Coega ignoring solutions by business to develop Markman
The Coega SEZ has come at enormous cost, failing the communities it dislocated, and is not mitigating its environmental impacts.
The inception studies for the Coega SEZ projected the creation of 100,000 jobs.
Nearly 30 years later, we're not even at 10% of that jobs target (many of the jobs claimed are not in the SEZ), communities relocated out of the Coega SEZ have been marginalised with unrealised promises (the Coega 360), and Algoa Bay marine life is being devastated while the SEZ and port authorities both abdicate responsibility.
Meanwhile, the residents of the city are incredulous at the misrule devastating our local economy.
Jobs and economic development are about strengthening the rates base of the city, and that's not happening.
As reported by The Herald ( June 9 2025), the municipality is in the process of writing off R218m of Coega Development Corporation (CDC) rates debt.
And the CDC is not paying rates for the property being managed on behalf of the municipality in Kariega.
This is not because businesses are not paying their share of rates — they most certainly are.
The rates are being withheld by the CDC due to a dispute with the municipality around who should pay for the public infrastructure serving the industries.
While agreement has been reached between the two parties to write-off the CDC rates debt, the full facts of this debacle must be considered by the oversight mechanisms of council to ensure legislative compliance.
These facts are available but are being ignored or withheld. However, the underlying principle remains, the government is on a rates boycott of itself, while diligent citizens paying for services carry the cost.
The entire saga, including the other rates write-off proposals, begs a detailed analysis.
The data is there — but the collaborative leadership to undertake it is not.
And if the leadership abdicate their responsibility, citizens must simply get under the hood, understand the real reasons for the proposed write-offs, and name and shame the elites who will benefit.
It is logically impossible for the poor to be benefiting from the write-offs being proposed as those write-offs are what would have funded service delivery.
Charles Dickens also says: 'It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.'
The wisdom of municipal representation on SEZ boards is only part of the story.
There has always been municipal representation on CDC boards but this was managed through what political analyst Ongama Mtimka has called creative politicking.
William Gumede is more blunt, attributing the failure of the public sector and state-owned enterprises to 'ideology trumping reality'.
What has prevailed is an age of foolishness, where societal objectives are displaced by economies of extraction that are dominated by political elites acting in their own narrow self-interest.
Markman Industrial Township is a case in point.
The wisdom of good road networks servicing ports for logistics efficiencies is a building block for economic growth, but it's being broken by the foolishness of misrule.
Despite clear regulation in the zoning scheme for the Coega SEZ, Markman industry continues to be illegally denied direct access to the Port of Ngqura via Neptune Road which is a public road.
In Markman, businesses religiously pay their rates, they employ more than 3,000 people, yet public infrastructure supposed to service the area has collapsed — a direct consequence of businesses being excluded from access to the public infrastructure (Neptune Road) of the Coega SEZ.
Business has workable solutions for enhancing the logistics efficiencies of the city and enabling more competitive businesses.
Business has solutions for mitigating the negative impacts of manganese on city roads, they have solutions for creating jobs, fixing infrastructure, and for diversifying the economy in ways that only business can do.
Yet five years later, the government and CDC continue to ignore the solutions being offered by business, take the rates of business, fail to provide services, and leave businesses to fend for themselves.
Business has raised these issues with every sphere of government: hosted tours by government officials, made parliamentary submissions, hosted oversight visits, and received commitments that the road would be opened.
Yet the simplest of first steps — opening a gate from Markman onto Neptune public road — has been blocked by the CDC for the past five years with demands for an access payment.
Every sphere of government has been consulted, and all agree with the proposals to open the Neptune Road gate.
Only one party is always absent when it comes to finding a collaborative solution — the CDC — and their creative politicking for survival with a dysfunctional municipality simply continues.
• Graham Taylor is the spokesperson for the Markman Business Forum (MBF), a membership based nonprofit company representative of the industries and property owners of Markman Township, that develops and maintains public infrastructure.
