South African Business 2021

FOCUS Agro-processing

FOCUS Agro-processing potential Vhembe Region is the food basket of Limpopo province as it is endowed with various agricultural resources. some of which are sought after in lucrative world markets. Exotic fruits and vegetables are available in abundance, which creates a viable potential for agro-processing of value-added products for domestic consumption and export markets. Food production has over the years become a multi-billion industry that requires the creativity of entrepreneurs to exploit. Complemented by logistics support, the agroprocessing cluster of the MMSEZ is destined to become a big success over the next few years. Various opportunities exist within the agroprocessing cluster such as food processing, fresh-produce handling, dry-fruits packaging, food canning, timber processing, furniture manufacturing, etc. Manufacturing within the automotive sector South Africa has established itself as the powerhouse of the automotive industry in Sub-Saharan Africa. Over 10% of the vehicles manufactured in South Africa are supplied by road via the Beit Bridge Border post to markets to the north of South Africa in the SADC region. This window of opportunity makes the MMSEZ an ideal location for various opportunities across the automotive sector value chain such as vehicles and components manufacturing, storage and distribution hub, after-care products distribution hub, tyre manufacturing and distribution hub, etc. The manufacturing cluster of the MMSEZ will provide a platform for various Original Equipment Manufacturers to manufacture products in the SEZ for both domestic consumption and export markets in Africa and beyond. A strategic opportunity exists for manufacturers of products such as fertilisers, agro-chemicals, industrial chemicals, steel fabrication, etc. Sustainable development The South African Constitution enjoins us to pursue economic development in a sustainable manner and preserve the environment for the benefit of current and future generations. Section 24 states that everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well‐being and to have the environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures, that prevents pollution and ecological degradation, promotes conservation and secures ecologically sustainable development and the use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development. This constitutional provision is supported by the National Environmental Act (NEMA) which provides that negative impacts on the environment and on people’s environmental rights must be anticipated and prevented, and where they cannot be altogether prevented, are minimised and remedied. Our country aspires to be a sustainable, economically prosperous and self‐reliant nation state that safeguards its democracy by meeting the fundamental human needs of its people, managing its limited ecological resources responsibly for current and future generations, and by advancing efficient and effective integrated planning and governance through national, MEC of Limpopo Economic Development Environment and Tourism, Thabo Mokone (left) and MMSEZ CEO Lehlogonolo Masoga at the launch of the MMSEZ Corporate Identity. Credit: MMSEZ SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2021 SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2021 28 26

FOCUS Artistic Impression of the MMSEZ. regional and global collaboration. Our application for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) was guided by the above fundamental values, principles, directives and the entity’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) policy provisions. We recognise that sustainable development and sustainable use and exploitation of natural resources are at the core of the protection of the environment. The months of September and October 2020 were dedicated to a public consultation process for the EIA application for the South site, energy and metallurgical cluster. The outcome of the EIA process indicated that the benefits of the MMSEZ will potentially promote justifiable economic and social development although a negative impact upon the environment will become inevitable. The ultimate goal of the EIA process is to protect ecologically sensitive areas and support sustainable development and the use of natural resources, whilst promoting justifiable socio-economic development in the location of the project. In our endeavour to ensure the effective implementation of the mitigation and management actions, an environmental management plan has been developed to provide mitigation measures necessary to ensure that the project is planned, constructed, operated, and decommissioned in an environmentally responsible manner. The Draft EIA Report identified and assessed all the potential impacts of the project as well as the proposed mitigation measures and management actions. Various specialist studies have been conducted beyond the approved EIA scoping report which included the aquatic impact assessment, ecological impact assessment, heritage impact assessment, palaeontology / archaeology impact assessment, soil and land capability assessment, visual impact assessment, climate change assessment, air quality assessment, socio-economic assessment, noise impact assessment, health impact assessment, traffic impact assessment, water assessment, high-level energy study, economic analysis, biodiversity study, biodiversity offset study, biodiversity offset strategy, waste impact assessment, town-planning 29 27 SOUTH SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2020/21 2021