RUSTENBURG HERALD - RUSTENBURG - Gaming and Hospitality industry leaders Peermont pledged to invest R500 million into the rehabilitatin of the North West Province at the investor dinner held on 15 September at Sun City.
The initiative was led by acting Premier Nono Maloyi accompanied by Members of the Executive Council, Executive Mayors, senior managers in government and State Owned Enterprises.
The dinner was aimed at addressing the high levels of unemployment in the province which have risen to over 53%, contributing to increased poverty and inequality.
‘It will also follow up on the commitments made by several business people and private firms to invest in the province during the North West Investment Forum held recently on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit at Sandton,’ said acting Premier Nono Maloyi in the lead up to the event.
Peermont currently operates two resorts in the North West Province – Rio Resort in Klerksdorp and Mmabatho Palms Resort in Mahikeng. Mmabatho Palms, which is the oldest casino resort in South Africa, suffered a tragedy in 2021 when the hotel section of the historic resort burnt down.
Phase 1 of the basic refurbishment work to reinstate the hotel is currently underway. Peermont has also applied to relocate the Mmabatho Palms gaming licence to Rustenburg where the R500 million investment will go towards setting up a new hotel casino resort which would greatly benefit the Platinum Province and ensure the long term sustainability of the Mmabatho Palms, which, without support from the Rustenburg project, is at risk of closure.
‘We’re excited about the relocation of the gaming licence to Rustenburg as there is a lot of potential for growth and creating employment,’ says Peermont Chief Executive Officer, Nigel Atherton. ‘And by pledging R500 million to this project we demonstrate our dedication to the long-term sustainability the historic Mmabatho Palms and growing the hospitality and gaming industry in the North West Province.’
The relocation application to Rustenburg will have a major impact on job creation, and will have the following benefits on a direct, indirect, and induced basis:
• A nearly R1,2 billion impact on the economy by during construction.
• A projected impact of R10 billion during the first 10 years of operations.
• An increase to the fiscus of R1,6 billion over the first 10 years of operations.
• Sustaining up to 900 jobs during the construction phase.
• Sustaining up to a 1 560 jobs in the first year of operations, increasing to over 1 800 sustained jobs by year 9.
‘Peermont has always invested heavily in growth and this will be another platorm for us to elevate North West tourism and development in the area,’ concludes Atherton.
Other investment pledges that were made at the investor dinner include the establishment of mega-cities, a mining engineering university, agro-processing, tourism and infrastructure development.