The Herald
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mail & Guardian
5 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
Saint or statesman? In India Madiba walked his own path
Prisoner-turned-president: Nelson Mandela's life and South Africa's struggle for freedom bore similarities to India's independence from the British colonial yoke and Mahatma Gandhi's role in its transition to a democracy: Photo: File As South Africa and the world observed International Mandela Day on 18 July, my thoughts returned to Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela — the man, the myth, the miracle. A moment etched in my professional and personal memory is how, during his 1995 state visit to India, Madiba diplomatically declined India's subtle efforts to canonise him as a 'saint' in the moral tradition of Mahatma Gandhi. I was among the South African media corps travelling with Mandela — one of his earliest diplomatic journeys as South Africa's first democratically elected president. It was a trip rich in symbolism and sentiment, coinciding with India's own Independence Day on 15 August — the day in 1947 when it broke free from British colonial rule. On that humid day in New Delhi, Mandela stood alongside the then prime minister, PV Narasimha Rao, at the Red Fort, attending the flag-hoisting ceremonies, parades and patriotic festivities. He listened attentively as Rao addressed a nation of more than one billion people. India, with its traditions, freedom struggle credentials and global democratic stature, was welcoming in many ways a kindred spirit. But the Indian media, swept up in the aura of Mandela — prisoner-turned-president, peacemaker-turned-legend — began to invoke saintly comparisons with Gandhi, their own apostle of peace and nonviolence. Gandhi, after all, had lived and worked in South Africa for two formative decades, where he pioneered the nonviolent resistance movement known as satyagraha. Mandela, who studied Gandhi's writings while incarcerated on Robben Island, had long acknowledged the influence of satyagraha on the ANC's strategy. After his release, as he navigated the treacherous road from armed resistance to reconciliation, it was Gandhi's legacy that offered a moral framework for South Africa's negotiated transition. Yet Mandela, ever the realist and self-effacing statesman, politely stopped short of accepting the spiritual elevation that Indian commentators — and some officials — seemed eager to offer. 'I am no saint,' he said during a press conference in Ahmedabad, where he paid homage at Gandhi's ashram. 'Unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.' The most memorable moment of the visit came when Mandela stood at Gandhi's ancestral home in Gujarat and said: 'You gave us Mohandas; we returned him to you as Mahatma.' It was a moment of diplomatic poetry and historical reflection. Gandhi had come to South Africa as a young lawyer, and it was there — facing institutional racism, fighting for the dignity of Indian indentured workers and learning the discipline of protest — that he was spiritually and politically transformed. When he returned to India in 1915, he was no longer just Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He had become the Mahatma, the 'Great Soul'. Mandela's acknowledgment of Gandhi's South African apprenticeship was more than a tribute, it was a recognition of the moral traffic between the two nations. India, in turn, had supported the ANC since its banning in the 1950s, offering the party a semi-diplomatic mission in New Delhi, well before the world fully rallied behind the anti-apartheid cause. India was the first country to cut trade and diplomatic ties with apartheid South Africa. Long before Mandela became a global symbol, Indian leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi had extended solidarity to Oliver Tambo, Yusuf Dadoo and other leaders of South Africa's exiled liberation movement. India had even raised apartheid as a crime against humanity at the United Nations in the 1950s — a bold act of principled diplomacy. But in 1995, amid the adulation and symbolism, Mandela pushed back — gently but firmly — against the idea that he was Gandhi's reincarnation. In the sweltering heat of Ahmedabad, cradled in the philosophies of satyagraha, Mandela was met with reverence. Yet behind the protocol and pageantry, Indian officials quietly suggested that although they honoured Mandela, they saw him as his own man, not merely a disciple of Gandhi. This was not disrespect — far from it. It was a nuanced diplomatic gesture to honour Madiba's unique path, to recognise that although Gandhi's influence loomed large, Mandela had carved his own legacy. Unlike Gandhi's unwavering nonviolence, Mandela had once led uMkhonto weSizwe, the ANC's armed wing, in a strategic turn toward sabotage and resistance. He had walked a harder path — from armed revolutionary to peacemaker, from political prisoner to president. And he was human. Three marriages. Twenty-seven years behind bars. Flaws and scars. That was Madiba. Gandhi too, was no flawless saint. He too was complex and controversial. But in the theatre of international diplomacy, India's reluctance to canonise Mandela was a tribute in itself: to let him be a statesman, a father of his nation, without forcing him into another's shadow. The visit to India stirred echoes of another assignment I had undertaken — retracing Mandela's final moments as a free man before his 1962 capture by apartheid police. Disguised as a chauffeur, he was travelling near Howick in KwaZulu-Natal when he was intercepted — allegedly tipped off by a CIA operative stationed at the US consulate in Durban. That arrest would lead to the Rivonia Trial, life imprisonment and nearly three decades of silence. Now, in 1995, that same man stood in the Red Fort, feted by the Indian state and embraced by the Indian people. It was a powerful metaphor: from hunted fugitive to honoured guest, from revolutionary to revered elder. His journey mirrored Gandhi's, but it was also distinctly his own. This year marks 30 years since that unforgettable state visit. Mandela's presence in India was not just about diplomacy, it was about kinship. The emotional bond between the Indian National Congress and the ANC, forged in the fires of colonialism, apartheid and exile, had matured into state-to-state relations between proud democracies. Madiba's gratitude was evident. He often said India was the first place where he felt the ANC was treated as a government-in-waiting. He knew that South Africa's freedom was not only the result of domestic struggle, but also of international solidarity. And India had been there — early, steadfast and unapologetically committed. Mandela died in 2013, bearing 250 global honours including the Nobel Peace Prize. But during that 1995 visit to India, he left behind something more lasting: a diplomatic legacy rooted in shared values, mutual respect and an understanding that true heroes don't seek canonisation. Saint or not, Mandela walked his own path. Marlan Padayachee is a veteran political, foreign and diplomatic correspondent from South Africa's transition to democracy. He is a freelance journalist, photographer and researcher.
