Is it aid for desperate Diepsloot businesses - or a R1-billion stalking-horse for a rich developer?

A costly joint venture between a property developer and national Treasury's Jobs Fund has raised questions about who's really benefiting from the construction of the Riversands Incubation Hub for small businesses.

Boasting almost 180 business premises, a business support centre, conference rooms and a 10,000-seat amphitheatre, the Riversands Incubation Hub near Fourways, Johannesburg, is a big development with a big price tag.

The hub was built in 2014 as a joint venture between the Jobs Fund and luxury property developer Century Property Development.

In 2012, Century won grant funding from the Jobs Fund that matched their investment in the hub, rand for rand. In the end, the Jobs Fund contracted to contribute R405,971,300 against R520,321,000 in matched funding from Century.

The hub was meant to do big things.

Originally called the Diepsloot SMME Incubation Hub, it was built to assist up to 178 micro to medium enterprises for three years at a time.

According to the Jobs Fund, businesses were intended to come primarily, but not exclusively, from Diepsloot, the underdeveloped and densely populated township north of Fourways.

But critics say the incubation centre...