Limpopo: Powering towards prosperity
The signatories of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 declare in the founding document titled The Africa We Want: “We aspire that by 2063, Africa shall be a prosperous continent, with the means and resources to drive its own development, with sustainable and long-term stewardship of its resources ...”
The Limpopo Economic Development Agency (Leda) together with other stakeholders is powering ahead with plans to ensure that this declaration rings true not only on paper, but in practice. The province is awaiting the completion of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) before commencing work on the MusinaMakhado Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
The Musina-Makhado SEZ is an ambitious industrialisation and development project that was approved by Cabinet earlier this year. It has already received a whopping R40-billion investment commitment from a Chinese con- sortium led by Hong Kong Mining Exchange.
The investment is set to contribute towards the establishment of an energy and metallurgical industrial park, which will include steel and stainless steel, power, coking, ferrochrome, ferromanganese, ferrosilicon, pig iron metallurgy and lime plants. The projects are expected to be implemented over a period of five years, with a projected job creation of almost 21 000.
Ben Mphahlele, managing director of Leda, told the Mail & Guardian that they are waiting for the EIA to be concluded and for the SEZ to be gazetted, a process that is expected to take about a year. The project heralds a welcome relief for a province, which had an unemployment rate of more than 18% during the first quarter of this year.
The SEZ faces a stern environmental test as it’s earmarked to be rolled out in an ecologically and environmentally sensitive area, within close proximity of the Kruger National Park and the Mapungubwe National Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site. The area is also considered a natural orchard of the revered baobab tree, which, together with Mapungubwe, lends its name to some of the country’s most prestigious national orders.
Mphahlele said the ecological sensitivities carried in the EIA would guide the construction process. He added that they are now looking beyond the borders for water supply sources for the project, as the SEZ lies close to the borders of Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana. “Limpopo’s geographical location makes it advantageous for regional integration,” he said.
The SEZ will include a dry port zone that will link up with seaports in neighbouring countries, such as Beira and Maputo in Mozambique. It will also include a petrochemical zone, boasting a water treatment plant and methanol plants, among others. The province is still awaiting feedback from national government on its application for the declaration of the Tubatse Special Economic Zone.
One of Limpopo’s key economic inputs comes from agriculture, second only to mining. Leda is at the forefront of initiating agro-processing plants in the province’s agricluster, which stretches over 300km between Polokwane and the northeastern borders of Zimbabwe and the Kruger National Park. These will include factories for the manufacture of agricultural byproducts such as tomato paste, juices and other commodities.
Mphahlele said plans are already in motion to procure land near Phalaborwa to build a factory that will process byproducts of the marula tree, which grows in abundance in the area. These will include cosmetics, soaps, food and oils. Although plans to industrialise a province revered as the breadbasket of the country and known for its scenic beauty are good news, there is concern that agriculture may in the long term suffer as a result.
“They won’t cannibalise each other because they happen in different areas,” explained Mphahlele. “The agri-cluster happens in the northeastern part, platinum in the southeast and the petro energy in the western region, which is the Waterberg.” In fact, said Mphahlele, there are already plans to construct the Nwamitwa Dam along the Letaba river, “to help unleash agricultural potential”.
Leda, established after an amalgamation of various provincial economic bodies, helps to identify key opportunities in the regions and plays a facilitation role among the five key stakeholders. These include government, research institutions, investors, tertiary services and institutions such as labour unions.
“Research has shown that we are the richest province in the country if we were to operationalise or exploit the endowments that the province has,” said Mphahlele. He added that Leda’s programmes are aligned to fulfilling the ideals of Africa 2063, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and the National Development Plan, which also seeks to achieve its goals by 2030. Perhaps future generations will look back in 2063 and say: “This is the Limpopo we want.”