Khayelitsha's Lookout Hill: A neglected 'white elephant'

Parliament's tourism watchdog has sharply criticised Cape Town's Lookout Hill Tourism Centre, labelling it a "white elephant" and igniting a strong response from the Khayelitsha Development Forum. 

The assessment follows the Portfolio Committee on Tourism's completion of a three-day oversight visit programme on Friday in the Western Cape, where they described the centre as “Khayelitsha’s former beacon of hope.

The committee discovered that the centre lost its tourist attraction since 2010, although its potential regarding location in the historically attractive False Bay area of the City of Cape Town remains intact.

The centre is strategically located in the middle of the Spine Road that connects Khayelitsha with potential tourists that enter the City through N1, N2 national roads and Cape Town International Airport. 

The committee’s chairperson, Ronaldo Nalumango, said the centre is a white elephant which has lost its glory. 

He explained the Department of Tourism spent money on repairs to the roof, which was beginning to crumble.

“The committee will invite the City of Cape Town to share its reimagination of the centre, which can be a vibrant economic hub of Khayelitsha that can create opportunities for development and alleviate the frontiers of crime that besiege one of South Africa’s biggest townships.

“The centre comprises of a restaurant, craft hives, exhibition spaces and access to the wooden boardwalk to the summit. The committee found that there was only one tour operator operating, no crafters on site and the restaurant is closed,” Nalumango said.

Stakeholders also informed the committee about the high crime, which includes extortion.

The Khayelitsha Development Forum’s Mbulelo Dwane has been critical of both the City and the Portfolio Committee

“If there are tenants in the building, and they are making a business, that's not a white elephant. Or, unless I don't know, or I don't understand English," he said.

“The City of Cape Town must admit that they failed to properly manage Lookout Hill or admit that they have dismally failed, or admit there was an arrangement from their side to look like they are failing to manage Lookout Hill so they can lease it out to these white establishments."

GOOD’s Brett Herron said the committee was right to intervene and summon the City : "The mayor must explain the asymmetrical investment in tourism infrastructure and programmes, which ignore those who need support the most. The committee must also intervene quickly before the City auctions it off."

City of Cape Town spokesperson, Luthando Tyhalibongo, said it was the City’s intention to reposition the Lookout Hill facility from a static tourism site into a world-class hybrid hub of activity.

"Through a partnership with a leading workspace operator, the City envisages the implementation of a sustainable turnaround model that brings together professional infrastructure and local entrepreneurial talent,” Tyhalibongo said.

“This initiative is intended to stimulate economic activity in Khayelitsha, with a particular focus on the hospitality, tourism and creative sectors, while laying the foundation for long-term, inclusive growth.”

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