Makhado abattoir to boost job creation in the area
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently opened the Matsila Chickens Abattoir, giving the community of Matsila near Elim in Makhado a big boost.
LIMPOPO – They will now be able to process everything from their locally produced Radzambo Chicken Farm.
“We are able to produce 10 000 eggs a day and we are extending the value chain significantly.”
“We hach 3 000 chicks a week and we will now be able to slaughter 1 000 chickens a day as our chicken abattoir was official opened,” said Chief Livhuwani Matsila, the brain behind the Matsila Community Development Trust.According to Matsila, his community will have everything locally produced from eggs to live chickens or meat over the counter, while creating jobs for local businesses to buy stock, from eggs to meat from their own community-owned establishment.
However, Matsila told, Ramaphosa that he needs more land to allow him to produce more community projects which will help in creating jobs for the locally unemployed people.
He said on the land expropriation without compensation was long overdue as it was important for land to fall into the hands of people who could put it to good use like what he was doing in Matsila village.
The Matsila Chickens Abattoir was part of the community projects that form part of the Integrated Rural Development Model, which employ approximately 300 local people.
@CyrilRamaphosa with Minister of Small Business Development, Ms Lindiwe Zulu unveiling the plaque of the Matsila Chicken Abattoir and doing the walkabout inside the abattoir #BiodiversityEconomy pic.twitter.com/EgvvnaC3wv
— Environmentza (@environmentza) August 25, 2018
The projects includes farming crop and livestock, a milling plant, tourism and wood crafting. These projects were funded and supported by the Department of Environmental Affairs and the Department of Small Business Development.
Among the people who are benefiting from the Matsila community projects, is the 46-year- old, Constance Rambau from De Hoop village who described life as miserable before she got a job at the Matsila Community Development Trust and she has been a supervisor for almost four years now.
“Life was tough when I was not working, but now I can enjoy some financial freedom like paying school fees for my six dependents.”
” I am now hoping to start a small business in my own community and also empower the less fortunate people around my village,” said Rambau.
She said working at the Matsila community projects, was also part of getting necessary skills that, will help her when starting her own small business.
A nearby local traditional leader, Chief Thixwedzwi Masia of De Hoop village said he was excited about Chief Matsila’s vision of starting community projects, which has resulted in creating jobs for local unemployed people.
“We are situated in the deep rural villages where poverty and unemployment are at a high rate and we hope the developmental projects in Matsila village will help to reduce such burden.”
“In my village of De Hoop, about 20 people who were previously unemployed now have decent jobs and they are now able to put food on the table for their families,” said Masia.
