A redesigned, more reader-friendly Daily Dispatch will hit the streets by the middle of next month, says Daily Dispatch editor Phylicia Oppelt.

Oppelt, who was guest speaker at the annual general meeting of the Border-Kei Chamber of Business, said the redesign of the paper was moving ahead quite rapidly.

She also announced that the Saturday Dispatch is to become a tabloid edition - a leisure paper driven by what happens in the eastern part of the province.

Oppelt said the aim with the re-launch of the newspaper was not only to give it a new look, but to also improve the contents. That included turning the business pages into areas of excellence.

“One of the important things is to tell our readers about the people of the Eastern Cape. We have to be passionate about our people."

Oppelt said the paper should not be regarded as anti-government when it writes about topics such as corruption.

“We do it because our function is to translate what government does to our readers."

She promised that the Dispatch would cover news and the people of the province more intensely, more vigorously and more excellently.

“It will take hard work and lots of pain but our newspaper must become the best local newspaper in the country," she said.

She said the Dispatch has existed in a vacuum for a long time and enjoyed a hugely successful monopoly.

“But no competition leads to complacency. Other papers could see the Dispatch's circulation area as prime land."

To continue to be successful the paper has to operate as if it has competition blowing down its neck, she added.