EAST LONDON, South Africa -- The basis had been laid for the “fundamental socio-economic transformation” of the Wild Coast Region, within the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, over the next 10 years, Eastern Cape Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism MEC Mcebisi Jonas has told the Integrated Wild Coast Development Programme Summit.

Spelling out the vision behind the initiative, Jonas said this would have to include:
- Building a new development complex for the region

- Strengthening regional competitiveness, and

- Connectivity and linkages to the country’s three major logistics hubs.

“There is a need to shift to productive investment – building agro-industry, tourism, skills and logistics infrastructure - to build the regional economy.”

Jonas said it was not the first time such an initiative had been attempted, adding that in 1996, Government had established the Wild Coast Spatial Development Initiative.

“This initiative failed because of poor follow through with resourcing and implementing catalytic projects; unresolved land tenure issues and the absence of a shared vision around which the three spheres of Government and local communities could cohere.”

He said what made this intervention different was firstly the existence of catalytic projects such as the N2 Wild Coast Highway, and Umzimvubu Catchment Development. These had been prioritised in the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission’s South East Node and Corridor (SIP 3).

Secondly, he said, there was “an increased political will in Government to deal with problems of land tenure and administration, taking a pragmatic view”.

Thirdly, and central to this corridor initiative, “will be the level of attention paid to co-ordination, resource mobilization, stakeholder management, and project implementation, currently managed by a high-level inter-governmental steering committee at political and technical level”.

Jonas said that initiative would be anchored around state-led infrastructure that included the Mzimvubu scheme, N2 Highway, Mthatha Airport, Wild Coast Meander – a low-volume road hugging the coast - bulk infrastructure, agro-logistics infrastructure, social infrastructure and ICT.

It would, he said, be “aimed at the economic integration of the region through logistics connectivity to markets” and centred around “building an agro-industrial complex, primary and secondary processing and a new Special Economic Zone, and unlocking other economic potential such as tourism.

“It will aim to leveragesignificant new investments from both the public and private sectors and is premised on environmental sustainability through an environmental management framework and the use of green technologies.”

The MEC said “significant progress” had been made in embedding the Wild Coast agenda within the three spheres of Government; aligning the initiatives with the National Development Plan and National Growth Path.

In addition, the key projects were identified in the National Infrastructure Plan.

Critically, he said, the strategy “must address the anomaly of high levels of poverty and deprivation sitting alongside huge latent development potential.”


Media Contact
Sixolile Makaula
072 751 5001
sixolile.makaula@deaet.ecape.gov.za