Exciting economic developments to boost the Lowveld

There is hope for Mpumalanga.

This is something that stood out among all the things that came out of the recent Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism’s (KLCBT) AGM.

Realising all the plans and processes that inspire this hope will not be easy, but the KLCBT is excited for what lies ahead. Its COO, Linda Grimbeek, sat down with Lowvelder to discuss one particular part mentioned at the AGM: the District Development Model (DDM).

There has been mention of this plan since the beginning of the year when groups of stakeholders were invited to come together to form part of the plan.

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The plan stems from a national initiative of which Grimbeek said the Ehlanzeni District is the second district to be piloting a DDM. It comes down to a district’s stakeholders coming together to identify the areas, or work groups as they are referred to, which could aid it in going forward and growing.

Five such work groups have been identified:
• Agriculture and forestry
• Tourism
• Mining
• Skills development
• Infrastructure

The first three have the most growth potential, said Grimbeek, but it was realised they would all experience the same issues going forward: infrastructure and skills development.

She is extremely excited for what this could mean for the district. People have been identified for the various groups and they are currently going through projects that have been submitted for consideration.

In the group, members identify the inhibitors to these projects, whether it be government approval, infrastructure shortcomings, and so on. Here, the Public Private Growth Initiative comes in. They look at finding solutions to these inhibitors, even if it means taking it as high as the president to be resolved.

From here, projects will be divided into four categories: quick wins, medium-term stimulators, catalytic projects and possible investors.

Some areas within each of the five work groups identified include the following:

Within agriculture and forestry, farms will naturally play a big part. Grimbeek said there are about 200 farms in the province that are standing still.

These must be helped to get back into production. Partnerships with commercial farmers will be key here. The international Fresh Produce Market also needs to work.

For tourism, she said concessions are needed to develop attractions on government land; places like the Panorama Route, and Pilgrim’s Rest.

There also needs to be more events-based tourism – something Oupa Pilane also focused on at the KLCBT’s AGM.

Within mining, there must be resolutions found for illegal mining. Processes need to be streamlined and opportunities created for small-scale mining. When a mine reaches its lifespan, there must also be a plan in place to create a legacy when the mine is no longer there.

Within skills development, there are two gaps to be bridged, one between demand and supply and the other between education and the workplace. Funded interns also need to be applied meaningfully into SMMEs so as to facilitate growth within a business, and in turn creating the opportunity for more jobs.

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Sufficient and dedicated student housing is also something that needs to be looked at.

Infrastructure is such an extensive area to be covered, the group was further split into subdivisions. This covers from the border’s functionality to water infrastructure to independent power to the exploration of waste economy.

Needless to say, the role of government is not a small one in the DDM. Grimbeek said audits will have to be done on projects, buildings, and farms so it can be determined what can or cannot work for the DDM.

Service delivery has been discussed over and over again, this influences investors’ decision to stay within a province or take their business away.

She is optimistic with what has been done thus far and looks forward to the lasting effects the DDM can have for Ehlanzeni.