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Limpopo Business 2022-23

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The 2022/23 edition of Limpopo Business is the 14th 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. Both of the province’s two Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have taken several pages in this journal in order to share their goals with potential investors. The business case for the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) in the province’s far north has been accepted and the SEZ has received its official designation. Several investors have signed on and infrastructure development is underway. The Fetakgomo-Tubatse SEZ in the east is building up its infrastructure in terms of roads, railway sidings and water provision and both SEZs are taking an interest in renewable energy, and green hydrogen in particular. A special feature on green hydrogen appears in the front section of this journal. News related to mining, agriculture, tourism, construction and property, water, education and more.

OVERVIEW ICT Digital

OVERVIEW ICT Digital hubs will offer greater digital access. SECTOR INSIGHT A private investor is creating a Smart City in the north-east. Mike Nkuna at the launch of Nkuna Smart City Digital Hubs are to be created at Seshego in Polokwane and Nkowankowa in the Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality of the Mopani District Municipality. The hubs will offer training, provide access to ICT facilities and enable incubation for young entrepreneurs in the ICT sector. Limpopo Connexion has been appointed as the operator of the Seshego hub and the provincial government has budgeted R23-million for the project. Good progress has been made in rolling out digital infrastructure in the province, with a Data Centre, a Network Operating Control Centre and a Contact Centre complete. A total of 52 sites have been connected to the network, using both fibre and satellite technologies. Phase One of the Broadband project is complete, including the development of investment models and strategies for sustainability. An investment partner is expected to be announced during the 2022/23 financial year. The partner will assist Limpopo Connexion in expanding the network footprint across the province at an estimated cost of R1.7-billion. ONLINE RESOURCES State Information Technology Agency: www.sita.co.za Support Programme for Industrial Innovation: www.spii.co.za Technology Innovation Agency: www.tia.org.za The Limpopo Science and Technology Park is intended to assist in the transformation of the provincial economy. Serial property developer Mike Nkuna has announced that his Masingita Group will develop a R5.4-billion project in the Collins Chabane Local Municipality in the far northeast of the province. To be called Nkuna Smart City, Construction Review reports that 119 hectares at Nkuzana hamlet, near the town of Elim, has been allocated for the project. The National Department of Communications is responsible for the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), the regulator of communications, broadcasting and postal services, the SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and three other agencies. The Technology and Human Resources for Industry Programme (THRIP) is a programme of the National Research Foundation and supports an average of 235 projects per year. THRIP supports initiatives that use science to bring benefits to wider society. This can relate to boosting distant rural computer literacy or for scientists working at the University of Venda who have received THRIP funding for soil research. ■ LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2022/23 52

Paving the future with access to ICT Anglo American’s national project is improving digital literacy and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) skills at schools. The Anglo American South Africa ICT Education Project aims to ensure that all students from the schools in the project have access to the Internet and a device as well as to digital literacy programmes to help them build and develop their ICT skills. This will help them to actively participate in the digital world and increase their chances of gaining access to postschool opportunities. To fulfil this purpose, Anglo American embarked on ICT launches across its business units and operations, including in Limpopo, where: • the work that it is currently undertaking in the education and ICT space was showcased • the importance of education and ICT skills was emphasised as being critical and aligning with Anglo American’s purpose • learners, teachers and other stakeholders were inspired and encouraged to take an interest in education and ICT • Anglo American’s ICT Champions were introduced in various schools. In Limpopo, Anglo American has provided feeback on the various components of the ICT Project, and these include: the status of the ICT infrastructure rollout in schools; device rollout in schools and ECD centres; and certified ICT courses offered by Anglo American partners. Primary schools and high schools will receive this benefit, in both the Musina Local Municipality and the Blouberg Local Municipality. The Anglo American’s Head of Education and Community Skills, Zaheera Soomar, notes, “The latest intervention we have in the schools is in ICT infrastructure. It has always been an important factor for us, but with Covid-19 we all realised the dependency we have on ICT and we haven’t done enough in our schools. In the past year, we’ve been working on our ICT component which looks at giving both learners and educators access to WiFi. The second part is about ensuring that there are devices available in all schools and the third part is related to training, making sure that our learners and educators are trained to use the ICT infrastructure both for teaching and learning and that devices and connectivity features in the class every single day.” National programme Anglo American is rolling out a comprehensive information and communications technology (ICT) programme in 109 schools around its mining operations in South Africa to give thousands of learners and community members skills they need to enter the digital job market. A further 400 tablets have been given to 100 early childhood development centres for learning, play and engagement. A key element of the programme will be to ensure its sustainability. The implementation partners will work with the schools to ensure that they can continue driving the programme by themselves. ■ 53 LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2022/23

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