Pretoria - Sun International SA must comply with strict conditions set down as part of the approval of its application to relocate the Morula Sun casino and hotel licence to Menlyn Maine, east of the city.
On Thursday, the Gauteng Gambling Board approved the application with conditions, following public participation which included a four-day hearing in April.
Bheki Nkosi, acting chief executive officer of the board, said full reasons for the decision would be made available on or before September 30.
However, in approving the application, the board set down conditions.
These include a guarantee that employees at Morula be offered jobs at Menlyn Maine at their present benefits.
Sun International must provide them with transport at its cost.
To deal with problems raised by objectors, the new casino must be designed and constructed with no pedestrian entrance facing the Glen High School.
Pedestrian crossings between the casino and the school must be designed taking into account the presence of children.
Children in school uniform, carrying school bags or under the age of 18 have to be excluded from all areas in which gambling occurs or where alcohol is served.
All access points must be security-controlled at all hours to prevent precluded persons from entering, the board ordered.
The casino’s cash delivery and collection points must be designed and constructed within the basement of the development and transit vehicles may not use the new road to be constructed between January Masilela Drive and Corobay Avenue.
Sun International has been instructed to honour conditions agreed on with the school and Department of Education.
The operator has to submit deeds for approval in respect of a community trust to be established to aid disadvantaged communities in the city.
Within 12 months, the company is required to provide a detailed and specific commitment regarding the establishment of an independent hospitality and gaming training academy.
It must subsidise the disadvantaged, including the existing Morula Sun facility, to the tune of R950 million.
The casino part of the Time Square entertainment node of the R8 billion “Green City” project at Menlyn Maine.
It is planned to open with 2 000 slots and 60 tables, increasing later.
Other attractions will include a shops, restaurants and bars expected to draw patrons from across the city and beyond.
There will be parking for 2 785 vehicles.
Menlyn Maine will have a central piazza with a hotel and restaurants, a mall and multi-storey office block, as well as a large residential component.
Pretoria News Weekend