Jewellery precinct to outshine mines with 10 000 jobs

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s mines had failed to develop the local economy and so it is up to the Gauteng government to change things for the better.

This was the view expressed by Gauteng MEC for Economic Development Lebogang Maile during the landmark launch of the construction of the R267 million jewellery manufacturing precinct at the OR Tambo International Airport on Friday.

The first phase of the precinct is expected to be completed in 18 months.

Maile said the project was aimed at creating about 10 000 jobs during its first phase and a likelihood of more job opportunities as more other phases are rolled out.

In his address, Maile pointed to a 2010 report by consultants McKinsey, which revealed that the mining industry has done little to improve the economies of African countries.

“Mining’s unfulfilled promise to the continent is not only a blow to the dreams of generations of people who fought tirelessly for Africa’s economic emancipation, but it is also a threat that requires political will and the implementation of targeted industrial policies aimed at using the sector as a launching pad for our continent’s industrialisation,” Maile said.

He said the launch of the jewellery manufacturing precinct was to respond to the question of how Africa uses its mineral resources to improve the lot of its people.

He attributed recent retrenchments in the mining sector to the declining role of mines.

He said in 2013, mines contributed 8.3 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) compared to 21 percent in the 1970s.