Mopani to host farmers indaba and food festival
In a bid to grow the economy of the district, the Mopani District Municipality will host a farmers indaba and food festival early next year.
This came to light during the first annual economic stakeholders engagement breakfast held at Mashuti Lodge last week.
The farmers indaba and food festival will be held from 11 to 13 March.
The meeting, attended by stakeholders from the farming community, the private sector and government entities, was aimed at mobilising all sectors to contribute in growing the economy of the district.
Addressing the stakeholders, the executive mayor Pule Shayi said the district municipality will be hosting a farmers indaba and food festival to serve as a platform to expose the investment opportunities in the district.
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He said that the banks also have a role to play in assisting smallholder farmers and other small medium and micro enterprises (SMME).
“The coronavirus pandemic has had devastating impact on the economy. Many of our people are now without work as revealed by the recent figures from Statistics South Africa. Part of the reason why we are meeting is for us to have a sincere discussion on how best we can collaborate and work together to improve the economy of our district, create jobs for our people,” said Shayi.
He further said that the youth unemployment continues to rise, and on its own is a threat to the social order. He called on the local businesses to take the lead in creating jobs and economic opportunities for our people.
“We are a district that strive towards being “the food basket of South Africa and the tourism destination of choice”. There can be no debate that our district has so much untapped potential,” said Shayi.
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He added that as a district municipality they have a duty to create an enabling environment for the economy to grow.
He urged the private sector to support the launch of the new district development model which will accelerate service delivery to the people.
He appealed to the people to remain vigilant to avoid being infected with the coronavirus.
“The opening of the economy means that we allowed our people to move around, which means the risks of coronavirus infections are much greater,” warned Shayi of a possible second wave
