2 July 2004

By Lebofsa Masha

THE setting up of an interpretation centre at the Cradle of Humankind - which is at Sterkfontein, north of Mogale City - will bring much-needed economic development.

Khabisi Mosunkutu - Gauteng's MEC for agriculture, conservation and the environment - said during the tabling of his department's 2004-2005 budget that the Cradle of Humankind project would create "hundreds of jobs during the construction phase alone".

And a large number of jobs would be created to cater for the growing number of tourists expected to visit the World Heritage Site.

Construction of the R163-million complex, including the interpretation centre at Sterkfontein and a visitors' centre at Mohale's Gate, started in June.

The Cradle of Humankind, which has a rich fossil record of three million years of human history buried in its soil, was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999.

Mosunkutu said work at the site had already contributed to local economic development and labour absorption.

"The first phase of the centre will open in September 2004. Once fully operational, visitor-demand forecasting shows that it will exceed 50 000 visitors per annum," Mosunkutu said.

He estimated that the interpretation centre would generate R65-million gross revenue in its first year of operation - excluding money spent at other tourist sites in the area.

Contracts for the construction of roads, signs and information points are yet to be awarded; these too will create jobs, Mosunkutu said.

Sipho Dube, the Mogale City councillor responsible for rural development and tourism, said the work at the Cradle of Humankind was "an exciting development".

He was cautiously optimistic about the spin-offs.

"It's exciting, but we need details of how many people will be employed as temporary or permanent workers."

It was important to investigate how Mogale City's people, as well as its small and medium enterprises, would benefit from the project.

The first numbers appeared to be promising, Dube said, but the sustainability of the project was more important.