Deputy minister in the presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Pinky Kekana on Wednesday 20 March 2024, had taken a working visit at the East London Industrial Development Zone in the Eastern Cape. The visit was part of the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) continuous engagement with ELIDZ, as a key stakeholder to strengthen the relationship and explore opportunities for collaboration by facilitating assistance where the Zone might have challenges.
The ELIDZ Is one of the strategic that has the potential to complement the government’s efforts to restore and grow the economy for improved job creation and poverty alleviation. Since inception, 41 operational investors had been attracted to the ELIDZ at the cost of above R9 billion into seven thriving sectors, while 5123 jobs are currently active on the ELIDZ’s platform.
Deputy Kekana’s visit was also against the backdrop of previous visits and frontline monitoring conducted by the DPME at the Zone to unlock bottlenecks that may potentially hinder the successful operation of the ELIDZ.
“Now coming to the situation of additional jobs happening this IDZ start to say to us as government, DM we want to expand we have identified King William’s Town as one of the growth points for us to take heavy industry there. Then what it has to say once they do that and expand its says something to BCM the services there, what else do we need to do but also it says to BCM encourage your young people to also get skills in those industries that we have identified because here is another expansion and here is another opportunity” said minister Kekana.
As the ELIDZ they have discussed with the provincial office that they need to see more strengthening and more certain to being provided around the policy instruments that DTIC is putting in place around the Special Economic Zone programs which means incentive regime that they want to see more productivity going forward, they also want to see movement around designation of new notes for the special economic zone particularly as ELIDZ.
“We looking at the expanding to Berlin Tabozuko area and we need that approval process to move smoothly so that we can start being active, so those are some of the issues that we have raised as areas of frustration for us where we need intervention at national government level” said Simphiwe Nkondle CEO of ELIDZ. “For us IDZ is one of our great achievements as governments as deputy minister has visited here we head good stories that has been done at IDZ one of it is not depending on government on its own operation in funding.
IDZ is only receiving from both provincial and national government only 20% and 80% is generated from its own revenue so which is something good that we are learning and IDZ is further expanding to berlin area where we are going to have independent power producers, which is a good economic growth for the City and job creation for that side and the City” said Princess Faku Mayor of the BCM.