements the horizontal strength of the structures, while glass balustrades give prominence to the oak feature wall.

DSV Logistics

Riverhorse is situated adjacent to the N2 freeway and with good access to both the port and the N3 inland space. The DSV site, situated on the largest platform in the precinct, with excellent exposure and panoramic views south and inland was the home to one of the largest distribution centres in KZN. The original 60 000m² distribution centre was constructed in 2011, but unfortunately, during the July 2021 riots the entire facility was destroyed.

The clients, Zenprop Property Holdings, sought a suitable large end user to utilise the full bulk capabilities of the site. In December 2021 we set about designing and creating a new

flagship distribution centre for DSV. With a strong international footprint and strict architectural guidelines the new facility had its own set of unique design challenges and we didn’t want to miss an opportunity to reinstate an architectural landmark on such a prominent site.

We designed a large distribution and racked warehouse component with a highly specified administration office and a central operations and staff facilities component. With its sweeping horizontal lines and unobstructed flush glazed facades the public and staff entry points are visible to traffic on the freeway. The centrally located threelevel staff facilities component consists of two levels of operations offices while the third level houses the primary staff canteen and ablution facilities. Vehicle access to the yards are controlled at the primary entrance guardhouse and boom control point, and these yards service the various docked and on-grade doors servicing the warehouse.

For the past 15 years

Hilton Lawrence Architecture have been leaving their footprint on Durban’s landscape. Here are two of their more prominent recent projects

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pollyanna power packs a PUNCH

This quote is attributed to author Paulo Coelho and it gave me heart when I heard it while attending the Hammersdale-Cato Ridge Development Association AGM. If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine; it is lethal. I was mightily heartened by the work that John White and his colleagues are doing to advance their region as a place of growth and job creation. The organisation is three years old and boasts 58 member companies that employ 9 000 people and collaborate on issues of mutual interest, including an enviable outreach programme to small businesses in the area.

White assembled a stellar line-up of speakers: Zondo Commission evidence leader Paul Pretorius; Rivonia Circle founder Songezo Zibi; and Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman.

At first blush everything the speakers said reinforced in depressing detail what we all well know – we feel like the country is being run largely by a criminal enterprise masquerading as a political party. Not long after this august gathering was the disgraceful spectacle we call the State of the Nation address where charlatans dressed in designer red overalls tried their best to overrun parliament.

I was reminded of Paul Pretorius quoting Coelho. Most people would kill for a spot of routine – a regular supply of electricity and water complemented by smooth roads, an effective criminal justice system, and a reliable, nonpartisan state bureaucracy.

Pretorius explained how rotters in the ruling party made structural changes to the state to facilitate state capture. It involved money laundering and all manner of villainy enabled by an ineffectual police force, a gutted prosecutorial service and a bunch of parliamentarians unable to perform critical oversight because they were

party lickspittles more concerned about their privilege than the country.

Don’t let this happen again, Pretorius warned. Be vigilant about the sabotage of state-owned enterprises, construction mafias and the rising number of

assassinations.

The shooting of rapper AKA in Florida Road brought home the horror of rising killings in KZN. There is an alarming increase of private security cowboys in the province who seem to

This is a story about cowboys and crooks, about happiness and hope, and how if all we’ve got is the power of good over evil then we need to take a leap of faith, writes Greg Ardé

be a law unto themselves.

Mindful of what Pretorius said, Zibi said it was difficult to find hope for recovery when the state machine is diverted to benefit private pockets. Municipalities are collapsing and businesses are distracted with buying generators and fixing potholes. Get involved, somehow, Zibi urged.

“Now is not the time to get despondent and afraid. If you think you are too small to be effective then you haven’t spent a night with a mosquito,” Pretorius said.

Inimitable and utterly inspiring, Sooliman reminded the crowd that South Africa belongs to us, not them. Violent agitators want hopelessness and chaos. They want to rob us of compassion, kindness and dignity.

I clung to these words watching SONA. Our affable but ineffectual president is beholden to a corrupt mob (his own party). He is hamstrung and every day his compromised government digs a hole deeper into debt. ANC failure means he is increasingly held ransom to renegades determined to dictate the national discourse.

The ANC is so compromised it is the junior party in a coalition with the very party that stormed the president at SONA.

At times like this you search

desperately for a silver lining and, I dare say, it is there if you have a mind to see it. For this edition, I took a helicopter flip from Virginia to Ballito to see the developments at Zimbali Lakes with IFA’s Wayne Krambeck. It was a pearler of a day to get a bird’s eye view of our splendid coast and it proved a perfect antidote to the grim sense of foreboding that was starting to weigh heavily.

Then I caught up with property entrepreneur Gavin Strydom who is developing R6-billion worth of real estate around the King Shaka International Airport – evidence that KZN’s Cinderella status means there’s lots of work and opportunity here.

It reminded me of a classic line in the movie The Third Man, starring Orson Welles.

In it he says: Holly, old man … don’t be so gloomy. In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace – and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.”

We live in trying times but each of us has some power to see opportunities where there is challenge and to connect with good against evil. Sorry, that sounds lofty. Financial Mail, an august rag, ran a great feature a short while back about service delivery challenges. Inside The Municipal Death Spiral described how: small-town South Africa was crumbling, stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of water and power cuts, in streets piled high with refuse and with no jobs available to offer a way out.

It firmed my resolve to do exactly what Pretorius, Zibi and Sooliman advised: hold the government to account and reclaim your space.

In this edition, we carry an interview with Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Prasheen Maharaj who promises to carry on the good work of his predecessor by doing exactly that. Platitudinous president Cyril will navigate his messy ANC or he won’t. At the end of the day, we need the lights to stay on so businesses can grow the economy.

Our crises are a timely reminder that we need less government, and less opportunity for corruption and rentseekers. We’re becoming increasingly self-sufficient. But, as columnist Bruce Whitfield wrote in a beautiful piece in the Financial Mail, you can’t be a South African and not worry about the future and what it holds for the next generation. Being a diligent citizen is not enough. Each of has to do more. We can each help one other person. South Africa is not the most miserable place on earth, but it’s far worse than it should be. It carries the curse of not being as bad as it could be but never being as good as it should be, writes Whitfield.

So, if you’re lucky enough to have an education, he behooves you to share your gift with others.*

the Point of few RETURNS?

Durban businessman and councillor Alan Beesley questions the accountability of our city’s municipality and lack of transparency with regards to the Point’s future

If ever there was a symbol of unrealised opportunity that is symbolic of Durban it would be the Point. Trumpeted in countless newspaper headlines as a catalytic project akin to Cape Town’s waterfront and even the Sydney Harbour Foreshore, Durban’s Point remains an unrealised dream.

It is representative, many would say, of the general malaise in eThekwini. The city has got so much going for it – but for the fact that it is woefully mismanaged and strategically rudderless.

The Point has received huge press, much of it justifiably critical. Twenty years ago when newspapers crowed about the impetus it would offer, the Point’s future

seemed bright.

The city, in conjunction with Tongaat Hulett, spearheaded a redevopment plan that brought one of the city’s potential real estate gems to life.

The investment of R750-million into Ushaka Marine World and the orderly precinct plan for the Point in 2003 inspired private investors who poured hundreds of millions or possibly billions into an area with unmatched sea and harbour views.

Back then the mood was vibrant, in stark contrast to today when things seem iffy at best.

On the agenda of the city’s Municipal Public Accounts Committee meeting in November 2022, was an item relating to catalytic projects. It referred to the Point and its inner-city regeneration as a key catalytic project with huge potential for the city. The agenda made reference to a 2017 infrastructural provision: the balance of the project will cover a 10-15-year horizon at between R30-R50-billion worth of private/public sector investment creating 6 750 permanent jobs and 11 000 construction jobs with an annual rates contribution of R200-million.

Of course, this is the usual unverified, ridiculous hyperbole around the Point meant to make eyewatering headlines, but with little substance.

The only likely investment at the Point in the near future is a city plan to upgrade the watermains costing R272-million.

The agenda items referred to foreign direct investment worth R3,5-billion, but without any more specifics, save for the following line: UEM Sunrise to update the city on progress … as part of phase 1. The municipality is still waiting (since 2019) for the official commencement of the foreign direct investment of about R3-billion by the Malaysian partner.

The master developer

of the Point waterfront project is the Durban Point Development Company (DPDC) which is a 50/50 joint venture between eThekwini and Roc-Union. The majority shareholder in Roc-Union

been in council, the narrative relating to the Point and the promised Malaysian investment has not changed. It seems clear that UEM has lost it appetite for further investments in eThekwini and the Point.

I intend to ask in council what is happening with the DPDC, the joint venture between the city and the Malaysians and their local partners. I can’t recall it ever being discussed. This is an entity 50% owned by the municipality, and yet it doesn’t seem to feature anywhere and nor is it subject to any scrutiny that I am aware of.

investor could make a small fortune for doing very little or nothing at all.

It would also be good to understand the real reason for UEM wanting to exit the deal.

There is an interesting story in the archives of the Sunday Tribune dated June 1999 that might go some way to explaining the genesis of the Point “ownership”. It relates to a spat between Jacob Zuma’s corrupt financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, and Bheka Shezi. The story refers to a court ordering Shezi to pay Shaik, who was later cut out of the deal with the Malaysians.

being UEM Sunrise (UEM) a publicly listed Malaysian company who were meant to inject billions into the project.

It was interesting to read an article that appeared in the Malay Mail in August last year saying that UEM’s wholly owned subsidiary in South Africa planned to disinvest its entire interest of 80,4% held in Roc-Union for R146-million.

The story named Olive Investment Trust as the buyer, which also intended to purchase the remaining 19,6% of Roc-Union held by a local investor.

The story said the rationale for the deal was this: The decision to dispose of its (UEM’s) entire equity in Roc-Union is in line with the company’s turnaround strategic plan as it allows the company to realign its operations geographically and redirect resources to businesses and areas which offer greater potential.

In December the Malaysian edition of the Market’s Edge carried another story quoting a bourse filing relating to UEM. This said the company had aborted its plans to dispose of its Durban stake. UEM and Olive Investment Trust had mutually agreed to discontinue the deal, the story said.

During the year plus I have

I know that some media attempts to find clarity or general transparency about the workings of the DPDC and its development mandate have been completely stonewalled.

This is yet another disgraceful example of unaccountability in government.

