Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi says the state of the North West capital, Mahikeng does not attract investment that can lead to development and economic growth. He says it is worrying that existing infrastructure is unmaintained and left to decay, while no new developments are being brought about.
This emerged during Zibi’s visit to the inoperative Mahikeng Airport. Zibi says the state of the facility leaves much to be desired.
“Firstly, there is no airport. The runway is there but when you get into the building – you know people who have been into airports they are very brightly lit – so here the lights are off, here, first of all. And secondly, there are no flight scheduled. On the sign here, when you walk in the arrival it’s called Ping Pong and there is no place called Ping Pong, which means it’s just a placeholder here because there is no activity here and the people work here. It must be difficult for them because they leave home, come here, there is nothing to do,” says Zibi.
Zibi added that the airport is not the only issue of concern in Mahikeng.
“Coming to this airport from town, it is an extreme sport because the road is bad and the rest of the infrastructure is not working and it is not possible to attract investors. If you do not first sort out infrastructure, that is going to hold that private and public investment. So, for the North West there are critical regions this is one of them. The area in Bojanala is another. There is farming, mining; there is other types of activities that can take place in the North West. That needs new leaders who understand the totality of the province where the opportunities are.”
