Eͳ0 a—la actor› to „rin‰ o˜er ͷ00 Œo„s
GAMULA – About 560 job opportunities will be created in the textile industry, courtesy of the E170 million invested in the under-construction Gamula Factory in the Lubombo Region.
On Friday, members of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade Portfolio Committee of both the Houses of Parliament, were led by Speaker Petros Mavimbela and Senate President Pastor Lindiwe Dlamini on a tour of the construction site of the factory shell that also incorporates a clinic.
The contractor, J and E Construction, is expected to complete the project in January next year.
The firm was initially expanding FTM Garments, which invested E100 million towards the construction of the factory shell, while government pumped in E70 million.
In his speech, Minister Manqoba Khumalo said the country needed to position itself as an export hub of manufacturing in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the continent as a whole.
Khumalo said the country had envisaged that it would be a mammoth task to find a company to set up a manufacturing factory to supply Eswatini, hence it was ideal that constructing factory shells would be suitable in enabling the manufacture and export of products to the world.
“Eswatini is currently levelling the ground for investors and this factory is going to transform this area in a magnificent way and it is exciting that the ministry aligns with the call for decentralisation by the King,” he said. The minister further stated that two areas; Mantambe and Ndzevane, were also earmarked for the construction of factory shells in the near future and investors had already been secured.
Decentralisation
In her remarks, Senate President Pastor Lindiwe, said she was happy with the decentralisation of jobs to the people, as it was a great stride towards realising the country’s sustainable development goals.
She further noted and commended Khumalo for his effort in creating more job opportunities for the youth.
“I am happy that we are now taking the factory shells to the people and away from the congested areas in towns. This is commendable,” she said.
The Speaker, Mavimbela, encouraged the ministry to continue rolling out the decentralisation of the factory shells countrywide to ensure that more job opportunities were created.
“I am so motivated with what I see today, because we need more of these factory shells to be built across the country as a mitigation plan towards addressing the issue of unemployment,” he said.
Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority’s (EIPA) Dr Khanyisile Dlamini, said the construction of the factory shells was fundamental in addressing some of the questions posed by investors in terms of infrastructure availability.
“EIPA commends government’s initiative of building more factory shells as we are able to accommodate more investors who want to set-up businesses in the country. Eswatini is still preferred as the best business investor destination in the region,” she said.