History

Kenton/Bushmans Chamber of Business and Tourism

Until the first part of the 20th Century businesses along the coast from Kasouga to Boknes and beyond, including Boesmansriviermond and Kenton on Sea, served small permanent-resident communities. Certain times of the year, mainly Christmas, brought financial relief as holiday makers from the hot hinterland came to their cottages by the sea.  Apart from businesses supplying essential services a modest building industry developed around the building of houses, allowing some employment for artisans and general labourers. After the mid nineteen-sixties with the completion of bridges over both rivers and the new coastal road between Alexandria and Port Alfred, other people began to discover the magnificent beauty of the area. The rate of development increased, as also the number of visitors. And because business development here has long been associated with tourism, it was logical that business should include the activities of tourism in its portfolio. The combination of tourism and business in one grouping is fairly unique.

Small decentralised local authorities were started to oversee infrastructural development and maintenance, and larger state organisations became involved in such as the building of schools and the provision of water and sub-economic housing for the increasing numbers of people moving from the poorer surrounding areas.

The political dispensation of the 1990′s has seen a swing towards centralisation. A new Ndlambe Municipality was formed, which incorporated all of the smaller municipalities in an area stretching for some 80km. along the coast and 30km. inland. This has brought the inevitable challenges of stretched bureaucratic resources, and the need for organisations such as Ratepayers Associations to form appropriate co-ordinating bodies. Tourism is a portfolio of Central Government, which allocates financial resources to local authorities, including Ndlambe Municipality. We are engaged in ongoing discussions with Ndlambe and other relevant organisations in the area, aimed at co-ordinating tourism, and maximising its reach.