Christopher Motabogi
On the eve of his State of the Province address, Premier Ace Magashule took the opportunity to showcase government projects, which he says are putting his government on a trajectory towards improving services to residents. The premier led a delegation of MECs, local government officials, church leaders and members of the media on an open-bus tour of projects undertaken in Bloemfontein recently.
Magashule was briefed about the Brandwag Flats “social housing project”, which, when completed, will accommodate some 1 300 residents. “We want to show that living in town is not only for whites, but for all of us,” Magashule told an entourage of several hundred people. The premier described the Brandwag development as part of government’s plans to ensure that people are closer “to their places of work”. Earlier in the day Magashule, accompanied by provincial Education MEC Tate Makgoe, donated five busses to the Pholoho and Tswellang special schools in Phahameng location. Social development MEC, Sisi Ntombela, pledged to build additional classes and boarding facilities at both schools, which cater for learners with special needs. Newly completed housing units of struggle veterans in Mangaung were also visited. Meanwhile, the Mangaung Metro Municipality (MMM) says over 30 000 visitors and 10 000 cars passed through Naval Hill’s gates between 15 December 2012 and 15 January 2013. MMM’s head of planning, Kaba Kabagambe, says the number of visitors increased after a statue of former president Nelson Mandela was erected in December 2012, affirming the city’s position that the statue would serve as a major tourist attraction.
Kabagambe says the statue precinct was only the first phase in the broader plan to make the hill a hallmark destination in the city.
“We are done with the statue precinct and have already begun work on other projects. We can certainly say that the planetarium will be fully functional in June. Once completed, the digital planetarium will be the first facility of this nature in Sub-Sahara Africa,” says Kabagambe. The statue precinct, which will get additional viewing platforms to accommodate the public, will also be furnished with a restaurant by June. This will all ensure that every visit to the hill will be a memorable experience for tourists and locals alike.