Going forward I intend to ask the following questions of the DPDC:

1. Are the Annual Financial Statements made public? And if so, where could they be found? And if not, why not?

2. Is the DPDC being charged standard rates and normal municipal service fees?

3. Who are the current directors of DPDC?

4. What were the terms of conditions of Roc-Union’s Investment in DPDC?

5. Is Roc-Union entitled to sell its stake in DPDC?

In terms of the sale of Roc-Union’s share in DPDC it would also be interesting to know more about the potential purchaser – Olive Investment Trust – and any other potential buyer going forward.

This is a key Durban asset and the people of the city own half of it. We should be kept fully abreast of what is going on and have input. If the local investor sells, what are the terms governing this sale, if at all? It would seem to many that the local

How a local company came to be central in negotiations with the Malaysians and later shareholders in a deal that involves public land is questionable. (The Malaysians reputedly paid R100-million for their stake of the 55ha Point).

The poor state of affairs in eThekwini (governance, infrastructure, etc) has potentially cost the city billions in investment. Continued opaque dealings in what is essentially a city asset at the Point only add to the mess.

We deserve clarity and finality around the Point development. We deserve transparency on every cent spent by this city and every deal it hatches. *

The poor state of affairs in eThekwini (governance, infrastructure, etc) has potentially cost the city billions in investment

Durban businessman Alan Beesley is a chartered accountant and an ActionSA councillor in eThekwini. He sits on the city’s Municipal Public Accounts Committee.

fuel entrepreneurial GROWTH

Prasheen Maharaj, Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry President and SanDock Austral Shipyards CEO: “My job as a business leader is to give hope when there is hopelessness.”

Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President and SanDock Austral Shipyards (SA Shipyards) CEO, Prasheen Maharaj,

Lyse Comins

Maharaj’s dream for the economic growth of the city starts with an immediate plan – for organised business, through the DCCI, to play a role in channelling a portion of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s R17,5-billion infrastructure fund.

He wants to use it to fix the flood damaged infrastructure that hit the city’s tourism sector, and to build a safe environment where citizens, corporates and small businesses can build skills and flourish.

Maharaj, though now in an influential position of leadership, is not unfamiliar with the struggle to build a business in a tough economic climate. He has experienced the advantages of inventiveness and hustling to develop his own entrepreneurial skills.

Maharaj was raised in a poor working-class family in Durban’s Newland’s West, but thanks to an entrepreneurial uncle and his own resourceful spirit, he quickly developed a mind for business.

“The good thing about the township was that within 100m there were at least 20 houses and my friend’s dad worked for a bakery. When cakes – like snowballs – were not sold after two days – we would get them free and sell them for R2 each. Within two hours they would sell out,” he recalls.

“I grew up in a poverty-stricken household, but I was never poor. I always had pocket money to buy brand name shoes and things I liked. My uncle worked himself into the middle class. He would always find opportunities without being given a handout. He had an insurance brokerage, and at the end of the year we would help address letters to clients thanking them for their support and asking them to review their portfolios.”

Maharaj cleaned his uncle’s office, and as business grew and he

opened an estate agency, he got more opportunities.

“We would help him put boards up. I would help with plumbing and building maintenance and handing out pamphlets.”

In 1995 his uncle bought the old Savoy Hotel in Berea Road and started marketing it as overnight accommodation to vendors who travelled by bus from the then Transkei (Eastern Cape) to purchase blankets in the city to take and sell in the undeveloped rural area. The vendors would sleep where the buses parked on the beachfront and in a CBD parking lot.

“I would wait for the buses on the beachfront and at The Workshop Shopping Centre and would tell the driver to take the bus to the accommodation. My uncle would charge R10 for a dormitory-type accommodation and gave me R1 for every person who stayed the night,” he says.

Maharaj went on to complete his Bachelor of Commerce Degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He subsequently obtained an MBA in Finance and Master’s Degree in Strategy from the University of Portsmouth in the UK, and a Master’s Degree in Supply Chain Management from the University of Chichester London School of Business.

Still in touch with what it’s like to grow up in a poor household and in need of opportunity, he wants to transform the local business landscape to help artisans and SMMEs develop enterprises.

He is doing so using SA Shipyard’s 4 000 strong database of small business suppliers. The firm employs some 180 full-time staff, but at any given time there are between 400 and 700 contract workers for its various projects.

As he noted in his inaugural DCCI presidential speech, entrepreneurship holds the key to unlocking job creation

and economic growth.

“This country needs an entrepreneurial revolution if we are to address the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment. Entrepreneurs – through starting a business – can create jobs quickly. The US Chamber of Business has three million members, ninety percent of which employ fewer than one hundred people and seventy percent employ fewer than ten people.”

He believes being self-employed offers better job security.

“Just look at the situation at SAA where staff thought they were in a stateowned company and had jobs for life. They lost their jobs. Denel had some of the brightest minds in the country and they lost their jobs and their homes. They thought they were safe, but they weren’t,” he says.

The situation got Maharaj thinking, and he decided to create an online platform where former Denel staff and other skilled artisans and entrepreneurs could register their skills and availability to provide services to SA Shipyards. It’s worked like a charm, providing entrepreneurs with work opportunities and the business with a flow of skilled people.

But if entrepreneurs, corporates and SMMEs are to survive and thrive, he believes it’s vital to build an environment where there is sufficient decent infrastructure and security for all people – a point he says Durban unfortunately failed to deliver on this past December, hitting businesses and tourists. The impact of high E. coli levels in the city’s seawater, due to flood damaged municipal sewage water works, led to the closure of many beaches and impacted hotel occupancy which hit between 70 and 75% during the festive season according to the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa.

“Especially in KZN right now, there is

is passionate about creating an environment conducive to business, and boosting self-employment, so entrepreneurs can flourish and fuel economic growth, writes

a very low level of positivity because of the lack of decision-making capability, a multitude of broken promises,” Maharaj says.

“We promised the tourism sector we would get the beaches ready, and then we didn’t get the beaches ready, so the tourism industry has lost faith. We as organised business (DCCI members) offered our services to help the city clear and fix the water works free of charge, but they couldn’t find a way to take up our offer, maybe because there was no rent-seeking opportunity, or due to a lack of faith and fear of being shown up for incompetency if we managed to fix in a week what their contractors couldn’t fix in months. Business sentiment is very negative because no matter what we bring to the table in terms of solutions, even when it is free, there is no acceptance,” he says.

Despite the negative sentiment Maharaj remains hopeful. He dreams of a city where water and sanitation are world-class, electricity supply is

constant, and the safety of citizens is top priority. However, the task to fix these top three challenges is almost insurmountable if tackled all at once.

“We as business have decided we

are going to do one thing – come up with a solid plan as the private sector and apply for a budget from the Presidency’s infrastructure fund to fix the city’s water treatment plants, so that procurement takes place from the Presidency level. So many jobs are dependent on tourism.

“The infrastructure is so badly

damaged. We will get all the waste-water treatment plants unclogged, so that clean water enters the ocean. The one thing we want to get back is Blue Flag beaches, which are about both cleanliness and regulating trade in the area,” he says.

Despite the recent challenges of Covid-19, the July 2021 riots and the April 2022 floods that collectively cost the province more than R50-billion in losses, Maharaj views the economic outlook with confidence, not least the big national picture and that the JSE hit an all-time high in January 2023.

“The JSE is the strongest it has ever been – and the property market is high – and why is that? Because the clever people know more than you and I. There is institutional investor confidence in this country and when looking at the flow, around fifty percent is from overseas. The big picture is actually very positive – we must just live through the rollercoaster and that’s my job as a business leader, to give hope when there is hopelessness,” Maharaj says. *

Business sentiment is very negative because no matter what we bring to the table in terms of solutions, even when it is free, there is no acceptance

Further your career Further your career

Enzo* hunches over his computer, flicking through windows. He opens a booking page and clicks a few boxes, then glances at a spreadsheet before consulting a hand-written list. It’s a rainy Tuesday morning in Durban. Nothing doing.

Drivers come into the drab prefab office to collect documents. One, a middle-aged fellow, wants Friday afternoon off so he can go home to Paulpietersburg. A little after 10am, as Enzo is checking his emails for the umpteenth time, it drops – an update from Transnet. There are no slots at the Durban Container Terminal, it effectively says, Next review will take place at 14:10.

Welcome to the world of road freight, or at least as far as companies that ferry shipping containers to and from the Port of Durban are concerned. It’s not so much Big wheel keeps on Turin’, as a bellyful of Waiting in Vain

Looking out through the office’s picture window, Enzo’s colleague, Anfield*, tells me 12 multi-million-rand truck-trailer rigs and their drivers are

the waiting GAME

cooling their heels until slots become available. Slots are specific time periods and locations within the terminal that truckers must book online for loading and unloading containers.

Since May 2020 when Transnet

introduced its truck booking system, the long lines of heavies idling outside and inside the port have shrunk. But with slots scarce, it has shifted the waiting game elsewhere – including to the yards of some of the 1 178 logistics firms

Privatisation plans for the Port of Durban hold hope for hauliers, but until then it’s a waiting game, reports Matthew Hattingh

operating within eThekwini.

Shortly after 2pm, as promised, a review of the available slots comes in from Transnet. Quick on the mouse trigger – “you just have to watch and wait” – Enzo snaffles us a single slot before all are gone.

With Duke*, another greybeard at the wheel, we leave the yard and drive to the port. We turn into Langeberg Road at the port at 3.03pm. Half an hour later in a slow-moving queue we reach a vast truck staging area. Known as A Check, it quickly fills and by early evening we count about 320 trucks parked in a series of long rows … waiting.

At about 10pm some trucks begin to move, and we get into Pier 2 terminal proper after midnight. More stops and starts follow before Duke eventually manoeuvres us into a loading bay beneath Tower 202. With little warning, at 2.28am, a straddle carrier drops a dirty-yellow, six-metre container on to our trailer – 29 tons, I’m told, of tiles. Duke locks down the trailer and we’re good to go. A shade after 3am and we are back in the yard. It’s been 12 hours since we set off.

“Terminal, Haai! Rubbish place,” Duke says. *

* A number of people interviewed for this and a companion article declined to be named lest it soured their company’s relations with Transnet – or worse.

TRUCKS driving up the cost of business

Inefficiencies at the Port of Durban aren’t only bad for trucking companies. They drive up the cost of doing business, raising prices and causing shortages. The bottom line? It makes South African exports less competitive and our countrymen poorer, writes Matthew

Hattingh

In May 2021 President Cyril Ramaphosa told parliament of the need to restore the country’s ports to competitive levels, saying it was critical to economic recovery.

