OVERVIEW Water New
OVERVIEW Water New boreholes are being dug in rural areas. A partnership between the National Departments of Water and Sanitation and Public Works and the Provincial Government of the North West has delivered training in solar geyser installation and plumbing to 140 young people in Madibeng. Maintenance of water works is one of the most serious challenges facing municipalities in South Africa, with 71% of wastewater treatment plants being non-compliant. Infrastructure in some cases has not been serviced for some time, and leaks and skills shortages are problems. A Water and Sanitation campaign has been launched in the province to tackle this. The programme will provide training and monitoring. In response to the long-term drought, water tankers organised by the National Department of Water and Sanitation and the provincial government dug several boreholes to supplement supply. South Africa is a water-scarce country and water management is critical to economic planning. The western part of North West Province is particularly dry. In the eastern part of the province, national government has sent water tanks to some parts, and has upgraded the treatment plants upstream from the Hartbeespoort Dam. The residents of Jericho village near Brits were delighted when new water infrastructure was delivered in 2016 by a partnership involving the provincial and national governments and the responsible water authority, Magalies Water. The Jericho Rural Water Supply project included new boreholes and pipes, and connecting the village to the main reservoir that serves the area. Three of South Africa’s six major catchment areas are located in the province: the Limpopo, the Orange and the Vaal. Within these catchment areas, only the Vaal River has a strong-enough flow to allow for significant amounts of water to be taken from it directly to support irrigation or industry. There are four water-management areas in the province, three of which are linked to the Vaal River. Water is imported into the provincial system through transfers between water basins. The province has 83 sewage-treatment plants, and the national Blue Drop award system has found most of them need a lot of improvement. ONLINE RESOURCES Blue Drop Awards: www.ewisa.co.za National Department of Water and Sanitation: www.dwa.gov.za South African Association of Water Utilities: www.saawu.org.za Water Research Commission: www.wrc.org.za SECTOR INSIGHT Young people are learning plumbing skills. Tlokwe is one of only three municipalities in the country that acts as a water-service authority and as a service provider. It has won awards for its levels of service. The biggest service providers active in the North West are: • Rand Water • Magalies Water • Sedibeng Water (including Botshelo Water, which has been incorporated into Sedibeng Water) • Midvaal Water Company supplies water to Matlosana (Klerksdorp). The city of Rustenburg has created the Rustenburg Water Services Trust (RWST), a special-purposes vehicle that runs the town’s relatively new water system. NORTH WEST BUSINESS 2018 40
Manufacturing The North West’s strong resource base could underpin a much bigger manufacturing sector. OVERVIEW Brits, Rustenburg, Tlokwe (Potchefstroom), Matlosana (Klerksdorp) and Mahikeng account for more than half of the total manufacturing capacity in North West Province. Mining beneficiation, automotive components and food and beverages play important roles in the sector, but there is scope to massively increase the scope for manufacturing in a wide range of other fields. The provincial government has pointed out that the share of manufacturing to the Growth Value Add (GVA) of the province is only 5% – a figure that must grow if employment is to grow along with the expanding economy. A provincial Integrated Manufacturing Strategy has been compiled. One of the report’s findings was that because North West is located near to the industrial hub of Gauteng, has low input costs, lies on established trade routes and has easy access to natural resources, it should make the development of the chemical processing sector a good bet. This is especially true for phosphate and nitrogen-based fertilisers. Another provincial priority is to improve the link between rural and urban economies, something which a strong focus on agri-processing will achieve. As one of the country’s biggest producers of livestock, North West’s automotive industry could profitably source hides for car seats locally. It is this sort of value-added tie-up that economic planners are looking at, as they aim to get more value out of the agricultural sector. Wire-harness manufacturer Pasdec Automotive Technologies is one of several companies that has a facility in Brits. The sophisticated Bosch plant makes starters, alternators, braking systems and electroniccontrol units. Dubigeon Body and Coach assembles buses, coaches and special vehicles for a wide range of clients, including Iveco, MAN, Fiat, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo. The huge Bridgestone factory has received a R700-million upgrade. New staff have been employed and the plant has become one of only four in the world that is producing “runflat” tyres. ONLINE RESOURCES Automotive Industry Development Centre: www.aidc.co.za Centre for Advanced Manufacturing: www.cfam.co.za Consumer Goods Council of South Africa: www.cgcsa.co.za: National Department of Trade and Industry: www.dti.gov.za North West Development Corporation: www.nwdc.co.za SECTOR INSIGHT The Centre for Advanced Manufacturing at North West University specialises in extruder technology. Some 800 people are employed at the plant. Klerksdorp is geared towards the mining industry, with a concentration of steel manufacturers, cable suppliers and engineering works. Potchefstroom has food and beverages, furniture manufacture and an ammunition plant. Aquasol is a niche manufacturer of water-soluble products. Rustenburg has a mixture of enterprises, the biggest of which are the mining-related smelters. Production of nonmetallic mineral products is concentrated around Lichtenburg and Mahikeng (cement), and Rustenburg (stone). The Centre for Advanced Manufacturing (CFAM) is housed at North West University. The centre specialises in extruder technology, an important component in the food-manufacturing process. CFAM works with Gaborona Consulting, the Vaal University of Technology, Thripp (a dti technology programme) and ChemCity, a Sasol initiative. 41 NORTH WEST BUSINESS 2018
