Friendly N6 route comes of age

LAST week saw a gathering of 25 members of the tourism industry who have interests on the N6 highway - dubbed the ‘Friendly N6’ - between the cities of Bloemfontein in the Free State and East London in the Eastern Cape. Representatives from both the public and private sectors were present. Called by the current mentors of this developing route, Tour (The Regional Tourism Organisation of Ukhahlamba), the object of the meeting was to agree on an official structure to drive the further development of the project. A constitution was adopted and it was agreed as to the format of the executive steering committee. There was, amongst others, agreement that products would have to contribute and pay nominal membership fess to help with the costs of the route development. The abysmal state of the N6 between Smithfield and Bloemfontein was also discussed and the meeting was assured by a representative from Smithfield that tenders had gone out for the restoration of this section of the route. Another suggestion was that the executive should start working on having the route signposted. Towns and cities with representatives at the gathering included: Bloemfontein, Smithfield, Aliwal North, Barkly East, Rhodes, Lady Grey, Burgersdorp, Venterstad, Queenstown, Molteno, Dordrecht and East London. (Miguel de Sousa)