By ROUX VAN ZYL
Finance Reporter

THE DECAYING university town of Alice is expecting soon to see the tide of its flagging fortunes change with two multimillion-rand developments being unveiled this month.
The first is a R52m restoration of the University of Fort Hare’s campus buildings, the second a R20m shopping centre across the town’ taxi rank.
Professor Terry Marsh, UFH’s strategic planning executive director, said the decision to restore the campus buildings was made at the beginning of last year. “There is a deferred maintenance backlog of 20-odd years. It’s sad that the buildings have been neglected.”
Work will start on eight buildings, most of which have earned historical status, as well as the reconstruction of the campus’ main gate, which was smashed by a drunken student last year.
The shopping centre’s developer, Grant Wheately of Novate Property Investments, described the venture as “highly sustainable” as the town was a catchment area for about 100 000 consumers from Hogsback, Alice, Fort Beaufort and surrounding villages.
“Many of the national chain stores and outlets are looking to expand their footprint in the smaller towns, which means greater convenience and choice for these consumers. It is also an opportunity for property developers to be able to provide high-value premises which have modern-day conveniences such as air-conditioning,” said Wheatley.
Named Kwantu, the 7 000m² shopping centre will host 25 tenants, with the anchor tenant being a SuperSpar and Tops liquor store. Construction is due to start this month and the centre is expected to open in October.
Although the university upgrade will not directly benefit the town, a shift in the way it operates – instigated by Vice Chancellor Derrick Swartz – will have that effect, university officials said.
UFH executive dean of Science and Agriculture, Professor Jan Raats said Swartz challenged his department to start various agriculture development initiatives with the Alice community in a bid to counter underdevelopment.
The projects included a nursery that sold seedlings and shrubs and rents out plants for functions, as well as crop farming and vegetable drying plant.
“We have decided to change our mindset in terms of development and to be tough on ourselves. We have to make a difference in the community or else we are not doing out job,” Raats said.
But opinions were divided over the proposed upgrades – especially the new proposed shopping centre – to the town, with its world famous university that was once the intellectual nucleus of South Africa’s liberation struggle.
The town’s big business owners said they have been plunged into deep uncertainty about their future.
The economic pie of Alice was limited and had already been sliced to a maximum, they argued.
Gray Channon, who manages the town’s Sentra supermarket, said the new planned shopping centre presented a problem. “I think the top section of Alice will die when the shopping centre is opened,” he said.
Other business owners, however, were more optimistic. Wulong Cheng, of China Store clothing outlets, thought it would attract more shoppers to the town. But, he added: “I hope we can get into the new centre.”