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Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
BEITBRIDGE Municipality has started engaging a number of potential investors to exploit the economic opportunities in the town which include infrastructure development.

Town clerk Mr Loud Ramakgapola said the town has investment opportunities in infrastructure development, beef and related products, manufacturing, livestock production, retail, warehousing, packaging, accommodation, transport, and logistics among others that fall which under the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) facility.

He said already they were planning major projects to transform the town’s economic growth in five years.

Mr Ramakgapola said so far, two corporates had expressed interest in investing in the town under the SEZ facility.

“We will disclose the names of the two investors at a later stage. For now, we are still engaging,” he said.

“One of the organisations wants to set up a medical drugs processing and distribution facility, while the other intends to establish a packaging and distribution point for exports and imports going through Beitbridge Border Post.”

He said the municipality had since availed 248 hectares of land to house SEZ projects, which include heavy and light industries.

Mr Ramakgapola said among other things they had resolved to expeditiously process business proposals from investors to reduce the red tape that frustrates economic growth.

He said they expected to have a number of companies setting shop in the town in the next five years under the SEZ facility.

“We have a lot of opportunities in Beitbridge awaiting exploitation and we are better positioned as a town, in terms of facilitating regional and international trade,” he said.

Mr Ramakgapola said they had also started engaging corporates and other business entities who were allocated prime land in the Central Business District (CBD) and were yet to start developing them.

He said at least 40 beneficiaries have been holding on to the business stands for between five and 10 years.

The local authority, he said, had since notified those with underutilised land on imminent repossession and re-allocation to those willing to walk with them on the road to transformation.

“We have a similar problem in the housing area, where 57 beneficiaries who got allocated residential stands around 2007 are yet to develop them.

“Efforts to locate these people have yielded nothing and we are seriously considering re-allocating them if these people fail to provide clarity on development plans within 30 days starting from March 8,” said Mr Ramakgapola.

He said in some suburbs, the undeveloped stands were being turned into illegal dumpsites. — @tupeyo