Addressing more than 5000 people at the launch of District Development Model, President Cyril Ramaphosa said…

Addressing more than 5000 people at the launch of District Development Model, President Cyril Ramaphosa said “We are going to be focusing on how do we assist our people when it comes to agriculture and we will be embarking on a number of initiatives. Here (OR Tambo), you have the most fertile land in the whole country and there is another industry, which we’ve been neglecting.

He also noted the potential for the establishment of the Cannabis industry in the area saying South Africa has been neglecting the Cannabis industry “which is now growing by leaps and bounds in other countries. In Lesotho, they are already utilizing this product that grows well in this area.”

President Ramaphosa said: “We want to make sure that there is investment in this industry, let’s make it grow. We are already late, other countries (like) Lesotho have gone far ahead of us and we say because you have such wonderful soil, these are products you can grow and make sure that they generate economic development.

In his State of the Province Address earlier this year, Premier Oscar Mabuyane said the Eastern Cape government would “consolidate the already existing efforts and research on the development of Cannabis value chains in a manner that ensures inclusion. We cannot be missing in action when our province is endowed with a crop that can be ploughed and processed to make medicinal products and create jobs for our people. As the 6th term Administration of the Democratic Government, we want to ensure that the production of Cannabis is characterized by deepened social facilitation with our traditional leaders, communities, current producers and business people.

Following the Premier’s pronouncement DRDAR MEC Nomakhosazana Meth convened a stakeholder engagement where a vast array of stakeholders converged to contribute ideas towards the policy on development of the Cannabis industry in the province.
President Ramaphosa said government wanted to revitalize the Magwa/Majola Tea Estates to “create over 1000 jobs.”