The Vaal Special Economic Zone, led by the Gauteng Department of Economic Development’s MEC, Tasneem Motara, will launch the Vaal Special Economic Zone (Vaal SEZ), a significant milestone in promoting economic growth and development of the Vaal region.

The Vaal SEZ is part of Gauteng’s economic development programme led by the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) under the auspices of the Department of Economic Development.

The Vaal SEZ’s mission is to attract Domestic and Foreign Direct Investment across multiple sites in Emfuleni, Midvaal, and Lesedi Local Municipalities. It is committed to propelling job creation, skills development and holistic economic growth in the heart of South Africa’s thriving Southern corridor.

Anchored by six strategic pillars, the Vaal SEZ propels a Green Energy-driven industrial transformation, steers investments into crucial food, agriculture, and agro-industrial domains, harnesses the potential of gateway logistics, and harnesses the potential of the Blue Economy and Tourism Sector along the Vaal River.

Significant investments thus far include Mitochondria Energy’s commitment to invest at least R4.3 billion over the next four years to establish the first Hydrogen Valley Innovation Hub in South Africa, Citi-Bank’s pledged investment of R1.4 billion into the SEZ to catalyse the development of an airport in the Vaal area, which, in turn, is poised to foster the growth of manufacturing and agriculture hubs in the region.

Members of the media are invited to the launch and learn more about the partnerships that will contribute to the success of the Vaal SEZ.
Please find the details below:

Date: November 10th, 2023
Time: 09:00 AM
Venue: Vaal SEZ Offices, 38 Chopin Street, SW5, Vanderbijl Park (Parking has been made available at Riverside Boulevard Centre, Cnr of Frikkie Meyer and Chopin Street, where
shuttles will transport you to the venue).

RSVP and queries: Lerato Sewpersad, leratos@ggda.co.za, 072 909 4463

The Vaal Special Economic Zone (SEZ) will host Community Engagement Roadshows, beginning in the Emfuleni Local Municipality on Thursday, 26 October 2023. The roadshow will provide the community with feedback on local economic development projects and SMME opportunities earmarked for the Emfuleni Local Municipality.

The Vaal SEZ is part of Gauteng’s economic development programme led by the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) under the auspices of the Department of Economic
Development.

The Vaal SEZ’s mission is to attract Domestic and Foreign Direct Investment across multiple sites in Emfuleni, Midvaal, and Lesedi Local Municipalities. It is committed to propelling job creation, skills development and holistic economic growth in the heart of South Africa’s thriving Southern corridor.

The Vaal SEZ and its partners understand that community and participant buy-in are critical to the initiative’s success. The role of social facilitation cannot be underestimated as it foregrounds diversity while facilitating multi-layered stakeholder participation, aligning varied interests and objectives to secure optimal outcomes and inclusion.

Anchored by six strategic pillars, the Vaal SEZ propels a Green Energy-driven industrial transformation, steers investments into crucial food, agriculture, and agro-industrial domains, harnesses the potential of gateway logistics, and harnesses the potential of the Blue Economy and Tourism Sector along the Vaal River.

Significant investments thus far include Mitochondria Energy’s commitment to invest at least R4.3 billion over the next four years to establish the first Hydrogen Valley Innovation Hub in South Africa, Citi-Bank’s pledged investment of R1.4 billion into the SEZ to catalyse the development of an airport in the Vaal area, which, in turn, is poised to foster the growth of manufacturing and agriculture hubs in the region.

Members of the media are invited to the first in the series of community engagements.
Please find the details below:

Date: Thursday, 26 October 2023
Venue: Saul Tsotetsi Community Hall, Sedibeng, Emfuleni Municipality
Time: 09:00 – 13:00

RSVP and queries: Lerato Sewpersad, leratos@ggda.co.za, 072 909 4463

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The Gauteng Department of Economic Development (GDED), in collaboration with the Growth
and Development Agency (GGDA), invites members of the media to a breakfast and panel
discussion following the Gauteng Economic Development MEC of Tasneem Motara’s trade
mission to the United States at the end of August 2023.

The trade mission’s objective was to meet with businesses to discuss and explore
opportunities the Gauteng Province holds across various priority sectors. One of them is the
renewable energy sector, which also includes opportunities in the solar, microgrid, hydrogen,
wind, energy storage, and waste-to-energy sub-sectors.

The delegation included the US Consul General in South Africa Vincent Spera; the Economic
Planning Deputy Director General Bulumko Nelana and Vaal Special Economic Zone CEO of
Xola Sithole. It visited several government agencies and companies (i.e. Ford Motor
Company, Citi Bank, Intel, Amazon Web Services Skills Centre and SGH2 Energy), some of
which have already pledged interest to invest in Gauteng and others that were lobbied to
consider the province as an investment destination.

MEC Motara also hosted several business roundtables on Gauteng’s economic development
priorities and opportunities, including the Vaal Special Economic Zone (SEZ), with the support
of the Corporate Council for Africa, Power Africa and Prosper Africa.

