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Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, and Saldanha Bay Mayor Andre Truter have committed to working together to redevelop the St Helena Bay and Saldanha Bay small harbours. <\/span><\/p>\n This follows an oversight visit to the harbours on Tuesday, where officials witnessed the extent of neglect at the harbours. <\/span><\/p>\n The two small harbours, which are owned and managed by the Department of Public Works <\/span>and Infrastructure, have over the years fallen into a state of disrepair, often attracting criminal activity and deterring investment in surrounding communities.<\/span><\/p>\n In line with the commitments made during his State of the Nation Address (Sona) reply in Parliament a month ago, Macpherson said he would instruct departmental officials to develop a master plan for the small harbours to ensure they contribute to the Saldanha Bay economy through fishing and tourism development.<\/span><\/p>\n Minister Macpherson said the harbours should become economic engines for <\/span>their communities, creating much-needed jobs.<\/span><\/p>\n Macpherson said the harbours should become economic engines for <\/span>their communities, creating much-needed jobs.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn a similar way that the V&A Waterfront stands as a prime example of how harbours can be <\/span>used to attract investment and create thousands of jobs, we believe small harbours such as <\/span>St Helena Bay and Saldanha Bay should be redeveloped to become economic engines for <\/span>their communities,\u201d he said. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe V&A Waterfront has helped create over 60,000 jobs, and we believe <\/span>this level of success can be replicated across the country\u2014creating jobs for communities such as Saldanha Bay,\u201d Macpherson said. <\/span><\/p>\n Mayor Truter welcomed the commitment by Macpherson, and stated the engagement on Tuesday was \u2018extremely positive\u2019 and demonstrated a clear focus on action and timelines. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWorking with a Minister who knows what needs to be done and how to get it done is <\/span>refreshing. Minister Macpherson has drawn a line in the sand regarding implementation <\/span>timelines, and as Saldanha Bay Municipality, we look forward to embarking on this journey <\/span>with the Minister and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure,\u201d Truter said. <\/span><\/p>\n robin.francke@iol.co.za<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, and Saldanha Bay Mayor Andre Truter have committed to working together to redevelop the St Helena Bay and Saldanha Bay small harbours. This follows an oversight visit to the harbours on Tuesday, where officials witnessed the extent of neglect at the harbours. The two small harbours, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[12977,3869,11181,16516,2017,409,18052,12976,18051],"class_list":["post-235557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-politics","tag-bay","tag-commit","tag-harbours","tag-macpherson","tag-mayor","tag-minister","tag-redeveloping","tag-saldanha","tag-truter"],"yoast_head":"\nGet your news on the go, click<\/strong> here to join the News WhatsApp channel.<\/h2>\n