A REGIONAL OVERVIEW OF LIMPOPO PROVINCE

Shovels and cranes are being put to good use in Limpopo as new projects in mining, agriculture and tourism are matched by infrastructure investments by regional and national government in roads and a major new hospital.

By John Young

Ground was broken all over Limpopo in 2023 as new projects were launched. In Polokwane the first shovels of earth were moved towards the construction of the Limpopo Central Hospital.

National Treasury approved plans for the 488-bed hospital, which will become one of South Africa’s five academic hospitals, in 2022.

In the Sekhukhune District, contractors were handed their instructions at GaMalekane, Steelpoort, where a long-awaited multi-lane steel bridge will replace the old single-lane bridge. In the north of the province, a number of tourism projects have been launched in the last 18 months, and several more are in the pipeline.

Several mining companies are breaking new ground, although in the case of De Beers at its Venetia Mine in the province’s far north, it is not so much new ground as old ground that is being mined in a different way. What used to be a surface mine is in the process of being transformed into an underground mine, a long and expensive project that began in 2012 and is now about 70% complete. A significant landmark was achieved in 2023 with the beginning of production at the facility that employs 4 300 people and is expected to produce four-million carats of diamonds annually.

The bridge project at Steelpoort nicely illustrates the spirit of public-private partnership. No fewer than eight mining companies in the Eastern-Limb Cluster in the Fetakgomo-Tubatse Local Municipality have contributed to the construction of the new road bridge at the intersection of the D2219 and R555: Anglo American Platinum, Glencore Alloys, Booysendal (Northam Platinum), Two Rivers Platinum, Samanchor Chrome, Dwars River Chrome, Rhakhoma Mining and Tjate Platinum. Roads Agency Limpopo (RAL) is managing the project, for which R127-million has been budgeted.

A total of 12 partnerships between the Limpopo Provincial Government and various mining houses have a value of R1.1-billion.

A public-private planning exercise, known as Impact Catalyst, is working on focus areas which include biofuels and intends to prepare the province to deal with the emergence of new sectors such as renewable energy. The Provincial Government is working with Impact Catalyst in several fields, including a coordination of enterprise development programme strategies.

In the Lephalale region, Exxaro is in partnership with government to operate a satellite office in support of small business. Another partnership related to supplier development programmes is in place with Black Umbrellas.

Among the other investments being made in the Limpopo mining sector is the expansion project at Northam Platinum’s Metallurgical Complex which has linked increased volumes with better efficiencies and a cleaner process from an environmental point of view. Less water and power are used by the newly installed machines and a high-tech two-stage chilling system has been introduced to control the reaction of leaching operations.

One the province’s biggest companies is using its recently constructed packing facilities to prepare tomatoes and avocados for export. The fact that ZZ2 is venturing into the avocado market is big news for the agricultural sector.

A series of renovations and upgrades have taken place at Polokwane International Airport (PIA) which have placed the airport in a better condition to position itself as a cargo hub for the province and the region. Noting that the facility’s relative proximity to Johannesburg makes it less of a tourist destination as many of Limpopo’s destinations are within driving distance of the country’s biggest metro, PIA is investigating how it can leverage its central location to attract more cargo for further distribution throughout Limpopo and SADC.

An airport in the eastern part of Limpopo that does receive many tourists is one of the gateways to the Kruger National Park, Hoedspruit Airport. Provincial authorities are looking at ways that this airport can play an ever bigger role in accepting visitors than it already does with its connections to Botswana, Mozamibique and Zimbabwe.

Three major national parks – Kruger National Park, Mapungubwe in the north and Marakele in the Waterberg – are run by South African National Parks (SANParks) and attract large numbers of tourists every year. The province’s private game reserves and lodges enjoy a reputation for luxury and excellence of service that attracts tens of thousands of international visitors. The combined land area of Limpopo’s national, provincial and private game and nature reserves is 3.6-million hectares.

The provincial government has committed to enhancing the value of Limpopo’s two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Makapans Valley and Mapungubwe, where the superbly crafted little golden rhinoceros, a relic from medieval times, was found in 1932. This is also a priority programme in the National Tourism Sector Strategy. The Waterberg Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO protected site.

Some Limpopo nature reserves are to be commercialised using private-public partnerships. Among the first reserves to be part of the programme are Masebe, Rust de Winter and Lekgalameetse. The Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) is responsible for 53 provincial nature reserves.

