Umhlanga residents contemplate Izinga

TERRI PILLEMER

Pic 1 Guests listen intently to the speakers.

David Jollands, development director of Tongaat Hulett, shared plans for the fast growing suburb of Izinga and showed how the area, right up to King Shaka Airport and beyond, will continue to transform into world-class developments.

Dean Macpherson, the DA’s shadow deputy minister for trade and industry, spoke about the importance of building strong communities and Stefan Tereblanche, SA rugby hero, told the guests why he chooses KwaZulu-Natal for his family.

He was so impressed with Izinga and the UJC that he joked about buying an adjoining plot for the Afrikaans community, which he said he could easily fill with his cousins from Boksburg, Benoni and Brakpan.

Rabbi Pinchas Zekry, who dreamed up the Umhlanga Jewish Centre, Akiva College school and nearby residential complex, regularly receives queries from people outside KZN looking to join this warm new community.

A refrain he hears all too often is that there are no jobs. The “Movers and Shakers” evening was an effort to encourage those in business in the area to let the centre know when jobs become available at their companies or when career opportunities arise, so that people interested in moving here can be informed and forward on their resumes.

The Umhlanga Jewish Centre provides a happy and healthy environment to raise families and has proven popular with empty-nesters too. It’s perfectly positioned – 15 minutes south of the airport and 15 minutes north of the city centre. Plus, it’s a stone’s throw from a new CBD, Umhlanga Ridge, on the doorstep of Gateway Theatre of Shopping and surrounded by more cool coffee shops than one can count.