Transnet, the state-owned logistics giant, has since presented an updated masterplan for the Port of Durban, which positions it as a modern, deepwater container shipping hub.

Dry bulk shipping would be relocated to Richards Bay and the navy shifted from Salisbury Island to a site at the current coal terminal on the Bluff. The move is pencilled in for 2024.

But these are only a few pieces of a much larger puzzle that must be put into place to achieve the more than threefold increase in container capacity the Transnet planners envisage.

To accommodate bigger container ships, berths and channels must be deepened and widened. Piers and wharves need to be reconfigured, machinery refurbished or replaced, container depots expanded, and supporting road and rail networks improved. The cost of all this work will be eye-watering – Ramaphosa

mentioned a figure of R100-billion. But that’s going to take some doing to rustle up and timing will be an issue too.

Transnet’s latest port expansion masterplan envisages a much more rapid roll-out of container capacity than earlier plans, although as one harbour-watcher sees it, development would need to be in step with growth in market demand, so the masterplan must still be tested in detail. Planning approvals and environmental impact assessments would be needed too.

Even with the best will in the world, catching up on many years of underinvestment won’t happen overnight. And some headwinds can be hard to anticipate. In the more than 18 months since Ramaphosa’s speech, the Port of Durban has been buffeted by the Zuma riots of July 2021, tripped up by what Transnet called a “cyberattack” on its IT systems a week later, and closed and disrupted by the flood in April 2022. In October 2022, a 12-day strike halted operations.

Pepi Silinga, chief executive of the Transnet National Ports Authority, briefing MPs in June last year, said the

masterplan would involve multiple phased investments, including container operations at the Point and Maydon Wharf.

Among the first big jobs on Transnet’s to-do list would be to bring in an international operator to run Durban Container Terminal’s Pier 2. Under the state-owned enterprise’s watch, the terminal has been running at well below its container moving capacity of 2,4-million 20-foot equivalent units. The aim was to raise capacity to 2,9-million.

The director* of a well-known Durban road freight company told KZN INVEST how turnaround times for their trucks calling on the terminal had stretched from about four hours in 1996 to an average of six now. This made it impossible to do more than a single trip to and from the port during a shift, tying up truck-trailer rigs, with a fixed capital cost of about R65 000 a month each.

On top of this, daily operating costs for a single truck quickly mount up. These include diesel, licence fees, vehicle and goods insurance, and the R1 200 South African drivers get for a 10-hour shift.

Once overheads are factored in, achieving a reasonable return on investment becomes a big reach, discouraging reputable operators and opening a gap for the less scrupulous who are accused of running overloaded and unroadworthy vehicles.

The director – whose company moves about 3 000 containers a month – told of instances of terminal staff playing the board game umlabalaba or braaiing on the sly when they should have been working (and in the face of a port fire ban); straddle crane drivers making the long climb down and up for lengthy toilet breaks with no one taking over in their absence; and a slot booking system that wasn’t up to snuff.

Anfield – an industry veteran who has worked in trucking and at the port, including for Transnet and its predecessors since 1973 – spoke of a “lack of urgency” among terminal workers and their managers. He mentioned slow shift changes and workers “finding” trivial problems on machinery to force a breakdown.

Compounding this, he said, Transnet prioritised its paying customers – the

shipping lines – often at the expense of road hauliers (who work for the freight forwarders). When the terminal was short of manpower or working cranes to unload vessels and stack their containers, it cannibalised these from shoreside operations. Loading times have lengthened, Anfield said, but he conceded the port had grown much

in a separate media release, Transnet said congestion had decreased at and near the port, and turnaround times had improved to “an average of 180 minutes” since it introduced its trucking booking system.

However, it noted: “There have been instances of … transporters booking off slots online that end up not being used, therefore creating a waste in the system.”

Transnet was considering penalties to curb abuses and was in “continuous engagement” with transport companies and industry organisations to tackle problems. It detailed a number of measures it had put in place since the strike to speed things up at the terminal, including methods of stacking, performance monitoring, and “mass evacuation by rail of import containers to back-of-port facilities”.

“It was still a challenge to maximise available resources and capacity in the evenings when the terminal is offpeak as most transporters preferred to work during the day,” said Transnet spokesperson Ayanda Shezi.

“Privatisation” is a dirty word in South African labour politics and Transnet has been at pains in earlier communications to stress it was seeking a “partner” to address such challenges and to provide “ongoing operational and commercial support” at the Pier 2 terminal.

In lofty terms, Transnet tells of its role as a “custodian of infrastructure”, but it’s plain the operator will be required to not only crack the whip at the terminal, but do the heavy lifting when it comes to finances.

In return for a 25-year concession, the operator will be required to modernise the terminal – something which neither Transnet (with its declining revenues, nearly 60% of spending committed to salaries and R129-billion in debt), nor its shareholder, the government, were in a position to do.

The new operator was expected to be announced “in the first quarter of the 2023/24 financial year”. Genevaheadquartered MSC, the world’s largest container shipping line, was among 10 shortlisted consortia bidding to run Pier 2 through its subsidiary Terminal Investment Ltd.

busier and ships bigger in the past 25 to 30 years.

It’s hard to confirm some of these claims, but research by the World Bank and IHS Markit, which named Durban among the world’s worst-performing container ports in 2020, speaks volumes.

In response to written questions and

Giel Coetzee, a director of the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) South Africa’s Logistics subsidiary, could not discuss difficulties at the terminal and how these might be tackled because the company was party to the bidding process. But, he predicted a “definite improvement” in efficiencies, regardless of who eventually wins the concession – “the only problem is it’s not going to be immediate”. *

The cost of all this work will be eye-watering – Ramaphosa mentioned a figure of R100-billion

Picture: Rogan Ward

+/ 14500 HV per day (2020)

+/ 18000 HV per day (2037)

+/ 13000 HV per day (2020)

+/ 16500 HV per day (2037)

at a STANDSTILL

If container terminal inefficiencies are at the diseased heart of Durban’s logistical problems, then the road and rail links that serve the port are its sclerotic arteries. They are too few or too restrictive and fixing them will be a slow and expensive operation.

Lavern Moodley, chief civil engineer

for transport planning with the eThekwini Transport Authority, said the need for a second access road to the container terminal was identified in 2014.

Bayhead Road, which was owned by Transnet, was repaired following the floods and was being widened and reconstructed, but it remained a

bottleneck. The plan was to supplement it with a road that will link Langeberg Road (which enters the terminal) to the N2 highway, via the M7 Solomon Mahlangu (Edwin Swales VC) Drive, South Coast Road and Grimsby Road, where it passes the site of a proposed truck stop in Clairwood. The first leg of the new road would skirt the

Road and rail need attention, but Transnet and the City have their hands full, writes Matthew Hattingh

Maydon Rd

M4 M4

Solomon Mahlangu M7

Concept designs were completed for the municipality and Transnet in 2018. And the preliminary design, environmental impact assessment and modelling for the road have been put out to tender, but a legal challenge to the tender has delayed the process.

Moodley said the aim was to begin construction by 2026, but this was subject to securing funding in excess of R4,5-billion. Meanwhile, work was continuing on a project to widen and improve Solomon Mahlangu Drive, a vital freight link to the port.

The first phase, from the N2 to Wakesleigh Road, Bellair, was expected to be completed by 2024 at a cost of R40-million. Further work on the M7, as far as the Titren Road intersection near the Rossburgh testing grounds, would take two to three years and was dependent on a budget of R160-million.

New and wider port access roads would certainly help, but if the trucks

funnelling down them in long queues were in the wrong order – too early or too late for loading or unloading – chaos ensued. The problem, said Moodley, lay in truck staging, or rather the lack of it.

He said Transnet and the municipality

When KZN INVEST interviewed Coetzee, “abnormally high cable theft” on the Mooi River-Lions River stretch of Transnet Freight Rail’s Durban-Johannesburg container line had halted traffic. The line had only returned to full service about a month earlier, following the April floods, which caused an estimated R5-billion in damage to Transnet infrastructure. There was the backlog from the strike to consider too.

Coetzee said there were limits to what the roads could handle and “at this stage rail is not what it should be”.

had identified a number of sites, including one in an area bounded by South Coast and Eel roads, where a staging yard would be established.

When would this happen? “We want it to be done ASAP,” said Moodley, “it will help a lot.”

He was optimistic the first phase of the project, with staging for 200 trucks, would be operating “within two years”. The plan was to eventually accommodate 500 trucks at the yard, along with ablution facilities, a food court, clinic and a hotel, but first a number of hurdles had to be overcome, including transferring ownership of the land from one division of Transnet to another.

Apart from easing port congestion, the yard should mean fewer heavy trucks killing time (and crushing stormwater kerbs) on the suburban streets of south Durban.

The new staging yard would be supplemented by private truck stops and inter-modal logistics facilities under development in Cato Ridge and at the old Clairwood Racecourse.

The “dry port” at Cato Ridge – as it is punted by its private developers – has potential to ease congestion in the Port of Durban and fits well with distribution centres being opened by retailers in the area and Hammarsdale. However, Transnet’s role remained a sore point.

“We loved the concept. On paper it should work, but we couldn’t get things to work with Transnet on the rail side,” said a representative of an international freight-forwarding company, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Giel Coetzee, a director of MSC Logistics, sees growth potential for the company’s containerised export business but, at this stage, identified rail freight as the biggest constraining factor.

His concerns about rail were borne out by a Business Unity South Africa cargo briefing paper which in September said the continued reliance on road freight sounded “loud alarm for our road infrastructure and starkly highlights the rail system’s continued failure to play its part”.

The paper quoted Stats SA figures which showed sustained growth in road freight since Covid and a decline in rail freight, both in absolute and relative terms.

Business Unity South Africa noted the terms and conditions imposed on prospective operators by Transnet had discouraged the private sector from taking more of a stake in rail.

“We need a smooth functioning rail sector … until that happens, consequences such as road congestion, lengthy queuing times, increasing damage to our roads and increased lead times will continue to be the order of the day in our logistics network.

Transnet spokesperson Ayanda Shezi said the company would be in a better position to comment on bids once it had finalised its evaluation process. “The first phase of slot sales will provide key insights as inputs to the development of a robust rail reform regime,” said Shezi.

Whatever emerges, the different arms of Transnet will need to sort themselves out – and sharply. The stateowned enterprise holds an effective monopoly in some of its South African businesses, but competition is growing from privatised operation at ports in neighbouring countries, including Mozambique and Namibia.

