KZN finance MEC Francois Rodgers wants lights, camera and action at Durban film studio
by TIMESLIVE · TimesLIVEKwaZulu-Natal finance MEC Francois Rodgers wants to pave the way for construction to start on a controversial Durban film studio.
The studio, which has been mired in stumbling blocks from legal challenges to bureaucracy since 2003, has been proposed by filmmaker Anant Singh, who owns the land on the old Natal Command site on the Durban beachfront.
Singh called for a meeting with Rodgers, who said after a meeting on Tuesday he would engage with government leaders at provincial and local levels to facilitate solutions to outstanding issues to ensure construction starts as soon as possible.
Rodgers said he was told there is an issue with regard to bulk electricity supply to the property.
President Cyril Ramaphosa met with Singh more than two years ago over delays and undertook the matter would be addressed as part of a Presidential Working Group in the city.
After the meeting Ramaphosa presented a business award to Singh for his development of Cape Town Film Studios.
Rodgers said the studio has been a catalyst for the development of the film industry in the Western Cape and generated an estimated R4bn annually for the provincial economy since it opened 12 years ago.
“The project by Anant Singh will not only create much-needed jobs, it will boost the local tourism industry and place eThekwini on the map as one of Africa’s premier filmmaking destinations. This is an example of the economic development needed in our province”.
TimesLIVE