Dutywa Project

Following on from the status quo report and feasibility assessment, a Local Spatial Development Framework for Dutywa was developed and adopted by Mbashe Local Municipality. This pointed to a number of possible interventions, including the:

• Upgrading of the central business district
• Developing a community commercial precinct in town
• Providing support to Mbhashe municipality to improve its municipal systems

Proposed upgrade of the central business district

The Dutywa CBD area is currently experiencing mixed land use activities, such as high density residential, informal trading and a number of unauthorised uses of land for different economic activities. Parts of the town are used by both pedestrians and vehicles. Traffic congestion due to uncontrolled informal activities along the road reserves is common. There is no visibility of the street furniture since the area is highly congested with informal trading and other activities.
Aspire has recently appointed a professional team to develop a proposal for an upgrade of the Dutywa central business district to ensure that the town can better perform its role as a rural service node. The town centre upgrade will consider issues such as:

• Upgrading of pedestrian walkways and pavements and public open spaces
• Parking solutions for vehicular traffic
• Provision of adequate street furniture and solutions
• Improved public transport facilities to reduce congestion in the CBD
• Informal trading facilities and management solutions
• Urban management model for the town

Precinct development

The congestion in Dutywa, along the N2 and in the central business district in general, is of major concern. Given that this small town provides services to a wide hinterland of subsistence and small scale farmers and villagers, there is a strong sense that at least some of the economic potential of this town is to be discovered within this zone. Aspire therefore commissioned a professional team to develop a concept and business plan for a precinct development in Dutywa. This is being done in partnership with the Mbhashe Council. It is proposed to establish a retail hub on the corner of the N2 and the road leading to Willowvale, catering for high volume businesses such as hardware stores and supermarkets. Immediately adjacent to this will be an office park and a new medical complex.

Mbhashe Municipal Management Support Systems

Well working municipal systems are a basic prerequisite to ensure a well-functioning local municipality for service delivery, revenue collection and infrastructure maintenance. In cooperation with Mbhashe municipality, Aspire is assessing the current municipal systems of the local municipality, with the aim to recommend adequate strategies for improvement.

To kick-start the developments, National Treasury’s National Development Partnership grant has allocated a funding envelope to Aspire of R273 million, to include the small towns of Alice, Butterworth, Dutywa, Hamburg and Stutterheim.