The freight-forwarder quoted earlier said it “burned him” every time a client came to them to get help to take work to Maputo. “It really sucks. Maputo is tiny but it is efficient and getting bigger. We will wake up in 10 years’ time.” *

There were limits to what the roads could handle and “at this stage rail is not what it should be”

Amanzamnyama canals before joining Bluff Road.

the perfect

life-long HOME

The demand for retirement developments continues to grow rapidly due to the increase in the life expectancy of adults worldwide. Recent statistics show that South Africans' life expectancy has increased by a further four years. The global retirement market is expected to grow by $454-billion between 2021 and 2025, which is a strong indicator of a vibrant and discerning buyer’s market.

International and national trends in this sector further highlight the demand for lifestyle villages and secure community-based living. As a result, the traditional model for retirement villages no longer necessarily meets the needs of this market. Investors and mature buyers are looking for secure and convenient living within close proximity to key services and amenities – shopping facilities, outdoor fitness and wellness facilities – as well as green spaces and private gardens.

Coastal towns remain a favourite for retirees and empty nesters seeking a relaxing and fulfilling lifestyle. Trends in design and architecture indicate the demand for open-plan layouts and warm, functional spaces which can be customised to the occupant’s needs as they age. Healthcare access is also high on the priority list as well as petfriendly spaces.

KZN based award-winning development company, Devmco Group, considered both international and local trends when designing Capri Village. Situated on the KZN North Coast, construction of the first phase is nearing completion, with the second phase selling fast. "We paid close attention to the needs and wants of

the modern retiree. Nowadays buyers want to downsize and simplify their lives, while remaining active and engaged in their communities, within close proximity to their families. That’s precisely why our multi-generational living option for people over 50 has been so well received. Security remains a top priority, and the Salta Sibaya estate, which Capri Village falls within, includes state-of-the-art security infrastructure and technology,” says Charles Thompson, Director of Devmco.

Adding even further weight to the value of this growing market, recent studies by Lightstone show that sectional title homes within a secure estate achieve a 31% price premium over homes sold outside of an estate. “The over 50s market is vibrant and full of life. We believe it’s an area that investors should be paying close attention to because the potential for growth is significant, and the demand for quality retirement developments is only set to increase. Whether you choose to buy and live or invest in property in Capri Village, we believe everyone can benefit from this growing market and reap significant rewards,” continues Thompson.

Capri Village is designed for convenient and easy living, catering to those looking to build their perfect life-long home. According to Thompson, they have selected specific facilities and

services to meet the market demand. These include a clubhouse, gym, heated indoor swimming pool, library, and bowling green. Residents can enjoy independent step-free living, petfriendly homes with private gardens, as well as discreet, professional medical services, state-of-the-art security and incredible estate facilities all within Salta Sibaya.

“To accommodate the needs of buyers, Capri Village offers both sectional title ownership and freehold ownership, allowing purchasers the flexibility to rent out the property and benefit from capital appreciation. The freehold ownership option allows investors to custom design their dream home according to their needs and preferences,” adds Thompson.

Located within South Africa’s fastest selling estate, Phase two of Capri Village has answered the market’s growing demand for a product catering to the key needs of over 50s. Stands and one-, two- and three-bedroom residences at Capri Village are currently available with starting prices from R1 295 000 for the land, and from R2 705 000 for homes.

Offering a convenient lifestyle, security and key services and amenities, Capri Village is the future of retirement living for the over 50s

KZN designs

Relationships between architects and the environment, clients, and communities are ever-changing. A sensitive and considered response by designers impacts significantly on the changing face of our cities, writes Anne Schauffer

MIKE SHAW

Axiom Arc

With over 40 years’ combined experience, AXIOM ARC (formerly Ries Shaw Architects) is a contemporary, awardwinning architectural firm

with a wide portfolio across KZN and the SA landscape. “We’ve developed skills that enable us to provide a comprehensive service across all sectors of architecture,” says Director Mike Shaw. He believes strongly that architects are at the forefront of the much-

needed change within SA, with a responsibility to create positive human spaces within an everchanging demographic and political landscape.

“Architectural works throughout all sectors leave their footprint, so enormous thought and care

should always be a given,” he says. “Take the industrial sector – it should be seen as more than a warehouse. At our Northfield Business Park with JT Ross and Bakers Transport Project with Growthpoint Properties, there’s an understanding that not only are they highly visible buildings aesthetically, but also address numerous ecological and sustainable solutions.”

Shaw’s fascination with the reworking of our cities and the general built environment across the country’s landscape can be seen in their workings on the historically significant, award-winning Glass House building in uMhlanga Rocks Drive: “Our response was sensitively worked to respect the building while reacting to smaller multi-tenancy requirements of many buildings today. The positive public spaces within the building allowed for peoplefriendly environments.”

He feels strongly that architects have an enormous role to play within the various sectors of the built environment: “We need to encourage one another to play our role in the upliftment of all our communities.”

Pictures: Val Adamson

VINOLEN GANESH

Sphere Design & Architecture

Sphere takes an holistic approach to ensure their impact on the built landscape is carefully thought out and executed. Says Vinolen Ganesh: “Functionality, sustainability, financial implications, and aesthetics are taken into consideration at an extremely early stage in the process, which ensures

our projects have a positive outcome and influence on the public and spaces we create. We often work simultaneously on a range of projects which enables us to implement this approach and process through various scales and types of developments.”

Projects which stand out include uMhlanga Arch’s Legacy Yard, a food hall concept with a roof top bar: “The concept needed to include multiple vendors with unique offerings, making the space an amazing destination

and providing an anchor to the high street retail node within the complex. We designed easy-going interior and exterior spaces, with well-presented, local Durbanflavour vendor zones, each designed to be unique in terms of their concept, detailing and finishes.”

Christians Village in Hillcrest was a complete conceptualisation and refurbishment of the existing Christians: “We re-imagined the entire public area, internal courtyards and facades. The

overall design aesthetic was to create a softened artisanal feel and provide a green, textured, human-centred environment. The refurbishment has injected life into the centre, increased its popularity, and given this Hillcrest corner renewed energy.”

Sphere’s Lighthouse Quarter in uMhlanga Village required a total transformation to align itself with the area’s rapid growth. The architectural design draws on the charm of old-world al fresco street trading and dining, while providing a complete upgrade to the mall. Flooding the interiors with natural light along with meticulously crafted detailing brings a contemporary, yet familiar, character to a landmark uMhlanga Village destination.

For Ganesh, when it comes to Sphere’s role in improving KZN’s built environment, two factors stand out: “As architects, we should prioritise context-driven solutions to any design or development. Responding to site specific conditions, to economic characteristics of the project, and the social needs of the end-users should be the foundation on which we base our work.”

He considers – in the postCovid era – the importance of considering the community: “With a new energy relating to people wanting to socialise, architects have an opportunity and role to play in creatively bringing people together (especially in public architecture). Community inclusion and consultation will aid the design process as an important tool – they are not only the end-users, but their verdict dictates the project’s success.”

HILTON LAWRENCE

Hilton

Lawrence

Architecture

“Every building we do, from an external visual aspect, whether it be a large logistics facility or a commercial office, needs to work in its own unique environment,” says Lawrence. “We’ve produced several which sit on major transport and public routes, and still, our key focus is to create

something that the public – walking or driving by –as well as our clients and tenants, can be proud of.”

HLA has recently added two Rewardsco buildings to the Group’s existing facility in Ridgeside uMhlanga: “Running along uMhlanga Rocks Drive on a prime commercial site, the buildings had to be special. Not only did planning have to meet the unique criteria of a call centre, but visually it had to involve the public who pass by the site every day. The two

bridge links joining the three structures, the wrap-around dark facades – offset by the organic shapes of the white blades – and the podium level landscaped environment are all unique in a Durban context.”

HLA was commissioned to design two new facilities for ID Logistics in both Cape Town and Durban: “We love the technical aspect which comes with cold storage,” says Lawrence. “Unlike logistics facilities, there tends to be a clear split between

the function of office and warehouse space, and we enjoy the different design challenges in these more heavily serviced facilities.”

Massmart Distribution Centre was one of the biggest logistic facilities designed by HLA: “Sitting atop the highest platform in the Riverhorse Valley precinct, the building was a landmark. The staff facilities were superb, the layout functioned brilliantly,” says Lawrence. “Much to our disappointment, this structure was razed to the ground in the July 2021 riots. But as we have seen repeatedly in KZN, resilience and confidence shone through. We are currently redeveloping the site for DSV, a 40 000m² distribution facility offering one of the highest specified industrial facilities in the country.”

Regarding HLA’s impact on the environment, Lawrence is clear: “Architecture matters! It’s what we see and experience as human beings. It’s difficult not to be emotional when experiencing historic European cities or be awe-inspired by the vast structural feats of Dubai’s new skyscrapers and cities. What we create as architects has an impact – we are responsible for our client’s business vision, their invested wealth in these structures, and the experience of the employees using these facilities.

Architects need to take the time and have the passion to deliver designs which have substance, which fit into their unique environment, have facilities that uplift the people who work in them, and anyone who interacts with the building. We need to be able to look back at our projects and be proud of what we have contributed.”

GREG GORDGE Elphick Proome Architecture (EPA)

After 33 years in practice, Elphick Proome Architecture (EPA) would understandably have an extensive footprint in KZN and the African continent. This wide-ranging experience in most genres of architecture, has led EPA to drive, what Gordge describes as “a focused excellence

in sustainable design and efficient delivery”.

“The Nelson Mandela Cruise Terminal is one such project, acting as a portal to the City of Durban and Kingdom of the Zulus,” says Gordge. “It’s the primary facility serving cruise ships on the eastern seaboard of southern Africa. Designwise, it displays an overt African identity, providing a powerful urban landmark on the port’s harbour edge and, by architectural contrast,

interfaces provocatively with historic precinct neighbours opposite. The triangulated terracotta envelope evokes a highly contextual quality which will hopefully serve as a catalyst to future development in the city.” EPA also places Oceans Mall in uMhlanga in their top three: “It provides a significantly impactful urban design solution that yields an extensive retail podium as the linear anchor for three tower blocks, and comprises retail,

hotel and apartment towers. This integrated mixed-use development promotes an interactive urban interface to optimise a significant, new inner-city retail mall.”

