KwaMashu Town Centre - Urban LandMark

mixed-use plan, there was little interestin the business component. The lackof interest in business property may berelated to the economic downturn. If thehousing and business components of thepackage had been packaged separately,it would have been possible to hold backthe business component until the marketimproved. Market analysis would havebeen useful to guide the packaging andrelease of land.A key part of mobilising private-sectorinvestment is trust among bidders thatthey stand a fair chance of being selected.A more strategic approach to packagingthe land parcels would have increased thenumber of opportunities for developers.Light manufacturingIt is relatively easy to achieve theeconomic objectives of pluggingeconomic leakage, and creating localjobs and investment opportunities, throughretail investment. However, the benefits arelimited, especially considering that most ofthe stores in shopping centres are nationalchains whose head offices are locatedelsewhere. There is also competitionamong the INK nodes to tap the retailmarket and a saturation point will rapidlybe reached.Manufacturing is a more effective jobcreator than retail, and it is more effectiveat countering economic leakage. Areaslike KwaMashu are in essence residential,so it is unrealistic to expect significantindustrial investment. But there arealready a range of activities, mostlyinformal, in the small-scale manufacturingand service industries.There is a strong pavement industry in,for example, manufacturing steel gatesand burglar bars, and repairing exhausts,tyres, fridges, upholstery and awnings.There are many traditional healers, somewho dispense their own medicines andothers who give prescriptions to be filledby herbalists. A constraint on the growth ofthis sector is the lack of suitable businesspremises. One response to this has beenillegally parking shipping containers on theverge for storage. Three-phase electricity isrequired for certain industries that currentlydraw electricity from local houses, with allthe accompanying hazards.The station traders’ market offers a rangeof other activities, e.g. fruit and vegetables,live poultry, and fresh or cooked bovineheads. The market has concrete tablesand a metal roof, and shipping containersare used as storage, even for live chickens.There is a lack of cold storage, electricity,drainage and washing facilities. The sewerseasily become blocked because there areno grease traps.A major upgrade of the traders’ marketis being done with lockup stalls that aresupplied with electricity and water. Therewill be a secluded place for choppingup bovine heads, linked to shops that sellthe fresh and cooked meat. Electricity willmake it possible to store meat in deepfreezers. Conditions will be more hygienicand secure. The KMTC team planned toincrease the size of the market by adding25m 2 shops to cater for service industriessuch as hair salons, real estate agents,photographers and traditional healers.After further consultation, the team agreedto reduce the size of these shops to 15m 2 ,a size which attracts a rental of about R160per month.There is little private-sector interest in thissector, but it is important nonetheless, sogovernment support is necessary. The KMTCproject aims to facilitate the developmentof these activities by identifying lightmanufacturing opportunities, makingmunicipal land and facilities available, andsupporting skills development.A rezoning and environmental impactassessment is being done on a pieceof land just outside the town centre, butstill in the main thoroughfare, for the16 17