Limpopo Business 2023-24

The 2023/24 edition of Limpopo Business is the 15th issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2007, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the Limpopo Province. In inviting investors to consider Limpopo, the Premier of Limpopo and the MEC for Economic Development, Environment and Tourism outline concrete steps that have been taken to add and improve infrastructure within the province and to tackle socioeconomic challenges. The delicate balance between the need to utilise the bounty of the earth’s minerals for economic progress and the imperative to do so in a way that both boosts the local economy and does not degrade the environment is the subject of a special feature in the front section of the journal. Several mining companies have mitigation projects, employ local people and support local small businesses but Exxaro’s appointment of an all-female team of mounted game rangers stands out as a rather special initiative. News related to mining, agriculture, tourism, construction and property, water, education and development finance is carried in overviews of the main economic sectors. To complement the extensive local, national and international distribution of the print edition, the full content can also be viewed online at www.globalafricanetwork.com. Updated information on Limpopo is also available through our monthly e-newsletter, which you can subscribe to online at www.gan.co.za, in addition to our complementary business-to-business titles that cover all nine provinces, our flagship South African Business title and the newest addition to our list of publications, African Business, which was launched in 2020.

OVERVIEW Water Major

OVERVIEW Water Major infrastructure projects are underway. SECTOR INSIGHT The Tzaneen Dam wall is to be raised. Tzaneen Dam. Credit: DWAS The National Department of Water and Sanitation has undertaken to take on a number of large infrastructure projects in Limpopo, including the raising of the Tzaneen Dam wall, Olifants River Water Resources Development, bulkwater supply for the Musina-Makhado SEZ and the the Nandoni Water Treatment Works. The provincial premier has also made a commitment in the State of the Province Address that the people of the Giyani region “must drink water before the end of the financial year”. Various projects to improve water supply in the area have stalled over the years. Mopani District Municipality, under which Giyani falls, has appointed contractors to lay infrastructure for reticulation so as to be ready for the pipelines when they are laid. Supplying water for the newly-designated Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone is a critical issue in an area where that resource is not plentiful. Talks are underway with Zimbabwe and other SADC member states. Limpopo has markedly different rainfall patterns in its three main geographical regions: the escarpment (sub-humid with annual rainfall of more than 700mm); semi-arid middle veld and Highveld; and the arid and semi-arid Lowveld. The province’s rivers are under threat from the damaging effects of the mining industry, power stations, chemicals used in agriculture and from sewage treatment in catchment areas. Opportunities exist in this sector for innovative solutions. Concern about drought conditions and water quality under pressure from mines and industry has led to the calling of a Provincial Water and Sanitation Summit. The Water and Sanitation Services branch of Polokwane Municipality operates five water-purification plants and three sewage-purification plants. ONLINE RESOURCES Innovation Hub: www.theinnovationhub.com National Department of Water and Sanitation: www.dws.gov.za Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority: www.tcta.co.za As part of its Regional Water Scheme programme, Polokwane provides water to the residents of the rural areas of Mothapo, Mothiba and Makotopong. The Capricorn District Municipality funds a water-testing laboratory on the campus of the University of Limpopo. Phase 2B of the multi-year Olifants River Water Resources Development Project is under discussion by project manager, Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA), which is looking at funding options together with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). The project will entail the building of a 70km pipeline from Flag Boshielo Dam to Pruisen near Mokopane. This would improve water supplies for mines and domestic users. Phase 2A of the Mokolo- Crocodile Water Augmentation Project has stalled. Another TCTA project, the MWCAP, is designed to transfer water from the Crocodile River to the Lephalale and Steenbokspan areas. Lephalale is the site of coal mining and Eskom’s huge new power station, Medupi. A joint venture comprising Bigen Africa Services, Nyeleti Consulting and Gibb has been contracted to design, construct and supervise the project. ■ LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2023/24 42

Construction and property A subsidy programme is boosting home ownership. OVERVIEW The Provincial Government of Limpopo’s housing finance agency, Risima, together with the Limpopo Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA) has made about R11-million available in subsidies to 147 people to enable them to become homeowners. The Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme, for those earning between R3 501 and R15 000 per month, caters to the so-called gap market. Grants are distributed to cover a deposit or to make up the shortfall between an asking price and what the applicant can afford. The South African Affordable Residential Developers Association (SAARDA) caters to the gap market. A non-mortgaged financial product assists government employees to get a foot on the property ladder. Risima is also exploring cooperation with mining houses such as Exxaro, Amplats and Northam at Thabazimbi. Premier Chupu Stanley Mathabatha handed over the site for a new hospital to be built in Polokwane in June 2023. Funded to the tune of R4-billion by the National Department of Health, Limpopo Central Academic Hospital, the 25ha campus on Webster Street is next to the site of what will become the School of Medicine of the University of Limpopo. The provincial government has appointed 41 engineering consultants to design roads in all five districts of the province, which will mean work for construction companies and contractors. Clinics are also being built, providing more work opportunities in the construction sector. A four-star Premier Hotels property under construction in Thohoyandou is being built by Nakiseni Business Enterprise and should provide about 480 jobs in the first phase. This includes labourers, artisans and project managers. The Enterprise Development and Finance Division of the Limpopo Economic Development Agency (LEDA) offers loans to businesses in the construction and property sector and runs specialised training in vocational skills such as bricklaying, plastering, carpentry, plumbing, electrical and welding. Thavhani Mall, pictured, is operating in Thohoyandou in a bigger development called Thavhani City. The 27ha site will ONLINE RESOURCES Black Business Council in Built Environment: www.bbcbe.org Construction Industry Development Board: www.cidb.org.za South African Property Owners Association: www.sapoa.org.za SECTOR INSIGHT Construction of the Limpopo Academic Hospital is due to start in 2023. Credit: MDS Architecture eventually include an office park, automotive-related businesses, private healthcare, a library, an information centre and a sports stadium. Its anchor retail tenants include Woolworths, Edgars, Pick n Pay and SuperSpar. The partners in the R1-billion project are Thavhani Property Investments, Vukile Property Fund and Flanagan & Gerard Property Development. Five libraries are under construction in the province and four new libraries are planned for Tshaulu, Makhuduthamaga, Vleifontein and Botshabelo in the Mopani District. The Schoemansdal Museum is to be upgraded. ■ 43 LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2023/24