Arising from the ashes of a devastating fire, the Durban Christian Centre precinct cuts a powerful image in its context,” says Gordge. “Designed to accommodate a congregation of 3 500, its auditorium, chapel and teaching spaces amalgamate to form a single church complex – an iconic form derived via two oversailing arches that provide expansive column-free internal spaces and volumes.”

Responding to what he believes architects must prioritise to improve KZN’s built environment, Gordge feels – under the immense environmental pressures – there needs to be a fundamental focus on sustainable development through all design scales: “Our built environments should drive green agendas through multi-use developments and adaptable and greener building solutions. Our focus needs to be on people and environmental responsibility in the drive for green, peoplefriendly cities.

A focus on adaptability within our building models would provide flexibility under market and environmental pressures while extending building life1Icycles and assisting economically feasible solutions. Covid has shown us how vulnerable specificity can be within building programming. Sustainable self-sufficient lifecycle design is now a priority, particularly under local service delivery pressures.”

KEVIN LLOYD Kevin Lloyd Architects

For many years, Kevin has been primarily involved in high-end residential estate developments such as Zimbali, Brettenwood and Hawaan: “Not only designing individual homes, but being there at the outset, establishing the guidelines and sitting on the review committees reviewing other

architect’s submissions. It’s very much about ensuring that the estate ethos is carried through, and that there’s an integrity about the environment and the materials.” In addition to his groundwork and roles on numerous estates, he has also written extensively on the complexities of estate living and design.

Kevin places Zimbali up there on his list of significant projects: “Being chosen from the outset because they

recognised a talent and a passion to get involved with something like that, was gratifying. We were initially commissioned to do Zimbali Lodge and the Clubhouse, so more resort than residential. At that time, the boutique hotel concept was only really found in game lodges. We visited Bali and looked at what were then, the best boutique hotels globally (the Aman Group).

He also mentions his very first projects: “I’d just finished

university, and was in the army. A small architectural practice in Kroonstad asked two of us to help out, which we did after hours. We both chose to stay on, and I had the opportunity to design a five-storey office block – a steel structure inspired by the Centre Pompidou in Paris – and it was built. It won the Free State Architect’s Institute Award of Merit which, for someone only one year out of varsity, gave me a great deal of confidence.”

Subsequent to that, Kevin designed a factory park for KwaZulu Finance Corporation, on a property owned by Mariannhill Monastery: “I used the monastery architecture to drive the aesthetic, so it had relevance to the area, and to the property’s owners. There was a lightness to it with green roofs, red brick and exposed steel work. To me, it was very special, and it’s still being used.”

Kevin’s overriding principles are to respect the environment in which you’re building, respect the community for whom you’re building, make it appropriate, and try, if possible, to make it timeless. Timeless isn’t necessarily fashionable: It should be something neutral, but in a way that the client can put his identity into it – and if that ownership changes, allow the next person to also do likewise.”

Kevin is swayed by the vision of Geoffrey Bowa, a Sri Lankan architect involved in tropical architecture: “His thing was, ‘if there’s a special tree, don’t move the tree, move the building’. Whether it’s commercial, industrial or residential, do your utmost to work with it, not against it – bring something which breaks down the scale.”

LIFT was started in 2020 during Covid and spectacularly moved 350 000 people in its first year, doubled that number in its second year, and expects to double that again in 2023.

The company – founded by former Kulula CEO Gidon Novick and Ayache – originally targeted the lucrative Johannesburg to Cape Town route, which accounts for 50% of South Africa’s domestic airline market.

It runs 15 flights a day between Cape Town and Johannesburg, and adding Durban has completed what Ayache describes as the “golden triangle”, as well as adding another 25% in volume.

While LIFT doesn’t share specific load factors, he said: “It is still early days, but the routes out of Durban are doing really well. The flights are full, and our team does a great job of marketing them. One of the things that was most requested on our social media channels was for flights out of Durban – so we responded to their requests.”

LIFT runs two Cape Town to Durban return flights a day, and five Durban to Johannesburg return flights. In 2023 LIFT is on track to reach its 1,5-million passengers through smart airplane leases and customer innovation.

Ayache says LIFT is taking a “prudent approach” to business. The domestic aviation industry in South Africa is back up to 80% of preCovid levels, according to data from Airports Company South Africa.

“We’re building up slowly. We had an incredibly warm reception to the Durban flights, because people there felt neglected by the fact that airlines had pulled out of the city. There is a Cinderella sentiment, and we believe our impact has been

LIFT off

In October 2022, LIFT removed the anxiety of Durbanites being “marooned” when it introduced flights connecting KZN with Johannesburg and Cape Town. KZN INVEST spoke to Jonathan Ayache, the CEO of the new kid on the block in South Africa’s domestic airline business

Travel and tourism is such an economic driver, and connecting people is integral to growing the economy

significant, which we don’t take lightly.

“To run a successful business we have to do it sustainably. Travel and tourism is such an economic driver, and connecting people is integral to growing the economy.

“But this industry is very fragile. Oversupply and excess capacity can break the market. Big airlines come and go, as Durban has seen. So, we need to be careful with the supply-demand balance. In the long run, we have to be viable, and we hope others act responsibly in this

space because that translates into a healthy aviation sector that supports the economy.”

Ayache says LIFT’s focus has been on customer service.

“Our approach has been very simple. How can we improve the overall experience of flying domestically? We don’t charge people if they want to change their bookings. Other airlines are punitive about that which really frustrates people. But beyond that, we concentrate on the small things, from the staff who help you with a

smile. All that is very deliberate with us. We want your entire experience with LIFT to be what differentiates us from our competitors, across multiple touchpoints. Our goal is to be the preferred domestic airline, not the cheapest.”

Ayache says the LIFT’s market reception has been “a real privilege”, not least, he adds, because staff and partners including “exceptionally talented and very experienced aviation” specialists were available to LIFT as a result of the demise of Comair and the problems at SAA. *

Jonathan Ayache, the CEO of LIFT: “Our goal is to be the preferred domestic airline, not the cheapest.”

BUSINESS in a box

Due to be launched in KwaZulu-Natal later this year using containerised stores, 2U Foods (Pty) Ltd has developed an integrated business model with marginalised communities firmly at the centre of its business plan.

The idea is to deliver quality retail goods to homesteads, but not to go toeto-toe on product price with big retailers like Checkers, Spar and Boxer. Instead, Kholofelo Maponya’s business will look at the total cost to customer.

Co-founder and chairman, Maponya says a competitive edge in price may not be substantial, but there is a “substantial advantage” in bringing convenience to customers by helping alleviate transport problems.

“The rural and township population has always been the pillar on which the South African retail market. The opportunity lies in eliminating the poverty penalty or the unnecessary add-on expenses for this customer that arise from low purchasing power and being remote. By placing 2U Foods movable panel stores into strategic locations, unnecessary costs such as transport-related expenses associated with travelling to shopping malls can be alleviated. The target market of the panel store is the low to lower-middle income retail market – consumers with an average monthly household income of less than R9 000.”

Maponya launched the business with late business partner, friend and former chairperson of the National House of Traditional Leaders, Inkosi Sipho Mahlangu.

He said Mahlangu, like himself, came from a family of entrepreneurs and through his deep knowledge and understanding of traditional structures and cultural norms, Mahlangu brought “an immense” amount of knowledge,

expertise and wisdom to the business.

“We drove over 10 000km in three weeks to visit the target communities where we aim to set up shop. We went through every valley in the Valley of a 1 000 Hills and saw every traditional chief in our target areas in person,” said Maponya.

The integrated business has three parts: a property arm which owns the containers, a distribution centre, and its marketing business.

Store operators are not required to make any upfront capital outlays and their payments to the parent company are on a “no obligation turnover related basis”. Operators will be responsible for the equipment in the store but 2U Foods will provide financing options.

“Overall, it is important to stress that the success of the 2U Foods Group is dependent on the 2U Foods movable panel store. The success of each outlet is in turn directly dependent on each business, especially the

and Limpopo.

Initially, 75% of the stores to be rolled out will be in KwaZulu-Natal. “The first 75 stores have already been pre-manufactured and are being shipped out from China. The bulk of these will be set up in KwaZulu-Natal.” The plan is to bring 600 units into the country.

One of the more unique aspects of the business is that each store will be provided with a three-wheeler motorcycle that can carry up to half a ton of goods. This, said Maponya, will be given to a young adult whose job will be to make deliveries and take orders.

distribution centre. The biggest risk to the integrated business model is the supply chain. Specifically, the ability of the distribution centre to source and distribute the required products for a reasonable price and at the required times,” he said.

The company has prioritised KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Gauteng

“The bike will be the driver’s business and the delivery of our products will be done for free. Where the driver makes an income will be through commission on sales. Each driver will be provided with a tablet. They will be able to place the customer’s order online and either take payment in cash, electronically, or in the case of SASSA beneficiaries,

Kholofelo Maponya has an ambitious plan to bring retail convenience, home delivery and competitive prices to townships in a bid to narrow the consumer divide that exists in South Africa, writes Jonathan Erasmus

The target market of the panel store is the low to lower-middle income retail market – consumers with an average monthly household income of less than R9 000

on credit.”

If an order can be met by the local containerised store, it will be packed by the operator and then collected by the driver for delivery. If the store is unable to meet the order, the goods will be delivered from a local distribution hub and be ready for delivery the following day.

The containers will carry between 500 and 800 SKU (stock keeping units) and distribution centres will carry up to 15 000.

The hurdles are numerous, including access to a stable source of energy. “We have entered into an agreement with Huawei who have offered us a fullsolution product including free Wi-Fi at each unit, solar energy solutions, and customer relationship management software.”

Maponya is also the chairman of Matome Maponya Investments (MMI) which according to its website is a shareholder in Afgri Limited, Daybreak Poultry (formerly Afgri Poultry) and SA Home Loans. *

A 2U Foods movable panel store and delivery service –convenience for township and rural customers.

Kholofelo Maponya, co-founder and chairman of 2U Foods, says there is a “substantial advantage” in bringing convenience to customers by helping alleviate transport problems.

This is the plan. The firm wants the lucky 48 entrepreneurs to get involved in their decade-long Business in a Box franchise model where successful candidates take ownership of a fully fitted 12-metre Dunlop branded container complete with equipment, retail software, startup stock, and point-of-sale material. Each container includes a reception area, a workshop with tyre-changing equipment, and a storage facility stocked with tyres to enable trading from the very first day of business.

Lubin Ozoux, CEO of Sumitomo Rubber SA (SRSA), said Dunlop had a history of entrepreneurship going back over 130 years.

