There is one simple thing that can be done to change the conversation about Nelson Mandela Bay to build the confidence of both local businesses and people, visitors, tourists and prospective investors.
Cleaning.
Talk to anyone who has recently returned from Cape Town, or any well-run town in the country for that matter, and one of the first things you will hear them remark on is the cleanliness of the place.
First impressions count and, generally, the first thing to make an impression on entering a city is its physical state — does it appear neat, tidy and clean, or are the buildings grimy, the waterways clogged with litter, trash blowing around on broken pavements?
Cleanliness gives the impression of a well-run, ordered, efficiently functioning city.
It builds confidence that this is a place that works; it changes attitudes and enables local people to show off their town with pride, with confidence that rubs off on others.
Sure, you can scratch beneath the surface and find inefficiencies, political squabbles, inequalities and broken things in any city or town anywhere in the world, no matter how tidy its roadsides or how clean the beaches.
The point is that getting the basics right is the foundation for fixing the bigger things, and attracting the tourism and investment that generates the income to do that.
Driving to realise the great potential of our Bay of Opportunity must start with getting basic services delivered to all areas of the metro, efficiently and consistently.
This needs to become deeply entrenched, so that we are not just polishing the surface but building an inclusive metro with opportunity that benefits all economic sectors and people.
The automotive industry is the anchor of the Nelson Mandela Bay value chain — a chain that links through the auto component suppliers to their suppliers and partners, to the diversity of manufacturing and agro-processing, to logistics and storage, to professional services providers, through to retail, tourism and hospitality.
The Bay of Opportunity exists for all the links in this chain.
Our advantages as the automotive manufacturing hub of SA, with a strong, diversified manufacturing and skills base, are complemented by the natural assets and lifestyle advantages of clean beaches, wildlife and nature reserves, opportunities for outdoor adventure and sports, good schools, excellent restaurants, attractive neighbourhoods.
These natural assets are vital to attracting tourists who sustain accommodation, restaurants and other leisure-orientated businesses; who will become our ambassadors, talking and social media-sharing about this metro that is truly the Friendly City.
They are essential, too, for retaining and attracting the young talent that new investors want to employ.
And as a city that is attractive to young people, we, in turn, become a more vibrant, dynamic city, a place where things are happening.
To get this right, we need to support the development of tourism attractions and facilities for leisure, sports and hosting big events — and maintain what we have in a clean and safe state.
This is a big vision to realise the multifaceted potential of the Bay of Opportunity, and it is clear that no one individual or role-player can do it alone.
However, looking at the activist and action-orientated stance of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, at the constructive working relationships we have developed with government, development agencies and civil society, I am confident that it is possible.
Looking at the positive differences being made, both at the broad, strategic level through partnerships, lobbying and targeted initiatives such as the recent NMB Manufacturing Showcase and the launch of the Local Economy Reinvention Think Thank, as well as practical improvements literally at street level through the work of the 11 Chamber-supported geographic clusters, I have confidence that our vision is realisable.
As business working to make a difference, we need to maintain our positive working relationship with the municipality as strategic partner; we need to get state-owned enterprises on board to support the metro’s infrastructure needs; we need to nurture and support small businesses and entrepreneurs; we need to take the broader community with us.
As a metro, Nelson Mandela Bay is having conversations and speaking on public platforms about our potential and our opportunities in a way that no other SA city is doing.
We are actively working to build confidence and it is our spirit of collaboration for the greater good that is turning opportunity and potential into reality, one step at a time.
Together, we can awake the sleeping giant that is Nelson Mandela Bay.
Siyolo Dick is the newly-elected president of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber and managing director of SPAR Eastern Cape
HeraldLIVE
A clean city can put us on path to becoming Nelson Mandela Bay of Opportunity
Image: LEON HUGO
There is one simple thing that can be done to change the conversation about Nelson Mandela Bay to build the confidence of both local businesses and people, visitors, tourists and prospective investors.
Cleaning.
Talk to anyone who has recently returned from Cape Town, or any well-run town in the country for that matter, and one of the first things you will hear them remark on is the cleanliness of the place.
First impressions count and, generally, the first thing to make an impression on entering a city is its physical state — does it appear neat, tidy and clean, or are the buildings grimy, the waterways clogged with litter, trash blowing around on broken pavements?
Cleanliness gives the impression of a well-run, ordered, efficiently functioning city.
It builds confidence that this is a place that works; it changes attitudes and enables local people to show off their town with pride, with confidence that rubs off on others.
Sure, you can scratch beneath the surface and find inefficiencies, political squabbles, inequalities and broken things in any city or town anywhere in the world, no matter how tidy its roadsides or how clean the beaches.
The point is that getting the basics right is the foundation for fixing the bigger things, and attracting the tourism and investment that generates the income to do that.
Driving to realise the great potential of our Bay of Opportunity must start with getting basic services delivered to all areas of the metro, efficiently and consistently.
This needs to become deeply entrenched, so that we are not just polishing the surface but building an inclusive metro with opportunity that benefits all economic sectors and people.
The automotive industry is the anchor of the Nelson Mandela Bay value chain — a chain that links through the auto component suppliers to their suppliers and partners, to the diversity of manufacturing and agro-processing, to logistics and storage, to professional services providers, through to retail, tourism and hospitality.
The Bay of Opportunity exists for all the links in this chain.
Our advantages as the automotive manufacturing hub of SA, with a strong, diversified manufacturing and skills base, are complemented by the natural assets and lifestyle advantages of clean beaches, wildlife and nature reserves, opportunities for outdoor adventure and sports, good schools, excellent restaurants, attractive neighbourhoods.
These natural assets are vital to attracting tourists who sustain accommodation, restaurants and other leisure-orientated businesses; who will become our ambassadors, talking and social media-sharing about this metro that is truly the Friendly City.
They are essential, too, for retaining and attracting the young talent that new investors want to employ.
And as a city that is attractive to young people, we, in turn, become a more vibrant, dynamic city, a place where things are happening.
To get this right, we need to support the development of tourism attractions and facilities for leisure, sports and hosting big events — and maintain what we have in a clean and safe state.
This is a big vision to realise the multifaceted potential of the Bay of Opportunity, and it is clear that no one individual or role-player can do it alone.
However, looking at the activist and action-orientated stance of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, at the constructive working relationships we have developed with government, development agencies and civil society, I am confident that it is possible.
Looking at the positive differences being made, both at the broad, strategic level through partnerships, lobbying and targeted initiatives such as the recent NMB Manufacturing Showcase and the launch of the Local Economy Reinvention Think Thank, as well as practical improvements literally at street level through the work of the 11 Chamber-supported geographic clusters, I have confidence that our vision is realisable.
As business working to make a difference, we need to maintain our positive working relationship with the municipality as strategic partner; we need to get state-owned enterprises on board to support the metro’s infrastructure needs; we need to nurture and support small businesses and entrepreneurs; we need to take the broader community with us.
As a metro, Nelson Mandela Bay is having conversations and speaking on public platforms about our potential and our opportunities in a way that no other SA city is doing.
We are actively working to build confidence and it is our spirit of collaboration for the greater good that is turning opportunity and potential into reality, one step at a time.
Together, we can awake the sleeping giant that is Nelson Mandela Bay.
Siyolo Dick is the newly-elected president of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber and managing director of SPAR Eastern Cape
HeraldLIVE
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