SPECIAL FEATUREA
SPECIAL FEATUREA REGIONAL OVERVIEW OF THENORTH WEST PROVINCEInfrastructure upgrades are a priority in a province that continues toattract investments in the traditionally strong mining sector whilethe growing renewable energy sector is showing great promise. Tworegional airports and parts of designated protected areas will receiveprivate investment via partnerships with the public sector.By John YoungFixing roads and improving supplies ofwater remain key priorities for the NorthWest Province. Various schemes have beenannounced and budgets allocated to ensurethat these vital parts of the infrastructure of theregion are improved.The private sector is playing a role in assisting inthe provision of infrastructure, for example in thebuilding of roads by mining houses, but municipal,provincial and national government still have tolead with regard to bulk infrastructure. The provinceplanned to spend R429-million on roads to link ruraltowns and farming communities to bigger economichubs in the 2024/25 financial year. A total of 20 newschools are planned over the next five years, whichwill help the construction industry.The provincial Government of the North Westreports that the resuscitation of the Taung irrigationscheme is in “full swing” and that good collaborationis the order of the day with regard to the VaalhartsWater Users Association.Public-private-partnerships (PPPs) are beingexplored in other areas of the regional economy,namely transport and tourism. Plans to position theGeorge Dick Montshioa Airport (formerly MafikengAirport) as a logistics hub are back on track andinvestment in the order of R176-million is beingactively sought to make this happen. The otherairport with potential to grow is the facility that servesthe Sun City Resort, Pilanesberg Airport. Requestsfor proposals to revitalise and commercialise thetwo airports have been issued and a contractor isexpected to be appointed in the course of 2025.The North West has superb tourism assets and itis a popular tourism destination with many excellentfacilities run by both private and public entities. Butthe reach of government can only go so far. In thatcontext, PPPs will be established with a specificmandate to improve infrastructure within what isknown as the Protected Areas Network. Eco-tourismis one of the fastest-growing subsectors of tourismand tapping into this market has the potential toNORTH WEST BUSINESS 2025/264PHOTO: Implats
benefit investors and communities alike. North WestPremier Lazarus Mokgosi announced in his 2025State of the Province Address that mining houseGlencore would assist in the creation of a nationallyrecognised botanical garden within an upgradedKgaswane Mountain Reserve near Rustenburg,another example of a PPP. The South African NationalBiodiversity Institute (SANBI), which manages SouthAfrica’s 10 national botanical gardens, intends forevery province to have such a park by 2030.Another PPP is tackling the problem of potholes.In the first year of its existence, The Pothole Patrolfixed more than 100 000 potholes in Johannesburg.The concept has been extended to the North WestProvince. Discovery Insure, Dialdirect Insurance andSun City Resort are the private companies involvedin the programme to repair potholes on the R556,the road that links Sun City to the N4 highway.Leisure travellers and conference delegates play abig role in the provincial economy and so makingtheir journeys easier and safer is a good investment.The ability of local authorities to manage theinfrastructure of towns and districts has been underscrutiny for some time and national government hassignalled its intention to intervene. A Panel of Expertson Mega Infrastructure Projects has been appointedby the provincial government. This is part of aconcerted drive to change the way infrastructure isdelivered in the province. The panel has identified185 projects, with eight being prioritised basedon a number of factors, including bankability andpotential impact.These projects include a Smart City developmentin conjunction with Gauteng Province, theproposed Bojanala Special Economic Zone(SEZ), agro-processing and agro-hubs, water andbulkwater supply, health and large urban precinctdevelopments, renewable energy and solarcomponent production and broadband connectivity.It is hoped that these projects will contribute tobeing able to process more of the raw products thatare produced by the agriculture and mining sectors.Mining and agriculture have always been theeconomic mainstays of the economy of the NorthWest, and this is still true. But whereas the platinumgroup metals (PGMs) mined on the parts of theBushveld Igneous Complex that lie beneath theprovince’s soils have been attracting good prices andthe future of mining these particular minerals looksSauce entrepreneur Reabetswe Maungwais a gold medalist.good because of the relevance that they have forthe growing renewable energy economy, the NorthWest is now expanding its interest in other partsof that green economy. Large solar farms are nowbeing built at an increasing rate in the North West.The establishment of the Mafikeng DigitalInformation Hub, a co-working 4IR hub in the centreof Mahikeng, is an indicator that the province isintent on joining the digital movement. The hubis led by Joseph Ndaba, who is serving on thePresidential Commission on 4IR.Small to bigAssisting small businesses in the process ofbecoming bigger businesses is part of the brief ofthe North West Development Corporation (NWDC).The Corporation’s newsletter has reportedsome notable successes in the North West’s small,medium and micro-enterprises (SMME) sector inrecent months. Two types of pepper sauce made byRustenburg-based Reabetswe Maungwa won goldat the Aurora International Taste Challenge 2024.The brand name of the sauces, 1019 Relish Sauce, isinspired by the house number of the home of thecreator’s grandparents in Tlhabane, Rustenburg. Theidea for the sauce arose from time living in Ghanacombined with needing to find something to doduring the Covid lockdown. The five-pepper sauce isorganic, suitable for vegetarians and those who lovea bit of fire with their food.Special horsesThe climate of the North West is excellent for thehealth of animals, so it is no surprise that in thespecialised world of breeding of horses for showjumping, dressage and eventing, the province is the5 NORTH WEST BUSINESS 2025/26