“We’ve had great success with our Dunlop container project which was started in 2012 to drive sustainable township entrepreneurship and promote safety on the road. SRSA is presently the only tyre manufacturing company in South Africa with a township and rural area enterprise development programme, and we are serious about playing a role in tackling high unemployment of around 33%, the majority of which is young people in rural areas and townships.”

Ozoux said the Dunlop container project had enabled informal tyre businesses – often trading from makeshift, roadside facilities – to be transformed into proper Dunlopbranded fitment centres, adding that the company’s goal was to “transform the informal township secondhand

where the rubber hits THE ROAD

Dunlop Tyres, the oldest and longest surviving tyre brand in South Africa with deep ties to KwaZulu-Natal and now part of a global tyre conglomerate, Sumitomo Rubber Industries, is on the hunt for 48 entrepreneurs, writes

Jonathan Erasmus

tyre traders into formal reputable businesses”.

Entrepreneurs receive the funding and support they need to run their own tyre businesses, offering fitment, repairs, wheel balancing and rotation, and more.

“It’s all about finding the right entrepreneurs and ensuring they are equipped to be successful and well supported for their journey, including technical, sales, business and back-office training and development.”

Ozoux said the longer-term vision was to help entrepreneurs develop their businesses to service larger clients.

According to SRSA, the programme offers a “plug-and-play solution”

through which shortlisted candidates will be linked up with recommended funders to apply for total funding to set up their own Dunlop fitment centres. By becoming franchisees, they will be part of a growing network of over 80 Dunlop container outlets, 16 of which are in KwaZulu-Natal, employing around 400 people across the country. Each container is valued at between R380 000 and R460 000 depending on the equipment and transportation requirements.

Itumeleng Mojafi, Group Business Development Manager at Sumitomo said: “We want to make it easy for local people to do business selling tyres, and to bring quality, affordable tyres to communities who need safer, more reliable tyre products. More importantly, it’s about creating employment and fostering the entrepreneurial spirit that lives within our local communities.

SRSA is owned by Japanese listed company Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd (SRI). The existing SA plant in Ladysmith was founded in 1973 and currently produces passenger car, sport utility vehicle, light truck and truck and bus radial tyres, which are sold in SA and exported across Africa and abroad. Dunlop built its first tyre manufacturing facility in Durban in 1935. *

“We are serious about playing a role in tackling high unemployment of around 33%, the majority of which is young people in rural areas and townships

Itumeleng Mojafi, Group Business Development Manager at Sumitomo: “It’s about creating employment and fostering the entrepreneurial spirit that lives within our local communities.”

Let’s come together and heal as a nation. Let’s focus on renewing, restoring and rebuilding successful partnerships and investment opportunities so we can get back to promoting our city as the ideal destination for business and pleasure to the rest of the world.

Your support coupled with our world-class infrastructure, innovative business environment and ever evolving investment opportunities, means we can get back to ‘connecting continents’ in no time.

ZIMBALI Lakes

Ballito’s new billion plus bonanza – including mansions, retirement, residential, sporting, retail and commercial offerings – is set to take the KZN North Coast to a whole new level

Twenty years ago Zimbali Coastal Resort put KwaZuluNatal on the global property map when Kuwaiti-owned IFA Hotels and Resorts sunk R1,6-billion into what was then dubbed the biggest foreign direct investment into KZN.

The luxury gated estate sprawling down the hill to the sea turned Ballito into a boom town and it helped enormously that King Shaka International Airport (11km away) was completed 10 years later.

Zimbali’s Coastal Resort has 1 400 houses, is almost saturated, and does brisk sales.

When it launched the sale of key seaside plots upwards of R10-million, the story elicited gasps, but now the same properties turn hands for close to R100-million.

In 2017 IFA officially launched its next project, Zimbali Lakes Resort, which promises to cement the company’s reputation for signature, gold-standard developments.

The appetite for Zimbali Coastal Resort property and the catalytic role it played in Ballito prompted IFA to ratchet up the delivery of Zimbali Lakes, which is across the M4 and alongside the estuary. A spectacular array of developments is underway there, most of it fronting 20-hectares of lakes or built around a new 18-hole golf course with forest and sea views.

Planning and environmental approvals for all of Zimbali Lakes is in place and R402-million has already been invested in bulk infrastructure. In total 2 600 opportunities (single

residences and sectional title units) will be built at Zimbali Lakes over the next 10 years, ranging from retirement units to jaw-dropping mansions.

The first houses in Lakes are almost complete and about 15 homeowners are months away from moving in. Phases one and two are situated in the northern half of Zimbali Lakes’ 300-hectare total footprint. Phase two is closest to Ballito town centre and is furthest from the sea.

The estate is pet friendly and includes a retirement village comprising 750 opportunities. This will be developed by South Africa’s largest retirement village

operator Evergreen, which bought the land from IFA for R387,5-million.

Phase three – which boasts panoramic sea, lake and golf course views – was released during August 2022 and has already attracted sales in excess of R102-million.

Wayne Krambeck is the Senior Vicepresident of Zimbali Operations and heads up the day-to-day development and planning.

A member of the South African Professional Golfers Association, he has been involved in the development of golf estates around the world after starting out at Fancourt in 1992. Since

then he has been general manager at Pecanwood, Steenberg, Pinnacle Point and Cotswold Downs.

Krambeck was also involved in the development of Clarens Golf and Trout Estate and Wedgewood. His foreign experience includes stints in Nigeria, Seychelles and Malaysia (which included a golf club in the Borneo rainforest).

Krambeck’s development ethos is gritty and sans hyperbole. He is more of a “show, don’t tell”.

“One of the upsides to Covid was that we were able to get cracking with further approvals and infrastructure planning. When people came to buy their plots in phase one, the roads and most of the bulk infrastructure was already complete. Phase two is fully

The estate is pet friendly and includes a retirement village comprising 750 opportunities

Pictures: Jon Ivins

serviced already. We have 34 sites left in phase one and two (of a combined total of 212). I’d rather under promise and over deliver.”

Sites of about 1 100m² were launched at R900,000 and are now reselling at R2,6-million upwards.

Krambeck says Zimbali Lakes rests on leveraging the success of coastal. The sales team is punting four fundamentals: security; fast broadband; stable electricity and water supply. He says the estate will get a bulk electricity rate, and through a facilities management company and in partnership with Voltano, will handle the electrical reticulation in the estate with back-up batteries, generators and a long-term plan to invest in an off-site solar farm.

Irrigation water supply is available via a seven million mega-litre dam on site, access to river water running through Zimbali Lakes. There is also the comfort of private operator SIZA Water servicing the local municipality potable water supply.

Having successfully laid the foundations for the first three phases, the team is now focusing on possibly the showiest aspect of the development dubbed Tatali. The word is Arabic for cascading water, which is what the designers hope to mimic in the development. The pièce de résistance will be recreational, commercial, retail, and luxury residential buildings that roll down the hill to the sea and Lakes.

The artist’s impressions from awardwinning global firms Stefan Antoni

Olmesdahl Truen Architects and Craft of Architecture, envisage partially underground roads with hanging gardens that connect a boardwalk retail waterfront complex to a hotel, a mansion precinct, and then 22 penthouses in a development atop the highest point of the estate, each with private lifts and cantilevered gardens. Tatali Sky will boast unobstructed views and prices start at around R39 000/m² before finishes.

Krambeck says the mansion sites are selling for between R15-million and R30-million and the biggest, plum piece of real estate closest to the water’s edge is 1 700m², was showcased to a buyer in January. Whoever secures this prime site and can blend their tastes with a strict design aesthetic, will likely be in

for well over R100-million and will own the crown jewel of the North Coast.

There are 21 mansion sites bookended by this uber site at the waterfront and one double that size at 3 000m² on the top of the hill near the penthouses.

Greg Truen from Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects said Tatali’s futuristic design around its oculus feature was an “eye to the sky” served by an invisible service corridor.

“The design is all about enhancing your experience. We took a mundane, functional route through a basement and turned it into an exciting journey that winds down a feature tunnel formed with opulent curves, into a vast, tall oculus, full of space, light and greenery, then on to the lower ground driveway with angled feature columns and a central crevice above that streams in an abundance of natural light.”

Krambeck says keen interest in Zimbali Lakes is down to a number of factors. These include location (schools and King Shaka International Airport) as well as the diverse offerings of the estate (commercial, sporting, residential, retirement and retail).

Long term, low risk investment and multi-generational wealth has become a serious consideration for buyers. Some

people who bought in Zimbali Coastal 20 years ago are now opting to move to newer digs and in some cases are buying for their children.

The estate’s reputation and financials are also a factor. IFA has minimal debt at Zimbali and the company – listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange – has 14 mixed-use hotel and residential resort projects around the world.

Krambeck says the wider social and economic impact of Zimbali Lakes is “profound”.

“The entire site is a hive of activity. The total spend thus far is R652-million, but we project a total figure of R1,45-

Phase three – which boasts panoramic sea, lake and golf course views – was released during August 2022 and has already attracted sales in excess of R102-million

billion on infrastructure over the next 10 years as well as the creation of 40 000 construction jobs during the construction period.

The new 18-hole golf course has been designed and is in the process of being constructed by Golf Data and will cost R92-million. It will be playable in the last quarter of 2024.

“Tatali will probably be fully completed by 2027. We envisage that the retail and commercial precinct will comprise around three or four anchor tenants, a carefully curated selection of smaller retailers, as well as a hotel with 220 rooms. The Sports Club will be operational by the end of 2024 and the Beach Club will follow thereafter, adding significantly to the atmosphere here.

“You get a good sense of that edgy, modern vibe by walking through our mixed-use precinct, The Boulevard, situated between the Lakes and Coastal

estates. Although it already has a number of built residential units, we have also planned to include a fuel station, offices, medical suites and boutique stores in the future,” said Krambeck.

“Despite the many challenges faced by KwaZulu-Natal, the development has not only survived – it has flourished. We are deeply encouraged by the robust interest shown by local and foreign investors in Tatali and Zimbali Lakes as a whole, which is a true testament of our province’s ‘kwasilient’ spirit that we too embrace. Tatali will enhance the value of investment for current and future buyers as we continue to build this vibrant, trend-setting new community in Ballito.” *

Wayne Krambeck.

The King Shaka International Airport and adjacent Dube TradePort has spurred a development boom on the KZN North Coast. But back before it was all a reality, one of KZN’s leading property entrepreneurs envisaged a mega development on land near the new airport.

