By Nangamso Mabindla

While granting Buffalo City metropolitan status would boost investor confidence, the city had much to do if it was to take its place alongside other metros such as Johannesburg, Tshwane, Cape Town and Ekhuruleni, said Border-Kei Chamber of Business executive director Les Holbrook.

The issue of metro status is a burning issue in Buffalo City, with the city's Executive Mayor Sindisile Maclean urging the authorities to reconsider the classification of Buffalo City from a municipality to a metropole. The city, its businesses and citizens would benefit if the city was granted metro status, the mayor has said.

Holbrook said he supported the mayor's plea, especially considering that the city had the resources of a metro. "We have excellent infrastructure in Buffalo City. If that were not the case, corporations like automobile giants DaimlerChrysler, Johnson & Johnson and Castellino Beltrame would not have invested in this city."

However, he warned that despite having good resources and infrastructure, the city had a lot to do before it could be considered for metro status, such as upgrading the airport.

"The airport, even though good for passenger aircraft, still needs to be upgraded to accommodate cargo planes. It is not a major consideration, but it could be vital if we are a metro."

Holbrook said what made a city a metro was not only the resources it possessed, but also the quality of its service to the people. "This is what separates metros from municipalities. In metros such as Johannesburg, for example, every service falls under the municipality. Ambulances, water and other services are the sole responsibility of the municipality," he said.

Buffalo City, on the other hand, employs consultants and outsources its services. For example, the city employed Amatola Water to supply the city's water. "These are services the municipality needs to be responsible for," Holbrook said.

The conferring of metro status on the city would not only boost investor confidence, as well as increasing the budget allocation from the government. "An increase in investor confidence would mean better employment opportunities and we, as marketers of the city, would be able to lure international investors. More business would mean employment."

Being declared a metro would allow Buffalo City to compete with the South Africa's major cities. It was easier to convince business to invest in a metro, Holbrook said. "It enhances your chances of successfully selling the city. It's a mental issue."

Holbrook said that investors perceived Buffalo City as "a small, regional municipality situated between the Durban and Nelson Mandela metropoles".

"When we go out to sell the city, especially to overseas investors, we always have to explain the difference in status between Buffalo City and other major cities," he said.

That Buffalo City was a world-class city could be backed up by its performance at the South African International Trade Exhibition (Saitex), Holbrook said. Buffalo City was awarded a bronze prize in 2000, silver in 2001 and another bronze last year.

"The unique thing about Buffalo City and Saitex is that we are the only city participating against provinces. Our successes at Saitex have assisted us in marketing the city."