By Mike Loewe Grahamstown Correspondent
THE granting of R4,07-million to the Makana Goat Farmers‘ Project by the European Union (EU) through the East Cape government‘s Thina Sinako support programme has been hailed by the Makana municipality.
At a press briefing, acting Makana mayor Thandeka Veliti said the amount was the biggest grant to a single pilot project in the province and was the Makana municipality‘s local economic development “flagship”.
The council had spent R63 000 on a business plan and the provincial economic development and environmental affairs department had spent R500 000 on infrastructure.
The EU money would be spent on training 49 farmers, building sheds on 10 farms in the Makana area, and buying Sannan goats.
The project is expected to bring jobs and security to about 100 people made up of 10 families.
A further funding application for R3,7-million, once granted, will see the Bokwe Dairy Co-operative and Makana Goat Village, involving a tourism and conference centre and goat-product factory, being built a few hundred metres away from the furthermost point of the Grahamstown townships at a point where the Fort Beaufort road joins the N2.
The 10 farms for the project have been supplied by the government and were bought through the land restitution process.
While cheese and yoghurt products are expected to be the main source of income, Veliti said goats were also extensively used to supply meat for traditional ceremonies such as after initiates returned home, and for funerals.
Terry Myburg, chief executive of the Sombulula Management Services company, which will manage the project, said it was wonderful that the funding had finally come through for the project, which has been three years in the planning.
She believed 200 new jobs could be created.
Nine of the farms were about 300 hectares each, with the goat village hosting the “nuclear herd” and factory taking up 50ha.
Sombulula manager Qondile Bill and farm manager Cecil Nduna said a number of checks and balances had been put in place to ensure commercial profitability. This included checks by EU consultants and the use of two accounting firms.