Limpopo Province; Punda Maria: SleepOver Punda Maria, under Collins Chabane Local Municipality, was today a hive of activity as the establishment together with the Moria and Botlokwa (Matoks) branches were officially launched to the media and the public. Limpopo Tourism Agency (LTA), which was in attendance, endorses and supports SleepOver accommodation establishments in Limpopo as this will not only boost economy in the province but also grow tourism, thereby creating much needed jobs.
At the launch of the SleepOver Accommodation Establishments from left are: Mr. Fixon Hlungwani (SleepOver Safaris), Mr. Patrick Scott (CEO of SleepOver), Mr. Moses Ngobeni (CEO of Limpopo Tourism Agency) and Mr. Hilton van Deventer (SleepOver Chief Development Officer)
According to the Chief Executive Officer of SleepOver, Mr. Patrick Scott, SleepOver is not just offering accommodation but offers a consistent product and service standard to the conscious traveller who is looking for safety, comfort and affordability wherever one travels. “Launched at Lanseria Airport in November 2019, SleepOver currently has eleven (11) properties around South Africa including this one at Punda Maria Gate of the Kruger National Park, which is the latest to be opened in March 2024. Our vision is to become the leading accommodation alternative in South Africa that is affordable and safe for travellers. We are becoming a strong and meaningful player in the economy of the country, but we will also be expanding to other parts of the continent including Mauritius, Sierra Leon, and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)”, said Scott.
SleepOver is an environmentally responsible accommodation establishment consisting of 30-40 stand-alone bedrooms and a convenience store with coffee bar/restaurant within a securely fenced garden setting. All its buildings are light on footprint to preserve indigenous vegetation. Properties use rainwater to water the gardens and where possible off grid utilities are used as in the case of the Upington branch in the Northern Cape. “We do preserve all the fauna and flora wherever we establish our properties as you can see, we still have the indigenous vegetation around us here”, concluded Scott.
As she acknowledged guests, Dr. Rhandzu Mhinga, commended SleepOver for the strides made in reducing poverty and unemployment in the area as over seventeen (17) young people got employed by the project. “Employment is dire and exponential as it changes life and wellbeing of the people. It was not pleasing to see a very long queue of unemployed young people when only a few were required”, said, Dr. Mhinga.
The CEO of LTA, Mr. Moses Ngobeni, appreciated being invited to the event as and he said, “We really appreciate being part of this event. We further appreciate the investment that Mr. Patrick Scott and his team have made in the province. When I met Mr. Sammy Mhinga, I told him that ‘I heard you have a new property in your area and hope it will not be another Wisani Lodge’, which government built for the community but collapsed. This was the first ever good property that government established to promote tourism in the province. When it was officially opened, it attracted a lot of visitors including those from Kwazulu Natal Province.
I can tell that Patrick and the team, surpassed that one. I am happy that Dr. Rhandzu and Mr. Sammy Mhinga have planted a seed that has germinated to become the beacon of hope to the people in this area with the number of jobs this project has already created. The promise we make as LTA and a marketing agency as we are, is that when you help government in creating jobs as you do, we will not turn a blind eye on you. We are going to walk with you and wherever we will be going to market this province, we will go with you. At various marketing platforms we attend, we meet a lot of clients, and we will be with you this time to help market you. You are located at a very attractive and strategic area closer to the Kruger National Park. This means that people coming from far to go into the Kruger National Park through Punda Maria Gate, will no longer worry about the gate closing thus becoming stranded with accommodation as they can now make a stopover enroute to the park the next day. We are so excited about this. We will need to arrange for the MEC and maybe even the Premier to come and see this establishment”.
Ngobeni further said, “We are not in the business of selling and running properties, but we want the private sector to come in and bring some injection into the economy of the province. The three properties that you have established in the province could be well over R100 million and this says much about the number of jobs you have created through these projects. The 1996 White Paper on Tourism says, ‘Tourism is government led, private sector driven and community based’. What is happening with Mr. Sammy and his wife Dr. Rhandzu Mhinga, is the realisation of the white paper when it said tourism should be community driven. We are together on marketing, both domestic and international”.
From right, Mr. Sam Mhinga and Dr. Rhandzu MhingaShare this