The Vaal Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is a venture led by the Gauteng Growth and
Development Agency (GGDA) under the auspices of the Gauteng Provincial Government’s
Department of Economic Development. It stands as a dynamic initiative aimed at reigniting
the birthplace of industrialisation in South Africa. Anchored by six strategic pillars, the Vaal
SEZ propels a green energy-driven industrial transformation, steers investments into crucial
food, agriculture, and agro-industrial domains, harnesses the potential of gateway logistics,
and harnesses the captivating prospect of the blue economy and the tourism sector along the
Vaal River.

DETAILS OF THE BREAKFAST ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Date: Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Venue: InvestSA Gauteng, 1 Sandton Drive
Time: 09:00-11:00

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES:

RSVP: Lerato Sewpersad (leratos@ggda.co.za / 072 909 4463)

MEDIA QUERIES

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As the host of the #BRICSSummit and the chair of the BRICS group, #SouthAfrica is advancing the interests of African States under the theme of ‘BRICS and Africa partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and multilateralism’. Through the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA), the Gauteng province, in collaboration with the BRICS Business Council, supported by the Organisation for Global Africa Cooperation, convened an Africa Caucus of business representatives and ambassadors.

The panel included Lerato Mataboge, Deputy Director General in the Department of Trade Industry and Competition (dtic); Yofi Grant, CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre; Saki Zamxaka, Acting Group CEO of the Gauteng Growth & Development Agency and Athumani Mkayandika, Chief Investment Officer at the Tanzania Investment Centre.

One of the caucus’ objectives was to identify opportunities and challenges towards implementing the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement and the role of IPAs in facilitating BRICS investments.

In her welcome address, the MEC for the Gauteng Department of Economic Development, Ms Tasneem Motara, shared how the Growing Gauteng Together 2023 plan is an expression of the implementation of Agenda 2063 in an effort to build the Africa we want. She outlined how the provincial plan has identified specific actions to expand intra-Africa commerce, which include expanding sub-national economic diplomacy and intensifying collaboration in various provinces and city regions on the continent; to formally showcase regional and continental partnerships and potential areas for collaboration based on Gauteng’s ten high-growth sectors and to promote continental investment in Gauteng-based businesses to help grow trade links.

Gauteng exports to Africa account for 31.1 % of all Gauteng exports, making Africa the 2nd largest destination for Gauteng exports after Asia. Since 2015, Gauteng has received R406.5 billion worth of goods from the continent and exported R1.19 trillion worth of goods to the continent.

It is important to note that the GGDA is a member of the African Business Council (AfBC), a private and public business facilitation entity of the African Union across the continent and that the creation of a regional market, through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), is a significant opportunity to help African countries diversify their exports, accelerate growth, and attract foreign direct investment from BRICS member states, thereby intensifying the global value-added economic participation of the continent.

GGDA Acting Group CEO Saki Zamxaka stressed that we should be asking which businesses have the potential to export and then actively support those businesses and that we can’t get away from developing our sectors and taking advantage of the opportunities it will create. He did, however, warn that improvements in logistics are not just for us to move amongst ourselves but also for our competitors, meaning they can learn something at the port and get the product where it needs to be quicker and cheaper.

The overall sentiment was one of optimism, with Lerato Mataboge, DDG in the Department of Trade Industry and Competition, emphasising how we are going into the BRICS Summit with an African voice, that “Africa is the future and she is ready to take her place among the community of nations. We are here as Africans, and we’re going to pursue our integration very decisively.”

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The Gauteng Premier Mr Panyaza Lesufi and MEC for Economic Development, Ms Tasneem
Motara, will lead the official opening of the Batyi Automotive Component Supply (BACS) facility
on Tuesday, 30th May, in Pretoria North.

In line with the Automotive Industry Development Centre’s (AIDC) mandate to transform the
automotive industry, the AIDC developed an incubation programme in collaboration with Ford
Motor Company and its tier-one suppliers.

The Incubation Centre was built to groom Black suppliers, with the assistance of tier-one
suppliers, to be independent and globally competitive after graduating from the incubation
program.

The AIDC facilitated an agreement between BACS, an incubation programme graduate, and
Motherson, a tier-one supplier, for spray painting and assembly of their components.
Operations have begun in the newly built facility. The launch of this facility is a true testament
to the effectiveness and success of the AIDC’s Incubation Programme.

In this regard, members of the media are invited to the official opening of the Batyi Automotive
Component Supply facility, which will take place as follows:

Date: 30 May 2023
Time: 09:00
Venue: Automotive Supplier Park, 30 Helium Road, Rosslyn

A shuttle service will be arranged from the Automotive Supplier Park to 224 Koos de la Rey
Street, Pretoria North, at 09:30

The following individuals are available for interviews:

For media enquiries and interview requests, please contact:
Lerato Refiloe Sewpersad, 072 909 4463, Leratos@ggda.co.za

His Majesty Belgian King Philippe has concluded a visit to the OR Tambo Special Economic Zone (OR Tambo SEZ), where he participated in a closed roundtable discussion with local entrepreneurs. The King, hosted by Trade, Industry and Competition Deputy Fikile Majola and Gauteng Economic Development MEC Tasneem Motara, conducted a walkabout in the building that will house Belgium-based diamond manufacturer Pluczenik Diamonds South Africa.

