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The agreement between two Eastern Cape provincial departments that will pave the way for the redevelopment of the Bayworld Complex has still not been signed, it was revealed in the Bhisho Legislature on Wednesday.
The complex currently falls under the Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture which has provided some funding to improve the current state of the facility.
The intention is for this department to sign an agreement with the Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism that will divide the administration of the complex into a museum component, on the one hand, and an economic development and tourism component, on the other.
Until that agreement is signed, Economic Development is unable to provide funds for the facility and appoint the Mandela Bay Development Agency as the implementing agent for the redevelopment of the complex with the aim of providing a world-class facility that will pave the way for the return of dolphins as a major tour-ist attraction.
Questioned about the agreement in the Bhisho Legislature yesterday, Sport, Rec-reation, Arts and Culture MEC Xoliswa Tom referred only to a cooperative governance agreement that was signed at the beginning of last year between the Metro and two departments.
That agreement, she told the Bhisho Legislature, provided for the mutual govern-ance and management of Bayworld in order to increase the tourism potential and education and research functions of the institution.
Tom, however, made no reference to the second agreement between the two Bhisho departments that must be signed as a prerequisite for major work to be carried out on the complex, possibly through the formation of a public-private-partnership.
The matter is also scheduled to be raised at the next Council Meeting on October 11, when Acting Municipal Manager Themba Hani will be asked about the current status of Bayworld and what are the causes of the delay in finalising agreements between the Province and Metro.
In addition, Hani is to be asked which department in the Metro is responsible for finalising the process and when will authority be delegated to Nelson Mandela Bay to engage the MBDA as the implementing agent.
(Source: Metrominute - to subscribe mail metminutes@iafrica.com)
