The Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Port St Johns Development Agency and the local municipality which sees the corporation fund R100 000 of the town’s R1 million business plan.

The five-to-10 year plan for the well-known Wild Coast tourist town, a little more than 200 kilometres from East London, aims to define its transformation as well as how this will translate into reality. It will also include costs, create the framework for community participation as well as identify potential investors and partners.

Port St John’s Development Agency CEO Malibongwe Yokwe says the plan, whose remaining funding will come from the Development Bank of South Africa, is an important tool for raising money with national government and donor agencies.

The town is anxious to get the plan underway and is to advertise for consultants who wish to undertake the work shortly.

Yokwe believes that this should be complete during June.

“This is not an academic process. We don’t want a plan that only looks good on the shelf. Furthermore, its development should take place in a phased manner that allows us to engage partners during the process rather than after the plan’s completion,” he adds.

The focus of the plan is the upgrade of the town’s entrance, the central business district, four sites next to the beach as well as a housing development near a golf course.

Port St John’s municipal manager Zola Hewu says the master plan is good for the town.

“Currently we don’t have a blueprint for development. Once in place, it will give us a clear direction of how to engage with investors.”

Hewu says that most of the Port St Johns’ 160 000 rural residents will also benefit.

“The benefits will extend into rural Port St Johns. It’s a case of starting somewhere. This development is also high impact and visible since the town is the centre of economic activity. What’s more, starting in town, which has the better infrastructure, gives us greater leverage and this translates into greater impact.”

ECDC’s spatial and rural development manager Mdu Mdunyelwa, advocate of the programme, agrees.

“The plan will build confidence in the area. One of the town’s advantages is that it is well-known and its popularity keeps growing. Furthermore, it has a strong tourism base which allows the town to entrench itself as an anchor project in an already identified tourism node.”

This should act as catalyst for the rest of the region.

It is also a clear example of how coastal development can lead to inland growth by using tourism as the catalyst. For example, the inland craft centres are expected to feed into coastal tourism nodes. The town also has strong agricultural strength which is another sector that is expected to benefit from the town’s development,” Mdunyelwa adds.

The Port St Johns project is one of several for the corporation. Others include Coffee Bay where this approach may be replicated and Silaka which is a premier nature reserve in Pondoland.

At the signing of the memorandum of agreement are Port St Johns Development Agency CEO Malibongwe Yokwe, Port St Johns Municipality municipal manager Zola Hewu and ECDC acting CEO Aneel Radhakrishna.