MOSSEL BAY NEWS - At the intergovernmental meeting between the Mossel Bay and the Garden Route District municipalities, the potential value of the proposed Point Interpretive Centre was raised as a catalyst project for economic growth in the tourism sector.
"The Mossel Bay Municipality is, however, looking for funding to capitalise on the opportunity," the director of planning and integrated services, Carl Venter, said.
The intention of Mossel Bay Council is to have a Discovery Centre developed at the Point.
The Point Discovery Centre non-profit company is tasked with the establishment of an interpretation centre for the archaeological discoveries at Pinnacle Point. The NPO enjoys tax exempt status for the benefit of donors.
A memorandum of agreement was signed with the Nelson Mandela University and much work was done to obtain architecture students' displays of how they envisage the centre.
These displays are currently in storage in Mossel Bay, Venter said.
The displays are intended to create wide interest in the Mossel Bay area and will unlock the vast tourism potential of the archaeological sites at Mossel Bay's Pinnacle Point, which have revealed some of the earliest evidence for modern human behaviour. They have been declared Provincial Heritage Sites and the intention is to have the sites declared a Work Heritage Site.
The building plans for a temporary Interpretive Centre were approved, yet funding was needed to optimally develop the site.
The Pinnacle Point Caves are already drawing visits from scientists, students and volunteers and will continue to attract a growing number of students. It has been made accessible to the public through archaeologist-led tours offered by the Point of Human Origins.
Garden Route District municipal manager Monde Stratu said "... there certainly is an opportunity; we will have to decide what our contribution could be."
He also urged the Point Discovery Centre NPO to investigate the involvement of the National Heritage Association as its support would be imperative for the World Heritage Status consideration.
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