Investors, politicians and business people have been given a whistle-stop tour of Mitchells Plain to highlight the suburb’s potential for billion rand growth.
According to the provincial department of economic development and tourism, Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha contributes R56 billion to the provincial gross geographic product every year.
The tour was organised by the Plain Chamber, which is a Mitchells Plain not for profit organisation for businesses and people interested in the economic growth of the suburb.
Western Cape MEC for Finance and Economic Opportunities David Maynier was part of the tour to see first-hand the established businesses and potential business opportunities in the area. The City of Cape were invited to the tour but did not attend.
The group visited small businesses, including pubs, restaurants as well as the False Bay coastline to showcase the Monwabisi Resort and Strandfontein Pavilion.
Chairperson and chief executive of the Plain Chamber Sean Achim said: “We had a very specific purpose for this (investor) tour. It wasn't just to say can we show you what we have, it was a case of can we show you what we should be.”
Achim said development plans had been drafted for the area drafted in 2016 already. But no action has ever been taken, in part because all stakeholders being unable to agree on a shared vision. But he said they are making progress.
“One of the things we will be doing, and we are in the final stages now, is to create an investment company for Mitchells Plain. Through the investment company, we are planning to raise R100 billion, 20% of the shares of that company will be reserved and discounted for anyone who lives in Mitchells Plain.
“We want to know that for the next development that happens, you as a resident of Mitchells Plain, actually have an investment. It must be more than saying I laid a brick, you get a cent that comes out of every rand that is spent there for the rest of your lifetime.”
Achim said one day was never enough to showcase the business potential in Mitchells Plain.
He said: “We have too much to show, Mitchells Plain is a 84 square km city on its own, that’s a huge market. And then if you combine the economies of Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha, we contribute R56 billion rand per annum to our Gross Geographic Product.
“If you look outside of the City of Cape Town, there is not a single municipality whose GDP contribution is close to the combination of Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha – it’s still greater than the whole of the Winelands.”
Maynier said he was impressed with the economic activity in the suburb as well as the growth potential.
Responding to plans to get a Mitchells Plain tourist route up and running, Maynier said: “What has been illustrated is that there are very significant opportunities for us to start to work on developing an experience for tourists, that really showcases a different side to Mitchells Plain.”
He added: “The work from you is for us to put our heads together to see how we can work with the chamber and the private sector to start to properly develop and utilise all these assets.”
The owner of the Las Vegas Sports Bar, Pub & Grill, Celeste April welcomed the delegation to her pub and was happy to explain to them that there is definitely a market for tourists should they show up.
She added that even people who live in the area need to see its potential: “Mitchells Plain is not a bad place, and Mitchells Plain people love spending, and they always go outside of Mitchells Plain to spend. That might be ego, I don’t know, but they will spend money outside of Mitchells Plain and when they come back here, they will complain about our prices – and we are already so cheap.”
Institutional Investor for Prudential Mzykisi Ralawe said: “I’m excited by the opportunities here. There is huge potential, 1.3 million people and 45 suburbs, and if you look around, you can see the existing big franchises here and you notice it. We now need to flip that and localise that.”