Premier delivers State of the Province Address

Mtshweni-Tsipane said on Friday the government has made strides to counter the devastating effect of the pandemic. “Our unique approach to managing the surge of the virus in the province has encompassed the establishment of ward-based containment teams under the leadership of ward councillors and thus deploying a ‘wall-to-wall’ strategy across all wards in the province.

This is the linking of the ward-based containment teams with clinic driven ward-based targeted screening, testing and care teams, and intensifying the identification of active cases through testing, isolation and quarantine,” she said.

This strategy was developed in collaboration with the clinical advisory panel of experts that Mtshweni-Tsipane appointed to augment the provincial Covid-19 containment strategy.

“I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the panel led by Prof Simon Nemutandani from the University of the Witwatersrand,” she said. The premier has committed to prioritising economic transformation and mass job creation by aligning the province’s plans to the national Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan.

The recovery plan was unveiled by the president in October in an effort to assist the country’s economy recovery from the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Delivering the State of the Province Address on Friday, the premier said the province will intensify the roll-out of the Mpumalanga Industrial Development Plan, the Nkomazi Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and the Mpumalanga International Fresh Produce Market.

The Nkomazi SEZ and Mpumalanga International Fresh Produce Market have the potential to place the agricultural sector on a growth trajectory, create massive job opportunities and investments for the province. “These initiatives will open opportunities for value chains development, agro processing, trade and export, including the agricultural development of the Southern African Development Community region.

“We are beginning to see progress in the construction of the Mpumalanga International Fresh Produce Market. As we speak, we anticipate the finalisation of the main market by the end of the upcoming financial year,” the premier said.

The province is working with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, the Nkomazi Local Municipality, the Ehlanzeni District Municipality and traditional authorities to finalise all the statutory requirements needed to ensure that the SEZ site is legally compliant. The province is also working on concluding all the planning and design work, so that the development of the site can commence in the upcoming financial year, and on strengthening the investment pipeline.

“The Nkomazi SEZ has received a boost following a very ambitious investment proposal by a Mpumalanga-based property development company. As a province, we have been actively engaging private sector partners who wish to work with us in creating an agri-processing facility around the KMI Airport.

“These discussions are at an advanced stage and include proposals that encompass a wide range of investment initiatives, anchored on a regional beneficiation hub and trade port,” Mtshweni-Tsipane said. The province will ensure that the development of small businesses is prioritised in the projects, especially enterprises owned by young people, women and people with disabilities.

Developments under way

Mpumalanga has introduced a new integrated district-based approach to address service delivery challenges, prioritising procuring these locally and creating jobs within communities. “Embedded within the implementation of the district development model are individualised economic recovery plans per district, which will direct the economic potential of the districts by leveraging local resources across the three spheres of government, business and communities, in order to address the economic challenges confronting each district.

“The public-private partnership component within the district development model is beginning to bear fruit. In Steve Tshwete Local Municipality, we will work with private sector partners to build a R350-million four-star hotel,” the premier said. This public-private partnership project has Akani Properties, a black-owned property development company, as a partner, along with the internationally renowned Raddison Hotel Group.

“The hotel will have a capacity of 150 beds and a convention centre of 1 000 seats. Part of the conditions of the award is that 10 per cent ownership should be local and 30 per cent of the construction work should be subcontracted to local businesses. This project will create hundreds of jobs during the construction phase and permanent jobs once operational,” Mtshweni-Tsipane said.

The sod-turning ceremony for this project is expected to take place by the end of the month. The province has identified other important economic measures as part of its drive to create more jobs and fight the scourge of poverty and inequality.

These include but are not limited to ensuring that all departments eliminate bottlenecks and pay valid invoices within 30 days, providing relief funding to small, micro and medium enterprises, implementing the Mpumalanga Tourism Recovery Plan, fast-tracking support to Highveld Steel in order to promote the establishment of the Mining and Metal Industrial Technology Park, and also fast tracking the establishment of the Petro Chemical Industrial Technology Park and Forestry Industrial Technology Park.

Excellent Mona, a youth member of the ANC Nkangala Regional Executive Committee, said about the construction of the hotel, “Yes, we have to agree that the opportunity of work can be essential as this will be a period of work in construction and also when the hotel is operational. It can be an opportunity for those who went further with their studies to study tourism or hospitality, because they will have access to a facility for work-integrated learning purposes”.