by John Young
Limpopo is South Africa’s most northerly province. It shares borders with Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The population of 5.2 million living on 123 910 square kilometres is largely rural. Each of Limpopo’s most important economic sectors – mining, agriculture, agri-processing and tourism – is showing signs of growth. Limpopo is strategically located near to the economic heartland of South Africa (Johannesburg is 300km from the provincial capital, Polokwane) and on the N1 highway connecting South Africa to its neighbours in the Southern African Development Community to the north through Zimbabwe.
Polokwane has an international airport and there are a further two regional airports at Hoedspruit and Phalaborwa. The rail network is mostly devoted to getting the products of mines to the coast. A ceremony that took place in June 2010, in the western town of Lephalale, signalled the start of a new chapter in Limpopo’s economic development. This was the launch of Exxaro Mining’s R9-billion Grootgeluk coal mine expansion.
This scheme is being tackled to serve an ever-larger project – the building of a new power station, Medupi. The R120-billion power station project, being developed next to the existing power station at Matimba in Lephalale, is having an enormous infl uence on the local economy and it will have a long-lasting eff ect on the provincial economy. The Grootgeluk mine will supply 14.6 million tons of coal to Medupi every year, for 40 years.
Several platinum companies (mostly operating in the eastern part of the province) are ramping up production and developing new projects in response to the rising prices of this resource. Perhaps equally important for the sustainability of the province’s economic future will be the completion, in 2011, of the new De Hoop Dam wall in the eastern region of the province. Access to water is one of the key elements in Limpopo Province, especially as the mining and agricultural sectors are so important. In the case of the broader scheme in which the De Hoop Dam falls, some 23 platinum mines stand to benefit.
Mining contributes 29.8% to provincial gross domestic product (GDP). Within Limpopo, approximately 400 prospecting and mining licences have been granted, for a wide range of minerals. These include the largest diamond mine in South Africa, the biggest copper mine in South Africa, the biggest open-pit platinum mine in the country and the biggest vermiculite mine in the world. The province has 41% of South Africa’s platinum group metals (PGMs), 90% of South Africa’s red granite resources and approximately 50% of the country’s coal reserves. Antimony, a strategic mineral found in large quantities in China, is another of Limpopo’s major assets.
In terms of products of the soil above the ground, Limpopo is equally rich. Vast quantities of fruit and vegetables are exported from the province. Every kind of subtropical fruit flourishes in the eastern half of the province. Abundant fields of avocados, mangos, paw-paws, litchis and tomatoes stretch as far as the eye can see.
Cotton and potatoes are other major products while citrus and tea plantations are prevalent in the central and northern areas. Livestock raising and hunting are carried out in the drier western and northern regions. Several livestock farms have been converted to private game farms in recent years, mirroring a national trend.
Adding value
The Limpopo Provincial Government is keen to develop the manufacturing capacity of the province. The aim is to create value within the borders of Limpopo, and in this way to create employment and tackle unemployment. Limpopo has one of the highest levels of poverty within South Africa. Although Limpopo has several agri-processing businesses, with Pioneer Foods, McCain, Granor Passi, Kanhym, Westfalia and Enterprise Foods being
prominent, this sector still has enormous potential to grow.
Three manufacturing projects have been announced for the 2010/11 financial year:
• a bamboo production and processing plant, R945-million
• a sugar ethanol plant, R1-billion
• a juice concentrate processing plant, R250-million
A Mining Supplier Park – a project designed to keep jobs in the province – should get off the ground in early 2011 in Steelpoort. Existing manufacturing entities in Limpopo include silicon smelters, platinum smelters and furniture manufacturing. But the provincial government is not satisfied with the pace at which the economy is being converted away from overdependence on raw materials.
The emphasis of the Limpopo Employment Growth and Development Plan (LEGDP) is valueadded processing and manufacturing. The key sectors where Limpopo has a competitive advantage are mining, agriculture, agri-processing and tourism, so this is where the focus will be in trying to promote value-addition.
The plan has 14 key action programmes, among which are:
• an integrated industrial development programme
• enterprise development and support
• regional economic development and integration
• infrastructure investment
• water resources development programme
• greening the economy
In pursuit of these goals, the provincial government has announced that it will be merging its main agencies into one in the near future, allowing for a greater concentration of resources and the avoidance of duplication.
For the purposes of planning, several corridors of development have been identified:
• A platinum-mining cluster on the Dilokong Corridor between Polokwane and Burgersfort (Sekhukhune district) and also in the Waterberg district
• Coal mining and petrochemical cluster at Lephalale (East-West
Corridor, Waterberg district)
• Horticulture clusters in Vhembe, Mopani and Bohlabela • Logistics cluster in Polokwane
• Red and white meat clusters in all districts, supporting small businesses
• Eight tourism sub-clusters at several destinations
• Forestry cluster in the Mopani and Vhembe districts
Tourism visitor numbers continue to climb: four million visitors came to the province in 2008 compared to 3.1 million the previous year and the figures for 2010 are expected to be much higher again, what with the Polokwane having been a successful host city for the FIFA World Cup.
The Kruger National Park is one of the world’s most famous conservation areas, and a major attraction for the region. Several other public and private game reserves also exist, as well as other leisure activities and attractions such as golf estates, adventure touring and eco- and cultural-tourism sites. Hunting is another big activity in Limpopo, attracting domestic and foreign visitors.
The Mapungubwe National Park in the northern part of the province has achieved World Heritage Site status: it is a hill site where a 12th-century Iron-Age civilisation settled and traded extensively in ivory, iron ore, copper and beads with traders from far afield.
Regions
Limpopo has five district municipalities:
Capricorn District
Capricorn district is home to the provincial capital, Polokwane. Capricorn is also the economic centre of Limpopo, with Polokwane contributing 13% of the provincial GDP. The city now boasts an international airport, good educational and medical facilities, several industries and the regional headquarters of banking and retail operations.
Greater Sekhukhune District
Government is the largest employer in this southern district, followed by agriculture and hunting. The vast majority of households
are rural (94%), with a poverty rate of 69.9%. Groblersdal is the district capital. The region’s fertile lands produce maize, tobacco, peanuts, vegetables, sunflower seeds and cotton on a large scale. Agriculture makes up 25% of the local economy, with the value of the region’s gross production estimated at R250-million.
Mopani District
Giyani is the administrative capital of the district and is key to the local economy; the public sector is one of the largest employers in the district. The key sectors in Mopani are agriculture and mining. Mopani has an established food manufacturing industry, in canned, preserved and dried fruit production and vegetable juices. Phalaborwa is South Africa’s leading copper producer. Mopani borders the Kruger National Park and the tourism sector offers many opportunities.
Vhembe District
The Vhembe district borders on both Zimbabwe and Botswana. The district’s
administrative capital is Thohoyandou. Vhembe’s vast bushveld supports commercial and game farming and the district has considerable cultural and historical assets. The major economic sector is agriculture, both in terms of commercial and subsistence farming. Game farming is a growing sub-sector, as is eco-tourism. De Beers’ Venetia Mine, situated just west of Musina, is South Africa’s largest diamond producer.
Waterberg District
The mining sector is the largest contributor to regional GDP, while agriculture is also significant. Several towns in the district are located in the mineral-rich Bushveld Igneous Complex. The district also features the riches of the Waterberg coal fields, iron ore (at Thabazimbi) and tin and platinum at Mookgophong. The area around Mokopane is one of the richest agricultural zones in South Africa, producing wheat, tobacco, cotton, beef, maize and peanuts. The bubbling hot springs of Bela-Bela mark it as a
popular tourism destination and the district now offers many luxury golf estates.
