Emalahleni out to bring investors
Aim to capitalise on resource-rich region
Eastern Cape legislature deputy speaker Mlibo Qoboshiyane emphasised the need to address the critical issues of poverty, unemployment and inequality at the two-day inaugural Emalahleni investment summit.
Qoboshiyane was speaking at the summit hosted by Emalahleni Local Municipality (ELM) at Queen Nonesi Cultural Village on Tuesday, in Gqebenya.
He urged attendees to engage in solution-focused discussions, focusing on developing vocational skills, apprenticeships and job training to increase productivity and wealth.
“As we delve into the discussions and presentations during this summit, let us keep in mind the profound impact our decisions will have on the lives of our people.
“Our province is rich in potential, and our success will be measured not only in economic terms but in the positive transformation of communities, the creation of sustainable livelihoods, and the enhancement of the overall quality of life for our citizens,” Qoboshiyane said.
He said cooperative governance and traditional affairs’ District Development Model (DDM) profile on Chris Hani District Municipality (CHDM) revealed that the percentage of people living in poverty had dropped from 79.95% in 2008 to 72.80% in 2018, a 7.15% decrease.
He added that 630,000 people were living in poverty in the Chris Hani district in 2018 2.75% less than the previous year, at 648,000.
“The percentage of people living in poverty has fallen from 79.95% in 2008 to 72.80% in 2018, a 7.15% decrease.
“However, it remains significantly higher than the country’s general poverty rate of 58.6% throughout the same period.”
He said the district’s unemployment rate was higher than the national rate of 27.4%, according to Cogta’s DDM profile of the Chris Hani district.
Chris Hani’s annual average employment growth rate was 0.95% between 2008 and 2018.
Addressing the issue of inequality, Qoboshiyane said ELM ranked second after AB Xuma Municipality.
He said it was important to note that ELM’s Gini coefficient index value (which measures the distribution of income) of 0.544 was the lowest in the district, and lower than the Chris Hani district’s overall GI, which was at 0.595 in 2017.
This meant wealth was more evenly distributed in Emalahleni than in other areas.
“These technical economic measures show us the importance of understanding the relativity of the plight which affects our people.
“Given that ELM has a lower Gini coefficient than other regions of the country, it should be expected that income inequality is also lower when determining economic development initiatives.
“Even if this is a generally good indication, we still need to advance economic prosperity and inclusivity.”
He commended ELM for providing the investment summit as a platform for charting a sustainable development path for the benefit of the people.
However, he advised that the elephant should be chewed one bite at a time.
“The investments emanating from the four South Africa Investment Conferences held to date have stimulated industrial, technological and institutional modernisation,” he said.
However, these efforts would only be successful if there was greater coordination between the public and private sectors, as well as external partners.
“Building on recent successful provincial investment drives, in 2023 the province convened its third Provincial Investment Conference.
“The conference drew R127bn worth of investment pledges and announcements planned to be directed to some of the high-growth sectors of the provincial economy, including automotive, infrastructure, rail, construction, agro-processing and energy,” he said.
He added that the guiding principles for the summit should be drawn from various strategic frameworks to shape the future of the province.
ELM mayor Nontombizanele Koni said the municipality hoped to draw investors and developers through the summit who would capitalise on the region’s resources to ensure economic growth in the region.
“We are fighting unemployment and poverty challenges to prevent people from migrating from Emalahleni to other provinces because we can also do what other provinces do when we have the same resources.
“What we have in Emalahleni has the potential to lift the economy of the region.
“But we cannot achieve this as a municipality.
“We also have land resources that our developers could use to boost the economy.
“On the main for us is the construction of a shopping complex in Cacadu.
“We have also set our minds on the construction of a gas filling station in Cacadu and the leasing of Indwe Resort as projects that the present developers will be presenting on.”
It was also hoped that a private tourism investor would make use of the Emalahleni waterfalls, which were frequented by hikers.
This she believed would lead to job creation.
“We also have coal mining which is in the process of opening. We have sand mining and irrigation schemes in areas such as Lanti.”
Chris Hani District Municipality mayor Lusanda Sizani said: “CHDA will be assisting a lot in scouting for investors and the agency’s CEO was recently in Germany, Tunisia and Egypt with the premier on their initiative to bring investors and to ensure we transport livestock to Egypt and [other countries].”
He said there was a high demand for red meat in the countries, and Emalahleni thrived in livestock farming.
“This is why the feedlot in Indwe will be capacitated to take in 15,000 cows, working with the Almabro red meat developer, for district farmers to benefit and for them to trade their livestock to the hub, which will distribute them to the harbour,” Sizani said.