Grocott's Mail
  • NEWS
    • Courts & Crime
    • Features
    • Politics
    • People
    • Health & Well-being
  • SPORT
    • News
    • Results
    • Sports Diary
    • Club Contacts
    • Columns
    • Sport Galleries
    • Sport Videos
  • OPINION
    • Election Connection
    • Makana Voices
    • Deur ‘n Gekleurde Bril
    • Newtown… Old Eyes
    • Incisive View
    • Your Say
  • ARTSLIFE
    • Cue
    • Makana Sharp!
    • Visual Art
    • Literature
    • Food & Fun
    • Festivals
    • Community Arts
    • Going Places
  • OUR TOWN
    • What’s on
    • Spiritual
    • Emergency & Well-being
    • Safety
    • Civic
    • Municipality
    • Weather
    • Properties
      • Grahamstown Properties
    • Your Town, Our Town
  • OUTSIDE
    • Enviro News
    • Gardening
    • Farming
    • Science
    • Conservation
    • Motoring
    • Pets/Animals
  • ECONOMIX
    • Business News
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Personal Finance
  • EDUCATION
    • Education NEWS
    • Education OUR TOWN
    • Education INFO
  • Covid-19
  • EDITORIAL
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • Almost 50 GADRA alumni graduate from Rhodes this week!
  • How it feels to go without water for seven days
  • Cleaning Kowie River and Fairview Spring for World Water Day
  • Local soccer teams avoid SAB Regional League relegation!
  • Bongani Fule: new Eastern Cape Junior Lightweight champion!
  • Bathurst Book Fair is back with a bang!
  • In the words of Nelson Mandela, “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity”
  • Avbob 2023 Poetry Competition Winner: Sithembele Isaac Xhegwana of Makhanda
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Grocott's Mail
  • NEWS
    • Courts & Crime
    • Features
    • Politics
    • People
    • Health & Well-being
  • SPORT
    • News
    • Results
    • Sports Diary
    • Club Contacts
    • Columns
    • Sport Galleries
    • Sport Videos
  • OPINION
    • Election Connection
    • Makana Voices
    • Deur ‘n Gekleurde Bril
    • Newtown… Old Eyes
    • Incisive View
    • Your Say
  • ARTSLIFE
    • Cue
    • Makana Sharp!
    • Visual Art
    • Literature
    • Food & Fun
    • Festivals
    • Community Arts
    • Going Places
  • OUR TOWN
    • What’s on
    • Spiritual
    • Emergency & Well-being
    • Safety
    • Civic
    • Municipality
    • Weather
    • Properties
      • Grahamstown Properties
    • Your Town, Our Town
  • OUTSIDE
    • Enviro News
    • Gardening
    • Farming
    • Science
    • Conservation
    • Motoring
    • Pets/Animals
  • ECONOMIX
    • Business News
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Personal Finance
  • EDUCATION
    • Education NEWS
    • Education OUR TOWN
    • Education INFO
  • Covid-19
  • EDITORIAL
Grocott's Mail
You are at:Home»Uncategorized»Privatise our airport, says flying club
Uncategorized

Privatise our airport, says flying club

Grocott's MailBy Grocott's MailJanuary 30, 2014No Comments3 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

The chairperson of the Grahamstown Flying Club has called for the privatisation of the local airport in the wake of news that a R412 million commercial airport will soon be completed in Somerset East.

The chairperson of the Grahamstown Flying Club has called for the privatisation of the local airport in the wake of news that a R412 million commercial airport will soon be completed in Somerset East.

Disappointed club chairperson Ron Weissenberg urged Makana Municipality to sell the Grahamstown airport "because they don’t have the expertise or resources to run this airport – they are simply clueless”.

Somerset East's new airport, to be completed later this year, will serve as a regional tourism hub and could significantly boost the economy of the region.

Meanwhile, Weissenberg said he proposed numerous times that Makana Municipality transform the Grahamstown airfield into a commercial airport, but his idea "kept falling on deaf ears".

“What is being done in Somerset East is exactly what I’ve been proposing to the Makana Municipality over and over again for years but to no avail.

"If that idea could be feasible in Somerset East, then I don’t see why it couldn’t have been feasible in Grahamstown.”

Weissenberg said the runway lights at the airport have been out for over a year.

The Makana Municipality was failing the city and should consider handing over ownership, he added.

“They should sell it to a private consortium or do just like they did with Settlers Hospital and make a private-public amalgamation, because they know nothing about this industry.”

“Makana can’t even provide basic services to the people so how can they run an airport?”

Weissenberg is furious over Makana's handling of his proposals for the development of the airport, which he says has resulted in the idea being snapped up by another town.

He said the Grahamstown Flying Club paid rent at the airport, but it was the only lucrative tenant and that this did not generate enough revenue for the maintenance of the airport.

Municipal spokesperson Yoliswa Ramokolo said the Makana Finance and Corporate Services portfolio committee chairperson, Pierre Ranchhod, was not reachable for comment.

At the time of going to print Ramokolo was also still trying to track down Mzomhle Radu, head of Makana's electricity department, to comment on the airport's non-functioning runway lights.

Meanwhile, the Somerset East airport, which is 160km from Port Elizabeth and 60kms from the Addo Elephant National Park, is expected to meet high demand for air transportation during major annual events held in Somerset East, including the Biltong Festival and Bruitjieshoogte cycle race.

The airport will also provide the northern gate of the Addo Elephant National Park with a closer air-based gateway.

The Blue Crane Development Agency (BCDA) has facilitated the establishment of a flying school at Gill College and other schools in the Blue Crane Region Municipality to offer pilot training to pupils as an extra-curricula subject.

The airport is also expected to assist safari operators by accommodating the needs of air travel tourists to and from the region.

The project was started in 2007 and is awaiting the completion of a main runway, said to be 65% finished. Once completed, the airport would be the fifth operational airport in the province.

Previous ArticleSome good news at last
Next Article Hlalani residents fear for safety
Grocott's Mail

Comments are closed.

Tweets by Grocotts
Newsletter



Listen

The Rhodes University Community Engagement Division has launched Engagement in Action, a new podcast which aims to bring to life some of the many ways in which the University interacts with communities around it. Check it out below.

Humans of Makhanda

Humans of Makhanda

Weather    |     About     |     Advertise     |     Subscribe     |     Contact     |     Support Grocott’s Mail

© 2023 Maintained by School of Journalism & Media Studies.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.