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Anne Sibande, Product Owner
 


Villa Anne Guest House

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A SHORT, comfortable drive from Gauteng is the boom town of Emalahleni. To the east of this coal capital of South Africa is the Great Escarpment and, beyond that, the natural wonders of the Lowveld.

Until recently Emalahleni was known as Witbank. The new name means simply “place of coal” – which is precisely what Witbank is – the capital of a vast coal region that supplies 85% of South Africa’s coal. (On an international scale, South Africa is a major producer; it has 70% of Africa’s known coal reserves and is usually ranked among the world’s top six producers.)

All of that coal means that Emalahleni is also the power-generating capital of South Africa. Energy-intensive industries that produce commodities including stainless steel, ferrochrome and vanadium employ many thousands in the area – and make Witbank a booming business destination.

Plus there is the fact that Emalahleni is a key node on the Maputo Development Corridor, an ambitious plan to link the industrial powerhouses of Johannesburg and Pretoria with the energy resources of Mpumulanga and Mozambique’s deep-water ports of Maputo and Matola. Most economists believe that this initiative will provide all three regions with a major economic recharge, encouraging investment in places like Emalahleni as road and rail infrastructure and services are upgraded.

While Emalahleni is a natural gateway to the rest of Mpumalanga and Mozambique, it is conveniently situated close to South Africa’s industrial heartland of Gauteng, with both Pretoria and Johannesburg being not much more than an hour’s drive away.

In 2006 local entrepreneur Anne Sibande realised that, while new developments were going up all of the time (for instance the R450-million 40,000m2 Highveld shopping mall), her home city was failing to meet the rising demand from corporate travellers for comfortable, reasonably-priced accommodation. Specifically, there was a distinct shortage of the sort of creature comforts and home-from-home feel that can turn business into pleasure.

“We cater principally for the corporate tourism market,” says the dynamic Anne. “We understand what business travellers want and how to make them feel relaxed at the end of a hard day.”

The first Villa Anne opened on Witbank’s busy President Street in October 2007. Another, with the same name, opened a short walk away the following year and a third, the biggest in the stable, is now nearing completion. The new Villa Anne will provide 15 rooms, conference facilities for up to 80 and an excellent restaurant.

The Villas Anne are charming guesthouses with spacious, well-appointed rooms, decorated in a style that successfully combines a touch of English countryside with restful African art.

Anne of Villa Anne has been expanding into new roles she has created for herself throughout her busy life. “I spent over 13 years selling beer for the local SA Breweries operation,” she says. “Some people think that selling beer is one of the easiest jobs you can do in life, but I must disagree. My job was to sell the brands that people didn’t care for so much, and that’s hard.” In 2000 Anne left to start her own house-sitting business. She then expanded into industrial cleaning, transport, construction, property development, and, most recently, guest accommodation, conferencing and catering.

There are two Sibande children in the business: Thandi, an honours student in law, oversees the villas and the property portfolio, and Fwasani, who is in charge of the industrial cleaning and transport sectors. Donna, the youngest of the three Sibande children, a recent graduate in finance, works in Johannesburg.

Parking at the Villas Anne is on the premises and extremely secure; all bedrooms are comfortable and well-appointed if not downright luxurious; bathrooms are spotlessly clean. Most rooms have TV with multiple channels. Other features include an attractive swimming pool and an entertainment room.

The local business community has not been slow to recognise the excellence of the Villa Anne offering, and today locally-based enterprises account for most of the guests. Representatives of the departments of Health, and Social Services and Anglo Coal and other large mining groups are regular visitors.

Anne is lavish in her praise for the contribution of the Tourism Enterprise Partnership. “They have helped me so much,” she says. “In training and costing; in the planning of the extensions. They help me with advertising and marketing. And they want to do more. It’s just that I don’t have the time to sit with them but I will be sure to find the time. They’ve added a lot of value to my business.”

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