Strydom was part of the Grinaker consortium which unsuccessfully tendered to build the airport, but the upside was great insight into the catalytic project.

“I knew the site development plans and the road layouts, and became interested in where the proposed airport drive was to intersect with the R102, which connects a whole lot of

little towns like Tongaat, Verulam and Phoenix north of Durban.

“I thought if I discovered where that intersection was going to be, that the piece of land next door might end up eventually being quite valuable. I recall driving around on a Sunday with my wife and sister, and we I eventually interpolated where this intersection was going to be. It was a bit of guesswork at the time, but educated guesswork.

AIRPORT bonanza

Whetstone Business Park near King Shaka International Airport is developing at a pace with construction commitments worth R6-billion. Co-developer Gavin Strydom says the 815 000m² commercial and industrial property project is a key part of the broader Dube aerotropolis precinct. Suren Naidoo reports

Another very important factor is that the road network around King Shaka –especially prior to the World Cup – was all upgraded

“I looked across the road and said to my sister – who worked for me at the time – to please visit this farmer and see if he was perhaps interested in selling the farm.”

It turned out the farmer was a chartered accountant who thought Strydom was paying too much.

“I told my partners at the time that if the airport did not materialise, I would build some low-income housing and at least get our money back.

“But, I also said to my partners that if the airport did go ahead, we would stand in good stead with this farm. It was about 330 000m², or 33-hectares.

“Six months later the airport was announced, the ‘go ahead’ was given, and I remember receiving a call from the former owner who said to me:

Gavin Strydom

Gavin Strydom is KZN born and bred. He studied quantity surveying at the University of Natal, and also has a project management qualification. He worked in the construction industry after university for Hulsen Morgan and Verbaan for about five years before joining JT Ross.

“My dad operated a very small building company in Pietermaritzburg called Edstan.

I convinced my dad to come from Pietermaritzburg to Durban. We ran with this construction company and opened up a small development division, which just grew and grew. My dad’s end-product was phenomenal – the quality, the whole concept of delivery ‘on time and within budget’.

“We had very good people like Yunus Akoo, whom my dad used to work for, and who eventually became my partner in development. From that point, the business grew exponentially to where we are now.”

An aerial view of the Whetstone Business Park development site with the four phases of the project demarcated. Supplied

An aerial impression of phase 1 of the development. Supplied

Strydom’s property partners are well-known Durban businessmen Yunus Akoo, who owns Mercedes-Benz franchises, and Rafik Mohamed, the owner of Pro Roof Steel and numerous other companies. The three are equal partners in a property business that is 15 years old.

Strydom’s views on challenges and opportunities

I am very bullish about the prospects for property in Durban because the city is underdeveloped. Compared to Cape Town or Johannesburg, Durban is the poor cousin which clearly needs more tourism and recreational attractions.

open ground on phases three and four.

“Being next to the airport – a national key point – we immediately benefit from security measures in the area. During the July 2021 riots, the airport was heavily secured by national and local governments, with a major presence of police and army.

“Another very important factor is that the road network around King Shaka –especially prior to the World Cup – was all upgraded.

“We’ve grown our land footprint for Whetstone Business Park. That farm was the first piece of land we bought – which we call phase one –and we’ve subsequently bought three neighbouring properties. Together these land footprints come in at about 815 000m², but we’re hoping to reach a million square metres.

“For phase one, the infrastructure and bulk services are already in place. The roads are all in, the platforms are all cut. It’s 100% done. For phase two, the infrastructure and platforms are about 60% done, and we are still to develop

As a developer, this is definitely the place to be. There are opportunities here, and areas that can be improved. The Department of Environmental Affairs is processing its affairs efficiently, however the city processes are still horrible, with the different departments not speaking to each other. With regards to the forums, we don’t tolerate extortion. We are happy to give people opportunity, but we have standards. There is no free ride.

“The aerotropolis is the future of Durban. It’s a massive precinct that will be bigger than uMhlanga, and will have shopping centres, universities, schools, residential components, a lot of educational facilities, warehousing and retail. An entire city – which is where everyone will ultimately be wanting to be. To me it’s the future of Durban – and we are the first private property developer to develop in this precinct.”

Strydom has secured top tenants, including Boxer Cash & Carry which will build a distribution centre on an 82 000m² platform. Frimax Chips have purchased an 80 000m² site. There will be a Shell petroport on 12 000m² – this will include truck stops, tyre-fitment centres, and mechanical repair shops. Strydom expects the completion date to be around 2027. *

Note: Suren Naidoo is the Deputy Editor of Moneyweb where this story first appeared.

‘Gavin, my boy, I think you have vision. I must congratulate you’.”

Together these land footprints come in at about 815 000m², but we’re hoping to reach a million square metres

under the HAMMER

The impressive art collection was housed at Makaranga Garden Lodge, previously Fern Valley Estate, which was bought by Dana and Chick Flack in the early 2000s. In this time, the Flack family created a landscaping masterpiece accompanied by a luxurious lodge set on 30-acres in Kloof, KwaZulu-Natal.

Synonymous with these enchanting gardens – and what has set Makaranga Lodge apart from others – is its prolific and highly regarded collection of contemporary artworks.

A stunning array of pieces were collected over a lifetime by Dana and Chick Flack from around the world. The collection include sculptures and paintings from some of South Africa’s most celebrated artists as well as renowned Zimbabwean sculptures and a plethora of international artists.

The artwork will form part of a 337lot auction which is sure to generate both national and international interest.

The Makaranga property has already been sold by In2Assets to a private investor.

In2Assets and Old Johannesburg Warehouse are jointly facilitating the auction which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 12 noon. The auction will take place on site at Makaranga Garden Lodge, however, online bidding facilities are also available for buyers to participate online.

Preauction bidding has already commenced.

To view the art, register, and bid. Online link: https://auction. oldjwauctioneers.com/auctions/49I9NNR/6-may-2023-makarangabotanical-lodge-sculpture-and-artonline-and-onsite-auction

FOR MORE INFO

Please contact Imre on 083 981 1186 https://famousdurban.co.za/the-heartof-makaranga/

A magnificent 337-lot rare art collection is going on auction on May 6 and is expected to attract top-end art experts

LOVE Durban

Illa Thompson explores Durban and discovers some hidden gems

Poor old Durban – it feels as though she has come-off second-best in a pub brawl, and has emerged slightly concussed, a tad crestfallen, battered, and bruised – but like the best brawlers, she has picked herself up, dusted herself down and lives to fight another day.

After the barrage of bad news, I chose to fall in love with my hometown again by visiting some of my favourite places in the city we call home.

Heritage overload

This indescribable, eclectic palace close to Kloof Gorge has a phenomenal private collection under one roof. It is extraordinary, a sensory overload.

• Ammazulu African Palace, 20 Windsor Road, Kloof

• info@ammazulupalace.com

• 031 764 8000

• Guided tours are recommended

Walk into your dreams

Staying in Kloof, escape into the magical Ammazulu Gardens and Sculpture Precinct. It feels a bit like a gigantic Easter egg hunt – searching for 120 enormous sculptures hidden in nooks and crannies on a portion of a 20-acre primeval forest.

Local, African and international artists from diverse traditions have created the works using different media.

• 88 Kloof Falls Rd, Kloof

• www.ammazulupalace.com

• 083 244 7565

• Open to the public, Thursday to Sun: 10am-4pm, or by appointment

Learn from history’s darkest hours

The Durban Holocaust and Genocide Centre is not easy to visit, but really worthwhile.

It pays homage to the millions of innocent people who lost their lives through the consequences of prejudice around the world in recent times – especially the Jewish Holocaust as well as the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda, among others.

There is an excellent permanent exhibition, a tranquil memory garden, an extensive library and resource centre, and alfresco cafe with fabulous cheesecake.

• 44 KE Masinga Rd, Durban

• https://dbnholocaust.co.za

• admin@dbnholocaust.co.za

• 031 368 6833

Seeking calm among the cloisters

To the west of Durban lies Mariannhill, home to a magnificent monastery founded by Trappist Monks in 1882, as an extensive and busy Catholic Mission. Mariannhill feels like a calm spiritual beacon untouched by time. The monastery was a thriving village boasting various upliftment and entrepreneurship projects, all with a deeply spiritual ethos.

Although some of the projects have diminished over time, it’s well worth a visit and a tour – or to catch a music concert which are held regularly.

• 10 Mariannhill Monastery Road, Pinetown

• www.mariannhillmonastery. org.za

A booklover’s paradise

Durban’s dream destination for Bibliophiles is Ike’s Books and Collectables – a magical secondhand, out-of-print and antiquarian bookshop perched above a busy Italian restaurant close to the Greyville Racecourse. Resembling a homage to Dickens, handsome eclectic leather-bound books are stacked alongside a (still in use) old typewriter. An airy open veranda with comfy armchairs allows leisurely browsing.

• 48A Florida Rd, Windermere

• www.ikesbooks.com

• ikesbooks@iafrica.com

• 031 303 9214

To market, to market …

Durban has a myriad markets supporting thousands of informal traders and providing visitors with affordable, local, bespoke retail options.

The incredible rabbit-warren that is Warwick is a distinctly Durban innercity destination with its nine separate markets where one can buy anything from school uniforms to shwe-shwe; local cuisine to exotic spices; fresh produce to fresh fish; traditional remedies to high-tech gadgets, cow’s heads to beads in abundance. For first timers, it’s best to join a tour as it’s a bit overwhelming to navigate on your own.

Other recommended markets include Shongweni Farmers & Craft Market (Saturday 7am-1pm, last Sunday of the month, 8am-1pm); Golden Hours Market in Durban North (Sunday 10am-3.30pm) and I Heart Market in Ballito (first Saturday of the month, 8.30am-2pm).

• Asiye eTafuleni on 031 309 3880

• admin@aet.org.za

• https://www.marketsofwarwick. co.za

Full steam ahead!

A fun family outing is a chug through the hills with “Wesley” – an octogenarian Class 19D steam loco pulling handsome old coaches. Umgeni Steam Railway is a slick, efficient nonprofit organisation run by a charming bunch of ferroequinologists (lovers of “iron horses”).

The route follows part of the Durban to Pietermaritzburg mainline opened in 1880 and covers some of the steepest railway gradients in South Africa including a 53m-long tunnel at Drummond, built in 1878.

