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Mr Loud Ramakgapola.

Vision for economic development of Beit Bridge town

 

Newly appointed Beit Bridge town secretary Mr Loud Ramakgapola says he envisions turning the border town into a modern urban centre, as well as strengthening the twinning agreement that the council has with Musina Municipality.

Beit Bridge Town Council and Musina Municipality signed a memorandum of understanding in 2006 as part of efforts to boost trade and strengthening cultural ties and economic development between the two border towns. The communities of Musina and Beit Bridge have a lot in common in terms of culture and language.

Ramakgapola, who holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Zimbabwe, said despite economic challenges there was room for improvement in transforming the face of Beit Bridge through the creation of investor-friendly services. “Our vision is to turn Beit Bridge into an urban or modern setup. As a border town, it is the face of our country, hence we want to improve on cleanliness and spruce up the image of the town, which handles an influx of travellers, especially as we approach the festive season,” Ramakgapola said.

“It is the mandate of the council to provide services to the community of Beit Bridge, which include health facilities, library services, clean water and sewer services and other social services.”

Ramakgapola said the council would explore ways of attracting meaningful investment to the border town, taking advantage of the twinning arrangement that exists between Beit Bridge and Musina Municipality.

Beit Bridge, which was founded in 1929, is named after Alfred Beit, a British national who funded the De Beers diamond mining company.  Beit Bridge is the busiest inland port of entry in sub-Saharan Africa with an average of 10 000 travellers passing through daily. During peak periods, the volume of traffic and transient population doubles up.

“Due to our proximity to South Africa, we have of late seen an upsurge in people flocking to our town to trade and others eventually settling here,” said Ramakgapola.

Ramakgapola replaced the late town secretary, Dr Sipho Singo, who died in January.

 

Date:21 November 2014

By: Mashudu Netsianda

Mashudu Netsianda is our correspondent in Beit Bridge, Zimbabwe. He joined us in 2006, writing both local and international stories. He had worked for several Zimbabwean publications, as well as the Times of Swaziland. Mashudu received his training at the School of Mass Communication in Harare.

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