Zuma is coming to town …
Guess whose coming to town tomorrow? No one else but president Jacob Zuma who will make a public appearance just days after thousands marched to get him impeached.
It’s official: one of President Jacob Zuma’s first public appearances after thousands marched to get him impeached will be to our very own town.
#AntiZumaMarches #ZumaMustFall #CT aerial shots courtesy Faizel Walls pic.twitter.com/Zx89bxrYs8
Zuma will be visiting the Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM) tomorrow, 11 April, to conduct a site visit at the Westonaria Agri-park.
The Agri-park is part of revitalising and transforming the agricultural and rural economy in the RWCLM, and Zuma wants to make sure it’s on track.
The Agriparks Programme has become the cornerstone of the government’s prioritisation to revitalise the agro-processing value chain. The programme is also part of the government’s Nine-point Plan in which they seek to establish Agri-parks in all 44 district municipalities across South Africa. The Plan’s goals are to create a market and provide support for smallholding farms, creating employment opportunities for rural communities as well as developing current infrastructure.
Over the last 18 months, the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has been conducting assessments to make informed decisions on which commodities to prioritise in each of the 44 districts. Seventy per cent of the equity in the Agri-parks will be owned by producers while 30 per cent will be owned by the state and other commercial investors. Government will provide financial and material support for the Agri-parks for a period of 10 years before farmers are expected to assume full control.
Looking at the bigger picture of the Agri-parks Programme, it will play an integral part in the National Development Plan (NDP). The NDP seeks to target high-value commodities (most of which are labour-intensive) to stimulate industrial growth. This will be accompanied by measures that ensure sustainable production on redistributed land with improved institutional support.
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