Parliament, Sunday, 1 February 2026 – The Portfolio Committee on Tourism completed its three-day oversight visit programme on Friday in the Western Cape at the Lookout Hill Centre, Khayelitsha’s former beacon of hope which was built for local and international tourists.
The committee discovered that the centre lost its tourist attraction since 2010 although its potential regarding location in the historical attractive False Bay area of the City of Cape Town remains intact. The centre is strategically located at the middle of the Spine Road that connects Khayelitsha with potential torurists that enter the City through N1, N2 national roads and Cape Town International Airport.
The Chairperson of the committee, Ms Ronaldo Nalumango, said the centre is a white elephant which has lost its glory. The committee noted that in maintaining the existence of the centre even if there is no value it adds currently, the Department of Tourism spends money on repairs to the roof which is beginning to crumble.
The committee will invite the City of Cape Town to share its reimagination of the centre which can be a vibrant economic hub of Khayelitsha that can create opportunities of development and alleviate the frontiers of crime that besiege one of South Africa’s biggest township.
The centre comprises of a restaurant, craft hives, exhibition spaces and access to the wooden boardwalk to the summit. The committee found that there was only one tour operator operating, no crafters on site and the restaurant is closed.
The committee held a stakeholder engagement with tour operators, tour guides and businesses in the area and surrounding townships. The Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) told the committee that they do not want to remain in the SMMEs level, they want to move to the mainstream tourism industry level. They told the committee that the government can assist them to achieve that movement to the next level.
The stakeholders also informed the committee about the domination of crime that includes extorsion that pushes back tourism business opportunity in Khayelitsha. Although they admitted that the fight against crime should start with the community, they urged the committee to assist in ensuring effective government intervention and support in the fight against the fast rising crime in Khayelitsha.
They also requested the committee for assistance for access to markets such as cruise liners that can bring over R1 million a day when liners dock in the harbour. They assured the committee about their role in the defence of the economic potential of the Lookout Hill and to translate the potential of the centre into real fruits of better for all life in Khayelitsha.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON TOURISM, MS RONALDA NALUMANGO.
For media inquiries or interviews with the Chairperson of the committee please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Sureshinee Govender (Ms)
Cell: 081 704 1109
E-mail: sugovender@parliament.gov.za
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