WHILE people had written the obituary of the historical and cultural town of Ulundi after the ANC took over KwaZulu-Natal from the IFP, the opposite has happened.
The town is situated in the heart of the province and serves as a gateway to Zulu heritage and some of the best eco- and adventure activities in Southern Africa with its moderate climate.
Ulundi is now experiencing a boom in tourism, defying the predictions that it would die a slow death after the legislature was moved to Pietermaritzburg seven years ago.
The town is attracting upmarket retailers, who now trade without fear of political violence. For shopping enthusiasts, the rural town now offers a world-class shopping mall, King Senzangakhona, which forms part of the rural development project.
A high concentration of big retailers is changing the lives of the locals. Prospective investors are jostling for the construction of upmarket flats and houses as the town's growth lures business. The local municipality is also in discussions with a private company to construct a hospital.
Ulundi has now overtaken Melmoth, previously a town of choice with good accommodation dating back to the era of the Natal government. It now attracts enormous buying power, even from neighbouring towns like Nongoma, Babanango and Melmoth.
Its growth has brought relief to locals, who used to travel more than 100km to do decent shopping in Durban, Richards Bay, Vryheid and Empangeni. The consumer market in Ulundi and its immediate vicinity is surprisingly extensive, with farmers and multitudes of people from the surrounding rural areas also boosting the retail market as they come to town to do their shopping.
Municipal manager S'buyiselwe Buthelezi said the rural town has an array of opportunities to offer investors who wish to exploit the economic potential of the area.
The reason for the growth and magnetism to up-market retailers is apparently due to political tolerance that now characterises the area. Locals believe that some business people were scared to come and invest in the area because of the fear of political rivalry between the ANC and the IFP.
A shopper, Nomalungelo Zulu, said moving the legislature was a blessing in disguise for them.
"The municipal leaders are now able to decide on the future of the town, unlike before when they only relied on the provincial government to do something for the growth of this town. Look now, we have almost everything that people in bigger cities have," Zulu said.
As one of the fastest-growing towns, infrastructure development is also on the cards. The local Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi Airport has been upgraded after an injection of R30-million to the project.
Buthelezi said the growth of the town's economy had surprised everyone, "including the prophets of doom". She said it is now history that the moving of the provincial legislature to Pietermaritzburg would turn Ulundi into a "ghost town".
"Interest shown by investors is amazing on all economic quarters. We never thought we would one day be one of the small towns that boast big retailers like Pick n Pay and Game . Proposals for a massive private hospital have seen developers coming in droves to the area," Buthelezi said.
Businesses see Ulundi as a gateway to the north of the province, including Swaziland. "The reason is the modern integrated transportation system to the ports," Buthelezi adds.
Ulundi's now a town of choice for shoppers
WHILE people had written the obituary of the historical and cultural town of Ulundi after the ANC took over KwaZulu-Natal from the IFP, the opposite has happened.
The town is situated in the heart of the province and serves as a gateway to Zulu heritage and some of the best eco- and adventure activities in Southern Africa with its moderate climate.
Ulundi is now experiencing a boom in tourism, defying the predictions that it would die a slow death after the legislature was moved to Pietermaritzburg seven years ago.
The town is attracting upmarket retailers, who now trade without fear of political violence. For shopping enthusiasts, the rural town now offers a world-class shopping mall, King Senzangakhona, which forms part of the rural development project.
A high concentration of big retailers is changing the lives of the locals. Prospective investors are jostling for the construction of upmarket flats and houses as the town's growth lures business. The local municipality is also in discussions with a private company to construct a hospital.
Ulundi has now overtaken Melmoth, previously a town of choice with good accommodation dating back to the era of the Natal government. It now attracts enormous buying power, even from neighbouring towns like Nongoma, Babanango and Melmoth.
Its growth has brought relief to locals, who used to travel more than 100km to do decent shopping in Durban, Richards Bay, Vryheid and Empangeni. The consumer market in Ulundi and its immediate vicinity is surprisingly extensive, with farmers and multitudes of people from the surrounding rural areas also boosting the retail market as they come to town to do their shopping.
Municipal manager S'buyiselwe Buthelezi said the rural town has an array of opportunities to offer investors who wish to exploit the economic potential of the area.
The reason for the growth and magnetism to up-market retailers is apparently due to political tolerance that now characterises the area. Locals believe that some business people were scared to come and invest in the area because of the fear of political rivalry between the ANC and the IFP.
A shopper, Nomalungelo Zulu, said moving the legislature was a blessing in disguise for them.
"The municipal leaders are now able to decide on the future of the town, unlike before when they only relied on the provincial government to do something for the growth of this town. Look now, we have almost everything that people in bigger cities have," Zulu said.
As one of the fastest-growing towns, infrastructure development is also on the cards. The local Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi Airport has been upgraded after an injection of R30-million to the project.
Buthelezi said the growth of the town's economy had surprised everyone, "including the prophets of doom". She said it is now history that the moving of the provincial legislature to Pietermaritzburg would turn Ulundi into a "ghost town".
"Interest shown by investors is amazing on all economic quarters. We never thought we would one day be one of the small towns that boast big retailers like Pick n Pay and Game . Proposals for a massive private hospital have seen developers coming in droves to the area," Buthelezi said.
Businesses see Ulundi as a gateway to the north of the province, including Swaziland. "The reason is the modern integrated transportation system to the ports," Buthelezi adds.
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