Address by the mayor of KwaDukuza at the occasion of the 2024 Ballito Pro Presented by O’Neil Media & Partners Breakfast Launch at Fiamma Grill, Coco Der Mer Boutique Hotel, Ballito

It is with a great sense of honour and excitement to host the 55^th edition of the Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill at the heart of the Jewel of the Zulu nation.

 

We are proud that the 2024 edition of this surfing tournament is once again hosted in partnership with the World Surf League and O’Neil.

 

Programme Director, allow me to recognise the Speaker of the KwaDukuza municipal council, Cllr Dolly Govender,

Whip of the municipal council, Cllr Mbatha,

Members of the executive committee,

Chairperson of Economic Development, Special Programmes and Youth Affairs, Cllr Njabulo Cele, who through his stewardship, we are yet again hosting the Ballito Pro Presented by O’Neil.

 

I also extend my greetings to all the ward councillors from areas where key activities of this year’s edition of the Pro will be hosted. 

 

I also wish to recognise our key partners:

·      Mr. Paul Canning who is Brand Director for O'Neil as well as other directors of Sector Group,

·      Presenting Partner, Corona,

·      World Surf League Africa, Regional Director,

·      Surfing South Africa, Vice Presidents,

·      Senior management of KwaDukuza Municipality and all our staff members,

·      Contest Directors,

·     Representatives of Ilembe Surf Riders’

·     SMTH Shapes,

·     Music Concert Partner, Big Nite Out Productions,

·     Coco De Mer & Fiamma Owner and function host,

·     Representatives of Enterprise iLembe and iLembe Chamber of Businesses,

·     Event sponsors & all partners present,

·     Members of Media,

·     Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

The 2024 edition of the Ballito Pro coincides with the 30^th anniversary of democracy where we are inviting citizens and the global community to join us in commemorating and promoting unity of purpose, nation building, and social cohesion.

 

Over the past thirty years, we have been a nation characterised by great resilience - using sports as a key instrument and as a symbol of our unity as a nation.

 

The Ballito Pro was one of the anchor projects that we identified as our vehicle for nation building and social cohesion.

 

The Ballito Pro will be the last international sports event to be hosted in South Africa before the 2024 Olympics which will be held in France.

 

We trust that amongst the participating athletes in this year’s edition of the Pro, we might see others on the medal podium at the Olympics.

Surfing as a sport made its debut in the last Olympics which were held in 2021. The Olympic games were critical in the world economy, especially for tourism recovery post COVID-19. 

 

As the country, we have just emerged from an important General Election.  The journey of building a stronger, more resilient, and democratic society is being catapulted as launch this important event which signifies that KwaDukuza is widely open for business. 

 

Following these successful elections, the national and provincial government is to be re-established and are assuring all participants and patrons that our county and our area is stable, safe and ready to host you from 25 June until 08 July 2024.

 

The theme of the 2024 edition, “Lena Inkundla Yempi”, remains a true reflection of the municipality’s diverse heritage which encapsulates the fighting spirit of our great warriors and liberation heroes. This theme further acknowledges and celebrates the 15 years of surf battles which has produced winners from all over the world. We are saying in this year event we will see the battles of surfers, battle of the DJs and our battle to claim our domestic and international tourism market. 

 

Programme Director, the municipal council in June last year, adopted its five-year strategic plan which identified key enablers for tourism and hospitality post Covid-19 and the July 2021 riots.

 

One of our key resolutions was the adoption of the Ballito Pro as one of our signature event.

 

The Council cast no doubt about this proposal. The council considered some factors that during the Legkotla when this proposal was made.

1.   Ballito Pro has played a significant role in marketing and promoting KwaDukuza as the destination of choice for the last 14 years.  The audience we reach every year in various platforms justifies the investment we are making every year for the event. 

2.   Ballito Pro has grown from six (6) days event to an average of 10 to 12 days in the last 5 years. This means more days and nights for our visitors in our area, which lead to more job and business opportunities during this period. 

3.   The 2021 Ballito Pro which was held in December 2021 was a game changer. A safety assurer and business confidence booster, regardless of the bad publicity we received around Covid-19. We were able to build from this event and ensure that we truly open our tourism sector. 

4.   The event has continued to come with innovative social responsibility programmes which target underprivileged youth and school going kids. This event has contributed in developing sports and culture in our schools.

