Help revive idle factories, premier told

THERE are currently 67 vacant factories in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, that could contribute to 19 000 jobs.

Most of them would require millions of rands to refurbish and returned to functional status, said Mike Mthimunye, regional manager of Babelegi Industrial Park in Hammanskraal.

He was addressing Gauteng premier David Makhura and Tshwane mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa, who were visiting the area to address service delivery concerns. There are 191 factories in total, and also 14 000 vacant pieces of land that can be used for economic and social activities, Mthimunye said.

He said there were many companies and investors interested in leasing the factories, but obstacles including the general conditions of the factories and paying a deposit of R1 million to Eskom for electricity services were the stumbling blocks.

“We do get investors who want to come to the area, but these obstacles, including the chances of power cuts, have turned investors away. There is a need for

millions of rands to refurbish the factories,” a he said.

Ramokgopa replied that solutions for the area would also require some innovation, including installation of solar panels to reduce the strain on the national grid of the power utility and attracting investors by exempting them from paying taxes.

Makhura said one of the administrative backlogs was that the area was still under the North West government’s administration.

“We are interested in industrial areas around the township. Townships cannot be areas were people only go back to sleep.”