I have been troubled for some time by the Eastern Cape’s sluggish economic progress, higher unemployment, poverty, and poor service delivery by the provincial government.
And yes, I know there has been some good work in various regions of the province. For example, the national road network from Port St Johns to Gqeberha is in admirable condition following recent improvements. This has improved the ease of travel and supports businesses, especially agribusinesses relying heavily on these road networks. New schools and clinics have recently been built in rural regions. These have led to some green shoots in terms of education outcomes.
In areas that need enormous improvement, we must focus on municipalities that remain in a troubling space. For example, the recent reports of ongoing water challenges in Makhanda, which have been challenging for some time, are a glimpse of the failings we see in other municipalities in the province. Another area of neglect is road maintenance and service delivery in various towns, especially the former Transkei region.
The poor rural roads, water challenges, higher crime incidents, and poorly maintained towns, amongst other challenges, are all issues that slow the province’s fortunes. All these weigh negatively on farmers and small businesses that struggle to connect with clients in the business centres, leading to financial losses because of higher transaction costs.
In addition to the automotive industry, agriculture and agro-processing, various services, tourism, and agrotourism are some industries the Eastern Cape should be driving. However, the province has not made admirable progress in these areas. Even if the province did some promotion of tourism, with these long-running problems, the businesses would struggle to attract more clients into the province for a sustainable period.
Yes, we have a great province that can offer so much and, in the process, create jobs.
The Premier of the Province, Oscar Mabuyane, typically gives promising speeches that diagnose the underlying problems. But the delivery remains disappointing.
For example, in agriculture, the province still has sharp dualism. The former Ciskei regions of the province, with dominant commercial agriculture, are the engine of the provincial agricultural fortunes. Meanwhile, the former Transkei region remains at the periphery of progress.
The challenges of land governance, inadequate infrastructure (roads, water, silos, etc.), and absence of organized agriculture for training are among the challenges this region faces. As a result, there are tracts of underutilized land in regions with favourable rainfall. The province’s leadership should pull all the stops to ensure we realize agricultural growth in the province.
Progress in provincial agriculture would be an engine for addressing high unemployment and poverty. These would also be highly technical jobs in the value chain.
The other industries that could thrive as a consequence are the tourism and agritourism industry.
The Eastern Cape has the potential. However, its leadership must do its part seriously to restart the province. Once we see their efforts, the private business will follow up and invest. We can’t keep having a rural province with a “potential” never achieved while people suffer.
While I have placed the burden on the Premier’s hands, the people of the Eastern Cape must define their destiny. Pockets of fertile lands remain fallow. People seem to have lost hope in farming for various reasons, which I have discussed above. The government has also done little to build confidence and provide the necessary infrastructure and conducive operating environment to return intellectual and physical capital to the province.
Provided agriculture could be revitalized, and supportive infrastructure, agriculture and agribusiness could give far more economic opportunities than we see in some urban regions.
And yes, I know other provinces face these challenges. But my point here is about the Eastern Cape.
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