Themed “Empowering a new generation to boost the growth of South Africa’s diamond industry”, the roundtable discussion featured several young entrepreneurs in the jewellery and diamond industry and was facilitated by His Majesty.

The proceedings were attended by a Belgian business delegation, Belgian media, an academic team, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), as well as Gauteng provincial and local government officials and industry leaders.

The speakers included Kealeboga Lebo Pule, MD – Pluczenik Diamonds South Africa; Molefi Letsiki, MD – Molefi Letsiki Diamond Holdings; Sahag Arslanian, Representative – AWDC; Nomalungelo Stofile, MD – Sunrise Gems and Robin Sibusiso Bhebhe, MD – OC Gems and Khomotso Ramodipa, MD – Kwame Diamonds.

The discussion was centred around developmental topics, such as the roles of education beneficiation, local value-adding initiatives, women empowerment, and how the Belgian diamond industry could contribute towards a vision for the sector’s future in Southern Africa.

“We are honoured to host King Phillipe at our new premises mainly because his visit cements a milestone partnership in the industry. By moving to this precinct, Pluczenik Diamonds South Africa will create an additional 70 jobs, and we couldn’t be more excited to impact more lives in our country. We will also do our part to encourage other businesses in the industry to move here and take advantage of the incentives available to make the South African diamond industry one we can all be proud of.” says Pule.

The programme culminated in a panel discussion on “South Africa’s mineral beneficiation strategy, the role and benefits of the OR Tambo SEZ in promoting investments and the view of private sector SMME development in the mineral beneficiation sector and the on South Africa’s efforts” – which was facilitated by CNBC anchor Zanele Morrison.

The robust engagement featured high-powered industry representatives from DeBeers, Pluczenik, AWDC, Trade, Industry Competition Department’s Deputy Director General Maoto Molefane, and MEC Motara.

Thandiwe Ngqobe, CEO of OR Tambo SEZ, says, “We are confident that through our countries’ bilateral relations and King Philipe’s visit, OR Tambo SEZ will attract more inward investment for South Africa’s economic growth and the success of emerging players in the diamond and cutting sector”. OR Tambo SEZ is a subsidiary of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency, which is the economic implementing agency of the Gauteng Department of Economic Development.

As the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency’s shareholder, MEC Motara concludes: “South Africa boasts a rich and diverse mineral resource base, making it one of the world’s most significant mining jurisdictions. The Gauteng government’s Growing Gauteng Together 2030 plan prioritises transforming, modernising, and re-industrialising 10 high-growth sectors, including jewellery manufacturing. The significantly declining number of diamond cutters over the last 20 years calls for strategic partnerships like this and government creating an enabling environment to ensure growth and sustainability.”

About OR Tambo SEZ

The Gauteng IDZ Development SOC Limited (GIDZ or Gauteng IDZ) is a Special Purpose Vehicle that is a subsidiary of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA).

Established in 2009, the Gauteng IDZ is mandated to develop and operate the designated OR Tambo Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at OR Tambo International Airport.

In support of its mandate, the Gauteng IDZ works to create an enabling platform for manufacturing investment opportunities that support the positioning of OR Tambo International Airport SEZ and the Gauteng City region as globally competitive investment locations. The Gauteng IDZ also aims to promote job and enterprise development opportunities; the latter is facilitated through partnerships that enable the sustainable growth of emerging enterprises or new industrialists, further contributing to economic growth.

About Pluczenik Diamonds South Africa

Pluczenik was established in South Africa in 1948 before its headquarters was moved to Belgium a few decades later. It also has diamond-cutting and polishing facilities in Namibia, Botswana and Lesotho. In 2021, the global diamond manufacturer and trader re-entered the South African market by partnering with Kealeboga Pule, Founder of Nungu Diamonds, to open a diamond cutting and polishing facility in Bedfordview.

The partnership resulted from diamond miner De Beers’ enterprise development programme, with Pule now serving as Pluczenik South Africa’s Managing Director. So far, the Pluczenik Bedfordview facility has created 30 new jobs, with South Africans being skilled in cutting and polishing diamonds. It is envisaged that another 70 new jobs will be created when the company relocates to the OR Tambo SEZ. The partnership continues to enable South Africa to meet its beneficiation objectives and supports communities, particularly as diamonds have a long history and heritage in the country. Pluczenik is one of the largest buyers of rough diamonds globally and has been a De Beers sightholder for over 60 years.

For more information contact:

Lerato Sewpersad
Media Relations: GGDA
Contact: Leratos@ggda.co.za

Bongiwe Gambu
Spokesperson: GPGDED
Contact: Bongiwe.Gambu@gauteng.gov.za

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