‘Smart Town’ Investor withdraws from Project


By Mvusi Ngubane    03-Dec-2013 16:10 UTC+02:00

Plans to build a new R1-billion town near President Jacob Zuma’s hometown, Nkandla, have now been jeapordised by the recent withdrawal of a vital investor which claims that Nkandla is a location far “too contriversial” for investment.

Sited just mere kilometres from Zuma’s homestead, the new town was to be built by the withdrawn company which had partnered with Masibambisane Rural Developement Initiative co-chaired by the president and his cousin Deebo Mzobe.

The proposed town, said to be the Umlalazi-Nkandla Smart Growth Centre, now appears to be momentarily halted by the pullback. The construction would consist of a school, a further education college, a shopping centre, factory units, agri-processing facilities and the expansion of the Nxamalala clinic.

“There’s just too much controversy around Nkandla and too much interference.” reported company spokesman, Keith Warmback, “The project turned out not to be what we had in mind”

Warmback reported in a previous interview that the project almost confirmed and was awaiting “final institutional decisions and approvals”

This week, according to the Sunday Independent, Warmback assured that the president himself was not to blame for their pulling out, stating: “The president has nothing to do with our decision. We were only going to get involved if it made financial sense. From What we’ve seen, it doesn’t.


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