Diversified miner Exxaro Resources has partnered with the Steve Tshwete local municipality and mining companies Arnot OpCo, Anglo American Coal South Africa and Glencore to establish an enterprise development centre (EDC) for local entrepreneurs in the Mhluzi township, in Middelburg, Mpumalanga.
The establishment of an EDC is one of the local economic development projects Exxaro committed to in its 2013 to 2017 social and labour plan, withArnot Coal having since become Arnot OpCo.
The EDC provides facilities to conduct business activities and offers developmental interventions and support to boost the township economy and reduce unemployment.
Through engagements with the municipality and other stakeholders, it was established that there was a need for an industrial park in the area.
The municipality’s vision was to build industrial workshop facilities with the objective of housing informal businesses operating within the Mhluzi township.
Exxaro stakeholder affairs executive head Mzila Mthenjane comments that Exxaro “believes that enterprise development can lead to the growth of more small businesses, can provide those entering the job market with opportunities and can ensure the provision of these opportunities is sustainable”.
Mthenjane adds that such ongoing opportunities between government and the private sector “will ensure that our economy is capable of responding to the increased opportunities of a global economic environment”.
Steve Tshwete executive mayor Bagudi Tolo has welcomed the timing of the project, especially considering the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, which have “undoubtedly stalled all forms of economic activity”.