The Coega Development Corporation (CDC), operator of the award winning Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ) announced that over 450 much needed jobs have been created as a result of the booming construction in the SEZ.
The projects currently at various phases of construction include the (1) Customs Control Area (CCA), (2) BAIC Ring Road Project, (3) BAIC construction site (Automotive sector) all of which are in Zone 1, (4) MM Engineering (Energy Sector) in Zone 3, (5) Kenako Construction and (6) Osho Cement (Metals sector) both of which are in Zone 5.
The announcement by the CDC follows the recently released Poverty Trends in South Africa report by Statistics South Africa this week, which raised alarming stats on the poverty levels of the country with a staggering 55% (30,4 million South Africans) of the population living in poverty.
“We are certainly alive to and mindful of our role in society and the mandate in terms of socio economic deve-lopment, given the environment under which we operate. Therefore, every job created is critical in putting food on the table of many of our citizens who rely on the opportunities provided by the Coega SEZ through these projects,” says Dr Ayanda Vilakazi, CDC unit head marketing & communications.
“Emerging contractors play an integral part to sustainable development and this is achieved through the CDC’s SMME capacitation programme. Our dedicated SMME Unit was specifically established to develop and support SMMEs, in line with our vision as a catalyst for championing of the socio-economic development” he added.
Vilakazi notes that in the last financial year 2016/17, the CDC’s SMME procurement spend was around 38% of the value of contracts managed by the company. This amounted to R884 million.