Limpopo is doing its best to attract new investors to the province. A number of targeted conferences have been held in several key sectors and the teams leading the push to establish Special Economic Zones in Limpopo have been working hard to promote the Musina-Makhado SEZ and the Fetakgomo-Tubatse SEZ.

Each of the SEZs has its own unique attributes but both of them seek to support the beneficiation of minerals that are plentiful in the region, encourage the growth of green energy hubs and green manufacturing, take advantage of their strategic location to welcome logistics companies and to use the SEZs as a means of uplifting local communities through training, jobs and contracts to supply goods and services to the SEZs themselves, and to companies that set up operations in the SEZs.

Dignitaries were on hand to turn the first sod when African Century Group and the Premier Hotel Group started work on a four-star, 120-room hotel in Thohoyandou in the Vhembe District Municipality.

Limpopo’s assets include the largest diamond mine in South Africa (De Beers Venetia Mine), the biggest copper mine in South Africa (Palabora Mining Company), the biggest open-pit platinum mine in the country (Anglo America’s Mogalakwena) and the biggest vermiculite mine in the world. The province has 41% of South Africa’s PGMs, 90% of South Africa’s red-granite resources and approximately 50% of the country’s coal reserves. Antimony, a highly strategic mineral found in large quantities in China, is another of Limpopo’s major assets. In 2019, the mining sector in Limpopo employed 48 782 workers and paid out R39.7-billion in wages and salaries. The provincial government records that the province will be receiving a total investment from mining of R36.3billion in the period to 2025.

Geography

Limpopo covers about 10% of South Africa’s land mass and is home to about 10% of the country’s population. The 2011 census recorded 5.4-million residents. The main languages of the people of Limpopo are Sesotho, Xitsonga and Tshivenda but English is widely used in business and government.

The Limpopo Province’s 125 754km² covers a remarkably diverse geographical and cultural landscape that is also rich in minerals and agricultural products.

The N1 highway is a key reason for the province’s important role in the nation’s logistics sector. It passes through Limpopo from the south to the border town of Musina and on to Zimbabwe and its neighbours in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The busy N11 highway links the province to Botswana to the west and Mpumalanga Province to the east.

Most of South Africa’s logistics operators have a presence in the provincial capital city of Polokwane and logistics hubs have been established in that city and in Musina.

The province has a sophisticated rail network which Transnet Freight Rail aims to further expand, primarily to haul the province’s vast reserves of coal away to the coast at Richards Bay.

The province is home to two universities, the University of Venda and the University of Limpopo, and seven Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. The Turfloop Graduate School of Business is in Polokwane.

The centrally situated city of Polokwane is the capital of Limpopo province. Located on the Great North Road and almost equidistant from the highdensity population of greater Johannesburg and the neighbouring countries of Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, Polokwane’s upgraded international airport plays an increasingly important regional role. ■

Conservation and community

Balancing the needs of local communities with utilising resources for economic growth is a tough challenge. When the need to preserve and protect the natural environment is added to the mix, the task is harder still. But solutions must be found.

By John Young

Africa’s first all-female team of mounted rangers rode out for the first time as a group in February 2023.

Alice Maphafu, Angelina Nkgweng and Penny Maboyane and Mounted Head Ranger Elelwani Mulaodzi are the guardians of wildlife in the Manketti Game Reserve, the conservancy space that surrounds Exxaro’s Grootegeluk Mine in Lephalale in the Waterberg District.

The horseback quartet represent a neat solution to the challenges posed by the balancing act of mining, community interest and conservation. Training and employment has been offered in a field that actively protects the environment.

Further employment opportunities are created through the Manketti Lodge where visitors are accommodated. The reserve also derives income from game trading and hunting.

Within the 22 000ha Manketti Game Reserve, which acts as a mitigation of the impact of the nearby mining operations, there is an 800ha area from which large or dangerous game are excluded, giving guests a chance to hike, cycle or jog.

The reserve is named for the Manketti tree, which occurs nowhere else in South Africa. The area where these trees occur has recently been declared by Exxaro as a Protected Woodland and the trees are regularly monitored and research undertaken. Among the game species are sable antelope and tsessebe. The reserve has many cheetahs and more than 200 bird species have been spotted.

An Exxaro statement addresses the conundrum posed at the beginning of this article: “We believe that industry in combination with conservation is key for our country’s natural and environmental long-term sustainability.” The company referred to the third part of the equation in expressing its pride in appointing the rangers as part of efforts to “empower historically marginalised people in order to foster equitable and sustainable socio-economic prosperity”.

