OR Tambo donates kayaks to entrepreneur to bring Mthatha Dam to life

Tourists and local visitors to the Mthatha Dam can now add kayaking on their fun lists.

This after the OR Tambo District Municipality on Monday donated six new kayaks to young Mthatha entrepreneur Live Mabeqa as part of its support to small businesses involved in the tourism sector.

In 2022, the Dispatch reported that Mabeqa, now 32, had started his own Mthatha Dam Safari Boat Cruise service.

The young Dikeni-born entrepreneur took a bold decision to sell his prized car, a VW Jetta 5, in 2016, and purchased a pontoon (speedboat) for R84,000 with some of the money.

He came up with the idea after he and his friends would frequent the Mthatha Dam on weekends, but would end up bored because there were no fun activities on offer.

However, speaking to the Dispatch on Monday, Mabeqa said his cruise venture had unfortunately come to a grinding halt in December 2022 after his staff had failed to secure his boat after he had taken some clients around the Mthatha Dam.

As a result, it was smashed against the dam walls by strong winds, sustaining extensive damage, and forcing him to stop his business.

“We’d come here [to the dam] almost every weekend and just sit with nothing else to do,” he said on Monday.

“I identified that it was underutilised and it also became this crime hub where people would be killed and dumped in the dam.

“Some people would be found hanged. The problem was that the dam was not fenced.”

He praised the district municipality for assisting him with the kayaks.

He said despite losing his pontoon business temporarily, he had not given up the idea of transforming the Mthatha Dam into a hive of activity, both for locals and tourists.

“The pontoon venture was doing well. We had schoolchildren coming here almost every weekend.

“We were booked every day and there were times I had to turn down clients.

“I have big plans for this facility. I want to turn it into an entertainment hub.”

Mabeqa has also become a social media sensation through his hilarious videos and content.

He said he was hoping to use his influence to attract business for his new kayak operation.

“I have a lot of things in my mind about this place.

“I want to see music concerts and marquee tents set up here, I want to see young children’s games including jumping castles.

“I want people to be able to come for bird watching and for picnics.

“It is also my dream to see people come here for boat rides, jet skis and kayaks.

“We want to have water sports tournaments at the Mthatha Dam,” Mabeqa said.

King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality’s rural and economic development director, Mbuyiseli Mandla, admitted that proper fencing of the dam remained a huge priority. 

He said Mabeqa’s kayak business could play an important role in boosting Mthatha’s economy as well as the district’s GDP, and in creating much-needed jobs for people from nearby villages.

“On holidays, people come and drink a lot of alcohol at the dam, and there is nothing else to do.

“Some people have been found killed and dumped in this dam.”

He said with the kayak business operating at the dam, it could help stop crime there.

KSD was also working on its own tourism development plans for the dam, Mandla said.

This included providing more fun activities at the dam to attract tourists.

OR Tambo tourism manager, Bulelwa Ntakana, said the district authority was required by law to support SMMEs to grow.

The support given to Mabeqa formed part of driving tourism development in the district.

“We’ve been trying to develop and improve the Mthatha Dam recreational facility and we have written many proposals but due to budgetary constraints, it never took off.

“Our own budget also did not allow us to buy him [Mabeqa] a new boat.”

While the dam continued to attract many people including schoolchildren, it was still underdeveloped as it lacked ablution facilities and a proper braai area, Ntakana said.

However, she said the donation of the kayaks heralded a start to efforts to beautify and transform the Mthatha Dam into one of the leading tourism spots in the area.

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