5.   The popular Ballito Free Music has evolved to include genres that cater for people of all ages and ethnicities. The music concerts enable our youth to claim a stake and be part of the experiance. 

6.   The Ballito Pro creative team has be able to ensure that every theme and design is Afrocentric which makes the Ballito Pro the only World Surf League Challenger held in Africa. 

7.   The Ballito Pro event has contributed in positioning brand “Ballito” in the hearts and minds of domestic and international travellers who visit the Kingdom of the Zulu Nation.

Ladies and gentleman, these seven factors illustrate our rationale for investing more than R11 million to this event.  We strongly believe that the return on this investment is high and as the community of KwaDukuza we stand to benefit in the short and long term. 

 

We are therefore proud to be part of these events including the launch of the Ballito Pro.

 

Through this event KwaDukuza has earned the reputation of being one of the great hotspots of global surfing where athletes from around the world descend to seek a chance of earning valuable WSL rating points that ultimately help them qualify for other important WSL challenger series events.

 

As a licensee and major funder of the event, we take pride in hosting the Ballito Pro for the 15^th year and we owe our gratitude to our wonderful partnership with WSL and O’Neil. We also like to welcome and congratulate our new international partner, CORONA.

 

Before the end of my term of office in 2026, I wish to secure either O’Neil or CORONA as our title sponsor of this event.

 

We really appreciate each and every partner and sponsor of this event. This event has been resilient and growing due to some partners that have been with us for over 5 years now. We are grateful to all of you.

 

Programme Director, The Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill is amongst the top five sports tourism events in the province of KwaZulu-Natal which contributes positively to our tourism sector. This event takes place after Comrades Marathon and shares some weekend with the July Handicap. 

 

One of the important differences between these events is that the Pro is longer and we attract an average of 15 000 people per day. We therefore believe that Corporate South Africa should vote with their wallet and invest in this event which contributes in the socio-economic development of our area. 

 

The Ballito Pro presents an opportunity to maximise efforts in redressing economic shocks. It gives us the opportunity to claw some of the losses incurred through major disasters and other opportunistic challenges.

 

We are indeed back on the map as a destination of choice to live, work and play given our niche position on the north coast, our coastal resources, scenic beauty, warm beaches, heritage, and beautiful weather.

 

Throughout the years, the contribution of The Ballito Pro Presented by O’Neill to our local economy has been wonderful.

 

We also appreciate the support from ratepayers and political parties represented within the council who are major financial backers of this event. I must point out that for the upcoming financial year, the council has approved a budget of R11 million for the 2024 Ballito Pro Presented by O’Neil World Surfing Series Event, which the bulk of it will be allocated towards prize money and the event logistics.

 

We wish to appreciate our partners who continue to support our event  despite the current economic climate. 

 

Programme Director, through public-private partnerships, we remain optimistic about the future of our tourism destination.

 

To our partners and sponsors, we remain thankful for your ongoing support and sponsorship towards this event, it made a tremendous impact in our cause to be the water sports capital of South Africa.

 

Your support has enabled us to introduce surfing in rural areas and townships and to continue to develop Surfing’s appeal as an exhilarating and dynamic sport and experience that gives people of all ages from all communities the opportunity to enjoy a unique way of life. We hope you will continue to be part of our journey.

 

On behalf of council, I would like to acknowledge a number of unsung heroes, who have made this event big in the last 15 years. This team has been able over the last 14 years to ensure that they deliver a successful event that contributes on our socio-economic transformation agenda. I want to single out the following people:

1.   Ms Collete Bundy – our event coordinator who have been part of the event since its relocation to KwaDukuza fifteen years ago. You have done a sterling job and we are grateful for your contribution. 

2.   Mr Sikhumbuzo Hlongwane who has been with KwaDukuza for  the past 12 years and has been part of the event. 

3.   Our staff members from tourism office, community safety and finance business units, who have played a key role at ensuring that the event is a success.

4.   All our sponsors that have been part of this event. 

We once again wish to use this platform to welcome you all; including the international athletes, their families and teams to our shores. We hope that you will take time to visit our emerging tourism route based on heritage and township tourism

 

On behalf of the KwaDukuza Council, I invite you all to use this time to enjoy our offerings and to support local businesses.

 

May you all use this time to explore our rich tourism area. Wishing you all the best!

 

Thank you!