By Nangamso Mabindla
7 February 2006

BUFFALO City has huge economic potential and if its resources are used to the fullest, it could be one of the best places for local economic development. So says David Seamon, the assistant city manager of Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States.

Seamon said he was sent to South Africa on a three-week visit by the US government to assist the people of Buffalo City with economic development practices. "During my time in the city I met economic development groups and reviewed their processes and systems, and offered assistance on how they could improve."

Following workshops held with economic development groups around the city, there were retreats at which participants discussed issues raised at the various workshops.

"All the participants had to look at what was discussed and talk about the changes that needed to be made. From those retreats the participants came back and agreed that for economic development to be successful, the city needed to focus on four key areas."

These four areas were a game park, business retention, business attraction and recruiting a university.

"When you look at business retention, here you are talking about making a valiant effort to keep existing businesses in the city. We need to keep them from moving to other cities."

However, the city also needed to attract new businesses and initiatives like the Industrial Development Zone and the Buffalo City Development Agency aimed to achieve that goal.

Talking about his impressions of the city, Seamon said it was an attractive place. "This area has a beautiful beachfront, very friendly people and has potential to be an attractive area for investors."

He would return to Buffalo City in April, July and December to ensure that resolutions from the workshops were on the right track.