Chunks of the trainline were badly damaged in the floods, so all activities are geared to fundraise to repair the line. There are regular trips from Inchanga to Botha’s Hill; a pop-up market and food fair at Inchanga, where one can also visit the Railway Museum and model railway exhibition; and buy refreshments and souvenirs in the old Inchanga railway station.

• www.umgenisteamrailway.com

• Bookings essential

Quirky community theatre

Surely one of Durban’s quirkiest entertainment destinations is the Rhumbelow Theatre in the old MOTH Hall in Umbilo’s Cunningham Road. This community theatre is home to regular live productions, musical revues and a lively Movie Club offering oldfashioned movie nights out with friends – with a drink in your hand and a range of snacks on offer. The club offers a

careful mix of classics, art-house titles, unusual finds, crowd-pleasers, and pure nostalgia.

• http://events.durbantheatre.com

• 082 499 8636

• roland@stansell.co.za

• Book at Computicket

Green spaces

A great Durban success story is the Green Corridor initiative – a joint public/private/community project which promotes environmentally sustainable tourism destinations in and around the city. Tour guides and service providers are all locally-trained community members.

There are various offerings –hikes, trails, camps and adventures to be found off the beaten track in community spaces.

• https://durbangreencorridor.co.za

Ubuntu artefacts

In Glenwood, in the Roberts House, a 19th century family home, is the Phansi Museum and Cultural Centre – an extensive and unusual collection of rare ubuntu art exploring healing, sleeping and symbolism. The museum – which

has three exhibition spaces and various galleries – deals with “prejudice, myth, collective memory, histories, customs, traditions, power and loss.” The museum is particularly known for its life-size marionettes from throughout South Africa.

• https://phansi.com/

And that’s not all … Other places of interest include: The Old Fort/Warriors Gate/NMR (for those interested in military history); the Durban Botanic Gardens (Africa’s oldest botanic garden); the Temple of Understanding in Chatsworth (just beautiful, with a great vegetarian restaurant); the 1860 Heritage and Documentation Centre (about Durban’s Indian community); The Britannia Hotel (with a complex history and great curry).

There are tour guides to help discover new places – walking tours are great.

Durban Walking Tours: https://www. durbanwalkingtours.co.za

Talbot Tours Durban with Hamba Nami: 083 384 4410

Warwick Tours: https://www. marketsofwarwick.co.za/tour-guides

We get an inkling of Ari’s style as a civil activist and lobbyist from the photograph on the cover of this biography. It shows him leading other quadriplegics, all wheelchair-bound, in the burning of an old wheelchair at a SANRAL branch in Johannesburg to draw attention to their opposition to the introduction of e-tolls.

He organised another fiery demonstration at SAFA House to protest at SAFA’s lack of attention to FIFA’s guidelines for wheelchair seats at the World Cup stadia in 2010.

This was one courageous man, a mensch of the highest order, fighting from his wheelchair to improve the lives of the disabled.

In a life packed with highlights, one stands out: participating in an adapted quadbike in no fewer than 16 races on back roads across the country, raising literally hundreds of thousands of rands for quadriplegics.

Later, QASA mounted a fundraising campaign which was aligned with Superman, and next thing we read how Ari and Christopher Reeve – himself a quadriplegic – were swapping life stories and making a TV advert together in the USA. Then came the Superman gala dinner where Ari had a few whiskeys with John McEnroe, met Buzz Aldrin and had a quick chat with Robin Williams.

WHEELS of fire

Ari Seirlis lived a charmed life which included Hilton College, the University of Cape Town, a Comrades Marathon, a trip out East, skiing in Austria, and working as a male model with a string of girls on his arm. This all changed in a millisecond when Ari was 23 – a severe waterslide accident on the Durban beachfront

rendered him a quadriplegic.

Yet Ari has achieved more for quadriplegics – and done more from his wheelchair – than several ablebodied men have. A key turning point came when Ari embraced the disability movement, becoming CEO of QASA (the QuadPara Association of South Africa) and growing that organisation to reach stellar status amongst NPOs.

Other memorable episodes in Ari’s extraordinary life included completing the New York Marathon in 2005, a doomed spell with the Independent Democrats, acting as an advisor to President Thabo Mbeki on matters affecting persons with disabilities, assisting Nelson Mandela with his birthday celebrations, attending international conferences as keynote speaker, fly-fishing from a wheelchair, and running a number of small businesses.

And if you work in fundraising, lobbying, or the NGO space, you will learn from and enjoy Ari’s descriptions of QASA’s savvy, innovative and sustainable funding and development models which have had widely successful impacts.

Let Ari take you with honesty, humour and self-reflection on a journey of wonderful highs and desperate lows. You will be moved and inspired. *

FOR MORE INFO

Costs R300 including courier to your door; order your copy from aris@iafrica.com

In a world riddled with doom and gloom, the story of Ari Seirlis – a young man whose life changed in a millisecond – will inspire, encourage and fill you with hope. Review by Chris Hoare

The Seirlis clan in April 2011.

THE IMPACT OF

Mondi Zimele’s Small Timber Grower Programme

Since its inception, Mondi Zimele’s small grower programme has supplied over 9.4 million quality plants to timber growers, with 1,04 million plants distributed in the 2022 planting season alone, besides providing training, securing markets and organising knowledgesharing field days. Mondi Zimele is proud to have partnered with and benefitted a total of 3,435 emerging growers, supported by 93 local empowered forestry contractors (harvesting, timber transporters, etc.), ensuring that the programme is a significant economic driver within the rural Zululand region. Emerging growers have sold a total of 933,690 tons of timber back to Mondi, contributing to a revenue of R803 million. Just this year, growers supplied 122,989 tons of timber at a value of R112 million in revenue. Another notable achievement, in conjunction with various partners, has been a breakthrough in Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for small-scale timber growers under the CMO Group Scheme.

MBONGENI MNGOMEZULU

Community forestry wins

Mbongeni Mngomezulu, a wizened timber farmer and small grower, shares the history of community forestry in the Mfekayi area and his vision for the future…

“When the depot was set up in ’89, it streamlined the market and more people could see the possibilities of forestry. Khulanathi is the backbone of the timber industry here,” said Mngomezulu.

The Mfekayi depot and weighbridge’s opening meant that small-scale growers could deliver their harvested timber to the depot, no longer needing to make the long trek (88km) to the Mondi mill in Richards Bay.

The Mondi and later Mondi Zimele’s outgrowers’ scheme was instrumental in establishing sustainable community forestry in the Mfekayi area, where economic opportunities are scarce and unemployment is rife.

Khulanathi Forestry was formed in April 2007 after the closure of the Mondi group’s Khulanathi outgrower programme.

Mngomezulu started growing trees in 1980, when local people knew very little about forestry. He began managing three hectares on behalf of the local Chief and established a timber transport business to assist other small growers with the short haul to the Mfekayi depot. Today, he is the chairperson of the Growers’ Committee in the area, employs 10 permanent employees and also grows sugar cane to supplement his forestry business.

Mondi Zimele supplies Khulanathi Forestry with 500,000 seedlings/cuttings a year, with the mandate to distribute them to local community growers and sell the timber back to Mondi once it has gone full rotation. Khulanathi also assists the growers with technical support, training and timber certification.

“The free, high-quality seedlings have been very important in growing the timber industry here,” said Mngomezulu. “Their distribution also saves us travel costs, where previously we needed to travel up to 150km to the nursery to buy them. They make forestry here more viable and sustainable.”

“I do loading and short-hauling of timber from the small growers’ woodlots to the depot using a tractor-trailer system. There are 14 contractors doing the same work in this area … with around six people per per contractor!”

“This really contributes to the volume of available fibre for our mill in Richards Bay,” said Sizwe Mtengu of Mondi Zimele. “It also helps us foster good relationships with our communities and supports local economic development. We have seen a huge improvement in the timber quality from small growers over the years. Many are taking forestry more seriously as a business that can support their families.

“Khulanathi ensures that forestry development is in line with best operating practices,” he said. “They also pay the small growers upfront, which assists them hugely with cash flow.”

Their main challenge is having more timber than the depot can procure. Mondi Zimele is committed to growing its small timber grower footprint and partnership in the region, and with that, increase the timber supplied by growers to Mondi.

Another challenge is that of water security, for which Mngomezulu would like to see boreholes established. “I would like to praise Mondi Zimele and Khulanathi,” he said. “Forestry is the number one driver of economic development in this area. We have sent our children to school and built beautiful homes with the money we have made growing trees.”

SABATHILE TEMBE Queen of the forest

Sabathile Tembe, the mother of Chief Tembe of Mfihlweni, is also a prosperous three-decadelong champion tree farmer who operates a forestry contracting business offering other growers planting, harvesting and transport services.

When she’s not busy with her royal duties, she’s tending her Eucalyptus forests and offering her knowledge to other small growers in the community.

Tembe manages 26 hectares of timber, and over the years, she has bought two cars, her own tractor, a labour truck and several chainsaws with the capital from her forestry work. Tembe employs up to 100 people when things are busy… a sure sign that business is booming.

Sabathile plants high-quality GU clones from Mondi Zimele as part of the Forest Partners Programme. “There is a very low mortality rate and the trees grow so fast and healthy that we are able to get the best income,” said Tembe.

The Mondi Zimele seedlings are distributed by Khulanathi Forestry. Tembe grows, fells and transports her timber to the roadside on the R22. Khulanathi pays for her timber upfront and organises transport for the long haul to the Mondi Richards Bay mill, 250 kilometres to the south. This service saves the small-scale growers like Tembe significantly in time, money and resources.

“I have a wonderful working relationship with Thokozani Mfekayi and David Gumede of Khulanathi Forestry,” said Tembe. “Any questions I have about the forestry business, they have the answers.”

“Mondi gave us their support to supply to the Richards Bay mill,” said Thokozani Mfekayi, operations manager for Khulanathi. “However, we could see that we were going to finish the timber out here, so we expanded the project. We approached Mondi Zimele again to assist with planting materials to set up a more sustainable business model.”

Fifteen years later and Khulanathi is still distributing Mondi Zimele seedlings to over 3,000 small growers in KZN, while procuring a steady stream of pulp logs, 10,000 tonnes a month, for the Mondi Richards Bay mill.

“My greatest wish is that the younger generations will take an interest in forestry and farming,” she said. “I hope that they will see the opportunities that the land has to offer.”

When asked about problems, her answer was somewhat unexpected: “As growers, we do not have many challenges,” she said. “We have land and permission from the Chief to plant it… we have seedlings and a market. Mondi Zimele and Khulanathi are here to help us find the solutions.”