OVERVIEW Manufacturing
OVERVIEW Manufacturing Industrial parks are promoting manufacturing. Manufacturing makes up 9% of Free State gross domestic product, and this comprises 4% of South Africa’s total. The Free State Regional Industrialisation Policy is under review to ensure integration of infrastructure, bulk service provision, industrial sites and export and tax incentives to attract investment. A specific programme to promote manufacturing aims to do this by revitalising industrial parks. One of the first such parks in the initiative, which is led by the National Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic), is the Botshabelo Industrial Park (pictured). Located east of Bloemfontein, in 2021 fully 108 of the park’s 144 factory premises were occupied and second-phase funding of R50-million has been approved. The other parks receiving support are at Phuthaditjhaba and Thaba Nchu where it is hoped that improved infrastructure will attract investment, which in turn will stimulate economic growth and create jobs. Further north, the strategically located Maluti-A-Phofung Special Economic Zone (MAP SEZ) has attracted R1-billion from investors. Kevali Chemicals became the first beneficiary of the dtic’s Black Industrialists Scheme (BIS). A grant of R35-million allowed the company to acquire machinery and equipment to start a new line of manufacturing in the MAP SEZ. By early 2022, 164 jobs had been created within the SEZ. Business hubs in Ficksburg and Koffiefontein are designed to support SMMEs. The Contractor Development Programme has signed contracts with 71 small businesses to do road maintenance in the province. The Free State Provincial Government’s Business Development Support Programme includes measures to ensure that SMMEs benefit from government procurement spend and support with filling in documents related to tax compliance and bid documents. Sasolburg in the northern Free State is a key asset in South Africa’s chemicals industry. Sasol has the biggest presence but entities such as Omnia and AECI are other major companies which give the Free State the lead in this sector which relies on advanced technology. The existing manufacturing sector covers chemicals, agroprocessing, textiles, carpets, engineering, packaging, furniture ONLINE RESOURCES Chemical and Allied Industries’ Association: www.caia.co.za Free State Development Corporation: www.fdc.co.za South African Textile Federation: www.texfed.co.za SECTOR INSIGHT Jobs are being created at the Maluti-A-Phofung Special Economic Zone. and jewellery. About 20% of the Free State’s manufacturing sites are devoted to food and beverages, with soft drink giant Coca-Cola Fortune operating a large bottling plant in Mangaung. Landzicht Wine Cellar distributes 2.4-million litres of wine every year from Jacobsdal. Harrismith is home to Nouwens Carpets and Boxmore Plastics. Boxmore Packaging’s new PET beer bottles are the first PET bottles specifically designed for beer on the SA market. Empire Gloves makes industrial gloves. Kroonstadbased Octa Engineering makes specialised rail carriages for the mining sector. In Bloemfontein, Transnet Engineering manufactures new wagons for the Transnet group, including iron ore and cement wagons and fuel tankers. ■ FREE STATE BUSINESS 2023 34
ICT Young people can attend digital skills programmes. OVERVIEW SECTOR INSIGHT Vodacom has built 40 base stations. Vodacom Foundation A Digital Hub in the Botshabelo Industrial Park has been launched as a way of connecting citizens and giving people a chance to develop digital skills. The National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa will be running a Digital Skills Programming initiative which will benefit 4 000 unemployed young people. Coding and Robotics as a subject has been introduced in 111 primary schools and 50 secondary schools in the province as part of the provincial government’s digital access programme. Speaking in parliament in 2022, the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said that every South African will be given access to the Internet. Likening the provision of Internet access to utilities such as water and electricity, the Minister noted that advances in technology and the upcoming release of data spectrum will make it possible for national government to take this step. Vodacom has spent R550-million over the three years to 2022 in the Northern Cape and the Free State. Part of the infrastructure investment programme was to connect remote villages and to increase network coverage. New 3G and 4G enabled base-station sites were installed in 25 urban centres and in 15 rural areas. According to figures compiled by Stats SA in 2019, only 5.4% of households in the Free State had access to the Internet at home. Zero-rated sites are available through ConnectU, which allows people to browse job portals or look up essential information on health and education. Vodacom has also launched low-priced voice and data deals for pensioners. ONLINE RESOURCES Independent Communications Authority: www.icasa.org.za Technology Innovation Agency: www.tia.org.za Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa: www.usaasa.org.za A zero-rated e-School platform enables learning from home. To support this, Vodacom Central Region provided 30 routers and 300 tablets to three Early Childhood Development centres and to connected learners in QwaQwa. Forty schools received 200 laptops and computer centres. As of 2021, National Treasury has appointed four companies as service providers to government, through its new mobile communication services contract, RT15-2021. The contract covers all entities of the state and is expected to allow for significant cost saving through better controls. Vodacom has created the Citizen Engagement Platform as a means of improving and managing service delivery. To enable better communication between citizens and the South African Police Service (SAPS), Vodacom launched the MySAPS app. MTN Business enabled thousands of pupils to keep studying remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic and it has also helped state officials collect revenue more efficiently. MTN Enterprise Solutions allows state bodies to customise their shared voice, data, Closed User Group voice usage and SMS bundles at good rates. This is also scalable as usage increases or the department in question rolls it out at a larger scale. ■ 35 FREE STATE BUSINESS 2023
