Drakensberg Cable Car

Durban - Durban is set to host a conference and exhibition on cable cars which KwaZulu-Natal's economic development, tourism and environmental affairs MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu hopes will provide the answers to building a cable car in the Drakensberg mountains.

The conference, announced on Tuesday, is expected to be held next month over three days from April 3 to April 5.

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It is not known how many delegates had responded to invitations to attend the conference (www.drakensbergcablecar.org.za).

www.iol.co.za/travel/travel-news/durban-to-host-cable-car-conference-2000714

Note that the conference was announced on Tuesday, and was covered on the 23rd by various papers, the one above is the longest version that I have come across so far.

Very significant to note is that attendance to this conference is by invitation only:

Who is this conference for and how do you become a part of it?
The Conference is by invitation only with limited numbers for specific delegates, focus groups as well as international and local stakeholders.

The Conference will include participants who represent: cable car operators, potential investors and developers, environmental agencies and community groups

Should you feel you would be able to add great value to the conference deliberations and would like to participate, you may complete the attached link for consideration. The completion of this link does not guarantee inclusion. Please click the following link.

www.drakensbergcablecar.org.za/registration

However, the invitation request submission deadline was on 11 March, way before this was even announced: www.drakensbergcablecar.org.za/key-dates

Last year we were given assurance that anyone who was interested would be able to attend the conference, but to announce the conference (a big event, complete with a special website) less than 2 weeks before it is supposed to start, and 2 weeks after invitation request submissions have closed raises major concerns about the sincerity of the proposers of the cableway to meaningfully engage will all interested parties and stakeholders, something they have repeatedly been criticized for, and following a trend of previous significant meetings being announced at short notice, without inviting all the parties concerned.

Not all the relevant environmental and community groups have been invited to this event.

Furthermore on 11 March, in an article in The Mercury, it was said that all government departments in KZN were subject to cost cutting measures and that any non-compliance would be dealt with. The KZN department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environment Affairs has R400 million less to spend this year. Yet, the department head was said to be "adamant that the R500 million cable car project to be built in the province's northern Drakensberg would not be affected, as the province would look for a new model of financing it"

Why this adamance? Why continue to ignore and shut out all who raise legitimate concerns over the project? That in itself is revealing.

Thank you for getting that letter out, no4stopper, that needed to be put out there. I noticed that the News24 article had been retracted, and was puzzled by it. This is the version that was cached by Google before it was taken off:
webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:EN0VGkbfH2EJ:traveller24.news24.com/Explore/SAHolidayGuide/new-drakensberg-cableway-hopes-to-be-a-game-changer-20160322&num=1&hl=en&gl=ca&strip=1&vwsrc=0