Taking tourism to new levels
Spain is the number one country in the world when it comes to tourism revenue, with approximately 65 million people visiting the country annually, according to South African Ambassador to Spain, Smuts Ngonyama.
“When you talk tourism, you talk Spain. When you talk heritage and historic sites, you talk Spain,” said Ngonyama.
“Africa as a continent only attracts 64 million tourists. Spain has designed the country in such a way that it has preserved sites, built its history, and tourism is a main contributor to the GDP of this country with a population of 46 million.
“The Free State is the midwife of the struggle of the people of South Africa, the primary contributor to the democracy we have and this gives the province and its history a competitive advantage in terms of tourism.
“Perhaps it is necessary to partner with Spain on tourism, identify how Spain has packaged itself. We need to package the Free State, and matchmaking with Spain could cultivate so much for the province.
“We must not be shy about the road we have travelled and how far we have come. That is an integral part of our history. We need to take pride in it and build around it, as Spain has done.”
Ngonyama says there are already Spanish companies i nvested i n South Africa and that Spain has a lot to offer.
“In the energy sector, Spain is counted as one of the top countries in the world, especially in renewable energy. The big project in the Northern Cape uses Spanish companies’ technology and is the biggest on the continent.
“Spain is good at infrastructure development and one example is the platinum highway, which was built with Spanish company, OHL Cobra.
“The Free State is the breadbasket of South Africa with its maize and grain production. Spain is good on oil production – is actually number one in the world. We will create more jobs if we produce instead of shipping out raw materials, [through initiative] such as sunflower oil processing.
“Education is critical. We need to learn Spanish, which is the secondmost widely spoken language in the world. We are sending students to Havana, Cuba. They will be much more prepared if they have been taught Spanish at Free State universities. We also realise interpreters among our own young ones.”
“We need to ensure that we establish partnerships – we need to move, big time. Carpe Diem: seize it now. Our beautiful sun leads us to establishing renewable technology and services.
“I am here as the umbilical cord between the Free State and the Spanish people. We need to prepare ourselves and partner with companies relevant to objectives. It is us who must create jobs through partnerships with skilled, tried and tested companies.
“There is a Spanish Chamber of Commerce and its own trade commission in Johannesburg. I can facilitate and link entrepreneurs and businesses up with relevant companies. I am there for four years to enable these [links]. Make me sweat!” he concluded. Work Opportunities We have created over 295 thousand work opportunities, reaching communities across the entire Free State
We have brought comfort to thousand Free Staters, who have also received training on technical skills such as Kerb Laying, Concrete Batching as well as Health and Safety to sustain themselves Expanded Public Works Programme Over the past five years, we have implemented our flagship Township Revitalisation Programme in 16 townships and paved over 70 kilometers of township roads in: Jagersfontein, Virginia, Henneman, Allanridge, Petrusburg and Alington to mention a few. This year alone, we expanded the project to 7 townships: Tshiame, Hertzogville, Excelsior, Winburg and Tweespruit Radical Transformation of the Economy As champions of the radical economic transformation program, we will continue to implement programmes that leave sustainable economic growth in townships, including the transformation of the stubborn property industry
We will ensure that the Free State story is allowed to sustain its presence and capture the imagination of our people by changing their lives for the better!