IOL News
13 hours ago
- IOL News
After 120 years, Murray & Roberts heads towards liquidation
Murray & Roberts, the multinational engineering and construction group, will not oppose liquidation proceedings initiated by a creditor, seeking final winding up of the business. Image: Supplied After 120 years, Murray & Roberts Limited (MRL), a South African engineering and construction stalwart founded in 1902, faces liquidation. The company, which listed on the JSE in 1951 and merged with Roberts Construction in 1967, did not oppose creditor-initiated proceedings in the Gauteng High Court. This decision follows a prolonged period of financial distress that rendered the holding company insolvent after the sale of its core assets. On August 15, the group informed shareholders that a creditor had initiated liquidation proceedings in the Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa, seeking a final or provisional winding up order. According to reports Murray & Roberts stated, "Given the company's financial position, Murray & Roberts does not intend to oppose the liquidation application." The company plans to continue engaging with its legal advisors and will update shareholders on further material developments. On November 22, 2024, the company was subsequently placed on business rescue following significant liquidity constraints by the South African-based international engineering and construction group over a prolonged period. The business rescue practitioners said that creditors had approved MRL's business rescue plan on April 8, and in terms of this plan, MRL's main assets, its mining businesses, would be sold to a consortium of investors led by South Africa-based asset management firm Differential Capital. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Once a cornerstone of South Africa's development, Murray & Roberts was behind iconic projects such as the Carlton Centre, Koeberg nuclear power station, Gautrain, and Cape Town's Greenpoint stadium. Its international portfolio included Australia's Gorgon platform and Dubai's Burj al Arab. The firm's demise is attributed to a "perfect storm" of liquidity issues, project delays, overreliance on clients like De Beers' Venetia Mine, the failed Clough expansion in Australia, the impacts of COVID-19, and a lack of bank support, marking a tragic end to its storied legacy. IOL
The Herald
16 hours ago
- The Herald
We are here to start the dialogue, says Ramaphosa
President Cyril Ramaphosa has emphasised his standing amid the wrangling over the national dialogue. Taking to the podium to address the national convention meant to kick off the dialogue, the president maintained he is well within his rights to oversee the process as its convener. 'I have called this first national convention in my capacity as your president, as the head of state. I have done so in line with section 83 of our constitution, which requires the president, as the head of state and head of the national executive, to promote the unity of the nation and that which will advance the republic. 'This is what brings me here. This is why I invited all of you here, to be here and be part of this dialogue,' said Ramaphosa. Despite the dramatic 11th-hour withdrawal from the dialogue by legacy foundations, Ramaphosa insisted there was a need to forge ahead as planned. Thanking them for their work preparing for the dialogue, Ramaphosa said any hesitation or postponement could erode trust in the process by civil society organisations and NGOs invited to share their views. 'For more than a year, various formations of civil society have been working to conceptualise and champion the national dialogue. Central to this effort have been a number of legacy foundations established by and named for stalwarts of our liberation struggle. We express our gratitude and appreciation for the work of these foundations in giving life to the national dialogue.' He said this would open up a space where South Africans confront their realities openly, respectfully and constructively. ' This is not a partisan platform. This is a national platform. Here, no voice is too small and no perspective is too inconvenient to be heard. We are gathered to listen to each other, to understand one another and to chart a common path forward for our country. 'We meet at a time of profound challenges: economic hardship, unemployment, inequality, growing poverty and a crisis of confidence in our institutions. We also meet at a time when the world is rapidly changing and our ability to adapt and renew ourselves will define the next generation. But history teaches us that nations are not defined solely by their difficulties; they are defined by how they respond to challenges they face.' Ramaphosa said the South African struggle was one for freedom from the nightmare of apartheid, one that proved there was unity in diversity. 'It is a powerful force for transformation. Gathered in this hall are people from all across our land, people from all walks of life, people of all races, all classes, all languages and cultures.' Despite the diversity of those participating in forums like the dialogue, one thing that held South Africans together was that they were all 'sons and daughters of the same soil'. 'We share a common past. We share the same inheritance of division, of inequality and of injustice. We share the same pride at ending the crime of apartheid and establishing a constitutional democracy. We also share a common future. And that is why we have chosen to gather here today. Because each one of us, regardless of our differences, is committed to work together to build the future of which we all dream. 'We have chosen to be here because we believe in the power of dialogue and united action. We believe that if we share our concerns and fears, we can conquer them. If we understand the challenges we face, we can overcome them. 'If we know what hurts us, we can heal. If we know what divides us, we can unite.' He said across the length and breadth of South Africa, people would, and should, meet to talk about what worried them, what gave them hope and how they thought their lives and the country could be better.