Volunteer rangers

In the Mopani and Vhembe districts, 50 young volunteers have been trained as Honorary Rangers in a step to enhance skills among young people and to fight against environmental crimes.

This initiative is part of the drive by the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) to integrate the Green Economy more fully into the lives of communities around the province.

Biodiversity Economic Nodes have been identified and business plans are being developed for 10 areas which have shown potential. Feasibility studies are tackling the question of how a local community can best extract economic benefit from the communal areas over which they have control, and how this can be done in a way that brings both material benefit and serves to protect or enhance the environment. The plan is to connect these core conservation areas to all other conserved spaces, including public and private game reserves.

A Wildlife Transformation Policy has been presented to the legislature by LEDET. Key features of the policy include the aim of bringing communities into the mainstream conservation and wildlife economy and supporting eco-tourism as a sector.

The many game and nature reserves owned by the Provincial Government represent an opportunity to provide commercial opportunities to local communities, especially through the hospitality function.

At Nylsvlei Nature Reserve, 20 new tourist chalets have been built and various improvements have been made at Wolkberg Nature Reserve, Makutsi Camp in the Lekgalameetse Nature Reserve, Letaba Ranch Nature Reserve and Blouberg Nature Reserve.

Waste management

LEDET is also trying to get the province thinking green. A Greenest Municipality Competition covers waste management, water management, energy efficiency, conservation, tree planting, landscaping and beautification.

A joint programme with the Industr ial Symbiosis Programme and the National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC) aims to connect companies throwing stuff away with other companies that might be able to use that stuff. The NCPC is an implementing agency of the Department of Science and Innovation hosted by the CSIR.

If this circular approach is widely adopted, much less waste will go to landfill and small businesses will have new avenues and markets.

The South African Military Health Service (SAMHS) training centre at Lephalale has joined the recycling movement. PETCO recently supplied the base with a container to receive separated waste. With up to 250 recruits on site at any one time, tons of waste that currently goes to landfill will thus be diverted.

PETCO is a Producer Responsibility Organisation representing the South African plastic industry’s effort to self-regulate post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling. PETCO is involved in every aspect of the PET value chain – from resin producers through to converters, bottlers, brand owners, retailers and consumers. Bins and cages have also been placed at the base’s kitchen and accommodation quarters. Once filled, these are taken to the container, where participants in the Working on Fire programme, an initiative of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, sort and store the recyclables. PETCO has also run recycling workshops to ensure that new recruits understand the different types of recyclables and how to sort and separate them.

Moving to conserve

Sometimes even really big spaces are not big enough. You might think that 32 000ha is a large area but when it comes to elephants and their habitat, thinking big is the order of the day. The Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve in northern Limpopo is part of the De Beers Group Diamond Route and near to the underground mine that the company runs there.

The reserve is home to 400 species of birds and numerous flora and fauna but as the area could only properly cater to the movements and diets of 70 elephants, a new home was needed for 200 of the giants. In 2018, working in partnership with Peace Parks Foundation, De Beers embarked on one of the biggest translocations ever attempted.

The 1 700km journey to Zinave National Park in Mozambique presented many difficulties but the trip was worth it: with 400 000ha in their new home, there is lots of room for the elephants to roam.

The De Beers Diamond Route network covers 200 000 hectares on eight reserves in Southern Africa. For every hectare of land used for operations, six are set aside for conservation through the Diamond Route. A Live Cam has been installed at a waterhole at one of the reserves, which can be found on the De Beers website under Sustainability.

Since the Peace Parks F oundation and Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC) signed an agreement to rehabilitate the Zinave National

Park, ravaged as it was by the country’s civil war, more than 2 400 animals from 15 different species have been reintroduced.

In 2022, seven critically endangered black rhino were safely translocated from Manketti Game Reserve to the park. A partnership between Exxaro Resources, Peace Parks Foundation and ANAC will see more than 40 rhinos relocated over a three-year period. White rhinos had previously been reintroduced to the park.

These white rhinos are helping to restore Zinave’s grasslands as they graze, whereas black rhinos browse on very specific plants and process them uniquely, acting as a natural fertiliser and allowing the nutrients from vegetation to be cycled back into the earth efficiently.

This is a case of nature providing the solution to the difficult problem of soil health. Nature might yet provide the solution to the triple challenge of balancing resource development, conservation and community. ■