MIDDELBURG – The 150-room Destiny Exclusive Hotel and Conference Centre was officially opened in Middelburg on Friday, 4 September, with the Municipal Employees Pension Fund (MEPF) holding an 80% majority stake in the facility.
Akani Properties holds the remaining 20%.
The hotel features 150 rooms, an International Convention Centre (ICC) and a wellness spa, positioning Middelburg to attract conferencing, leisure and business tourism.
The opening was attended by Mpumalanga Premier Mandla Ndlovu, Akani Properties Group chairman Zamani Letjane, MEC for Economic Development and Tourism Jesta Sidell, Nkangala District Executive Mayor Thomas Ngwenya, Steve Tshwete Executive Mayor Mhlonishwa Masilela, members of the Mpumalanga Legislature and local councillors.
Speaking at the opening, Letjane said the hotel was a strategic investment built using workers’ funds.
“This hotel is built using the funds that belong to the municipal employees. It is owned by them. It is not a building, but an investment that one will never go wrong with,” said Letjane.
Letjane is also the founder and group chairman of Akani Retirement Fund Administrators, which administers the MEPF. The fund manages R43 billion for municipal workers across the country.
He said the construction process had been challenging, citing community protests over employment and the disappearance of the company initially appointed to undertake the project.
“It wasn’t easy when putting up the structure. We had a lot of strikes, with community members looking for employment but we could not employ everyone. The company that was appointed initially vanished,” he said.
The hotel is expected to generate economic opportunities through job creation, tourism and business opportunities for local SMMEs.
MEPF chairperson Peter Modike said the project demonstrated how the fund could invest members’ savings while contributing to the communities they serve.
“As trustees of a R43 billion fund, our mandate is simple, yet heavy: to protect savings and ensure that when a municipal employee retires, their pension is secured. Today, we demonstrate that patient capital can fulfil this fiduciary mandate while actively building the very communities our members serve,” said Modike.
Premier Ndlovu welcomed the investment, saying it would support business and leisure tourism in the province.
He said the nearby Loskop Nature Reserve could benefit from the hotel as the province works to revive and reposition the reserve as a tourism attraction.
“As we restore and enhance this magnificent destination, visitors will be able to use this hotel as a convenient base and halfway stop when exploring the reserve and other attractions in the region,” said Ndlovu.
He said this presented an opportunity to link business tourism with leisure tourism by encouraging conference and event visitors to explore other attractions in the province.
Ndlovu also said the hotel was strategically positioned within the province’s mining and energy economic hub, with Steve Tshwete being the third-largest contributor to Mpumalanga’s GDP.
“To us, this hotel is a powerful reflection of the confidence that the private sector continues to place in Mpumalanga, in our people and the immense opportunities that our province presents,” he said.
