Planned development delayed, but not forgotten

Date: 12 September 2016 By: Isabel Venter

With the arrival of September, not many residents were surprised to find the Makhado Crossing Mall untouched.  

Earlier in the year, the Makhado Municipality announced that the sale of the mall was a done deal and that the developer had planned to break ground by September of this year. The area earmarked for the sale currently houses the town's rugby fields, the squash club, gymnastics and wrestling hall, the well-known rugby lapa and netball fields.

The affected sport clubs, who will have to relocate to make way for the development, were also none the wiser about the progress of the deal. That was until last week, when they were summoned to a meeting. It seems the appointment of a new town council after the local municipal elections was largely to blame for the delay in concluding the deal.

A week before the meeting, the Zoutpansberger enquired from the municipality whether the development had been abandoned. All that the municipal spokesperson Mr Louis Bobodi was willing to divulge was that the new council is still hashing out the deed-of-sale documents with the developer.

During last Thursday’s meeting it was stated in no uncertain terms that the deal is set to continue with Masingita. Mayor Mildred Sinyosi is eager to see the project’s completion.

The municipality’s director for development planning, Cllr Dakalo Sinthumule, affirmed that the council had accepted an alternative proposal from the various sport clubs that suggests another site for the relocation of the town’s current sports facilities. The clubs asked the municipality to consider relocating the squash and gymnastics facilities (which will also host the wrestling and badminton clubs) to the area next to the municipal swimming pool and athletics clubhouse, on the corner of Anderson and Breda Street. These clubs’ representatives also submitted concept drawings of what they had in mind.

Especially the squash club is anxious to see any movement in the negotiations. The club has reported four break-ins since the start of the year at its present location opposite the municipal show grounds. Only a fortnight ago, thugs broke in and stole a brand new sound system that had been installed to replace the one that was stolen earlier in the year. The situation has gotten so desperate that the club has approached the mayor’s office to ask for the appointment of security guards at the clubhouse. In addition, the club reported that their membership numbers had reduced drastically as a result of the security risks.  

The management of the Louis Trichardt Rugby Club, on the other hand, indicated that they would settle for a new rugby field next to the municipal show grounds if they could not be accommodated at the fields next to the swimming pool or reach an agreement with Louis Trichardt High School to use their fields.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the municipality could not give a more specific timeline for the completion of the various phases of the project. A follow-up meeting was scheduled for 13 September between the municipality, the various representatives of the sports clubs and Masingita to discuss the concept plans and relocation of the squash and gymnastics clubs.

In the meantime, the newspaper received a revised architect’s drawing of what the new mall would look like after completion. Some dramatic changes have been made. For instance, the Ster Kinekor theatre complex does not appear on the plans anymore, and neither does the planned Virgin Active Gym.

Masingita, the newspaper has learned as well, is hoping to complete the extensions of the centre by the year 2018.

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Isabel Venter

Isabel joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in 2009 as a reporter. She holds a BA Degree in Communication Sciences from the University of South Africa. Her beat is mainly crime and court reporting.

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