Housing in Southern Africa June 2016

Housing

Bongani Baloyi at Savanna City

midvaal attracts investment

I n his State Of the Municipality address Baloyi said, “We met 92% of performance targets in the 2014/2015 financial year, and arewell on track with the current financial year. In 2011, we promised to reduce poverty through creating growth and jobs.” Midvaal has a 70,5% economi- cally active population, and currently has the lowest unemployment rate in the province. Over the past few years, the people of Midvaal have seen the growth and development occurring along the R59, and other

Executive Mayor of Midvaal, Bongani Baloyi, says that despite real economic challenges faced at a national level, Midvaal continues to provide the best quality of services available.

hubs within Midvaal, with compa- nies such as Heineken, Paramount Trailers, New Hope, BSI Steel and Twin Boats establishing and grow- ing their businesses within the mu- nicipality. “Sedibeng Brewery, a R3,5 billion investment, created 3 500 construction jobs and is currently looking to expand its supply chain locally, through purchasing barley

from 32 local farmers. The Ferrero Factory in Walkerville employs over 200 people, and Paramount Trailers has expanded its operations mas- sively in the past five years, currently employing 300 people.” The combination of good gover- nance and proper management of public funds has increased investor confidence into the area, attracting more than R10 billion in investment. Baloyi says that Midvaal has actively pursued investment by hosting a range of international delegations, from China, USA and Kenya, as part of its strategy to showcase Midvaal as the ideal investment hub. “Availability of the correct infra- structure also plays a key role in the ability of a municipality to attract potential investors. The expansion of the MeyertonWaste Water Treatment Works will increase the capacity of the plant from 10 mega litres per day to 25 mega litres per day, which sub- stantially increases the capacity of the municipality to facilitate develop- ment for the next 15 to 20 years,”

June 2016