Executive Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya

By Mandla Mpangase On a small, dusty hill in La Montagne in the City of Tshwane, a small but dedicated group gathered to officially turn the first sod where a reservoir will be constructed to provide water to the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone. The construction site, a crucial element of TASEZ’s Phase 2, was officially turned over to MES Major Projects, a wholly black-owned local company. Joining TASEZ CEO Dr Bheka Zulu at the event were leaders from the City of Tshwane, including Executive Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya, Deputy Executive Mayor, Eugene Modise, and several MMCs, a team from the newly appointed contractor lead by managing director Musa Sambo, councillors from the neighbouring townships of Eersterust, Mamelodi and Nellmapius, and members of the local communities. So important is this development, TASEZ board member for infrastructure development, Vuyo Zithumane, noted: “We are launching one of the critical dependencies for the entire development of others, and especially Phase 2.” She added that the political principals in the City of Tshwane took the conscious decision to prioritise this development, making a financial allocation within the City’s budget. “We are very proud to be associated with this initiative. If you look at the history of TASEZ and the mandate that they have been given, I can say without any fear of contradiction, that they’ve been able to fulfil their mandate. They have delivered what was expected of them, far ahead of the targets that they had set for themselves. “TASEZ is one institution that does not compromise when it comes to the competence of contractors, which is precisely why in every project that they’ve initiated, they were always far ahead of their milestones.” TASEZ is a unique project, with shareholders from each of the three tiers of government along with Ford Motor Company; the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition represents the national government, the Gauteng Department of Economic Development represents the province, and the City of Tshwane represents local government. Dr Moya, spoke about the City of Tshwane’s ambitious revitalisation strategy that is aiming for a 3.9% annual growth by 2029, targeting 80 000 new jobs. Key sectors include agri-parks, solar farms and automotive manufacturing. The City committed to retaining investments and improving infrastructure, such as energy and water security. “As the City, we need to not only make a pronouncement saying we are committed to economic growth … but must be seen in action,” Dr Moya said. Standing under an old concrete water reservoir on the top of the hill, the executive mayor spoke passionately about the issue of water security. “We can’t expect people to come and invest in our city if we do not provide the infrastructure that is required.” This new development is significant, not only to the City of Tshwane, but to its residents, she added. The most recent statistics indicate that unemployment in the City of Tshwane has increased to 38.4%. “Do you know what that means? On a day-to-day basis, there’s a family that doesn’t have food or guarantee of a plate of food because they don’t have a job opportunity. It means there’s a small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) somewhere that is not surviving because the opportunities are less.” The efforts of the City of Tshwane, supported by business and investment is done with the ordinary residents in mind. “A student at college who has studied something to do with automotive, must know that there’s a future for them, because the City of Tshwane has an automotive centre here.” Dr Moya added: “We always appreciative of projects like this. Hence, we want to go the extra mile to make sure that they succeed, so that we can achieve our objectives and that the lives of our people are improved.” The executive mayor also spoke about the need for SMMEs to go beyond relying on tenders, but to be included in the whole value chain and become big businesses in their own right. Noting the presence of members of the community, including the TASEZ Community Project Committee which oversees the social compact between the local communities and the special economic zone, Dr Moya also spoke about the importance of community involvement in the success of the development. “If communities understand the benefit of this project, then communities start to protect the projects that they have.” The appointed contractor is one of the success stories of TASEZ: during Phase 1 of the development MES Major Projects was graded CE3 and today is a CE7. TASEZ CFO Rebecca Hlabatau outlined the significant work that MES would be undertaking; building a reinforced concrete reservoir that will hold 15 megalitres, standing 12m in height, 200 tons, and 2 500m³ in volume. The work is expected to be completed within 12 months.