Investments a "vote of confidence"

Date: 26 September 2003 By: Frans van der Merwe

He spoke at the stone- laying ceremony of the colour steel factory to be erected in the local industrial area by Chinese investors from the DanDong City government in China. He said the decision by the Chinese to invest in Makhado is a vote of confidence in the municipality. The investors from China are to spend R103 million in this project.

Mr Maswanganyi said this development in Makhado Municipality confirms the message of the province's recent successful investors' conference, that the province has a lot of opportunities for potential investors. It also indicates that government created a conducive environment for business to thrive in. While the investment in the Makhado Municipality will primarily benefit the people of this area, the investors themselves will also eventually benefit from it. Over the short term, these investments will benefit the local community by creating short-term employment during the construction phase, and permanent jobs on completion. It is estimated that 300 people will directly be employed.

"In line with the patterns of our African lifestyle, the employment of one African benefits more than one family. It is this kind of investment that will contribute to the reduction of poverty levels and unemployment, which is said to be at 51% in this province.

"At the same time, the municipality will receive additional revenue through rates, taxes and services. This will strengthen the municipality in the delivery of services." "We are also delighted that the agreement signed between this municipality and the DanDong People's Government, also encourages co-operation between representatives of the business community. We are hopeful that our business people will take this opportunity to explore possibilities of linking up with the Chinese on issues of mutual benefit. "Whilst the present main focus is on the stone-laying of a colour steel factory, we should also be aware that there are other areas of agreement which include agriculture, which is the backbone of the economy in this province," Mr Maswanganyi said.

Mr Maswanganyi added that he is confident that the present investment and those in the pipeline will bring the intended consequences. He called on other municipalities to emulate the good example to bring a better life to the people. He paid tribute to the political leadership of the municipality and officials for what he termed as a milestone.

"At the same time, I want to reassure our investors that they have taken a good political and economical decision to invest in this part of the province," he said.

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Frans van der Merwe

Frans van der Merwe is a freelance journalist with more than 40 years experience in the newspaper industry. Apart from newspaper reporting, he was also involved with radio news, news reading, training and marketing. He has been living and working in Louis Trichardt since 1991.

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