An unqualified audit report by the Auditor-General was evidence of the fact that the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) had reached both internal stability and long-term sustainability.
This was the word from ECDC chairperson Professor Wiseman Nkuhlu on the occasion of the tabling of the organisation's Annual Report and Annual Review in East London on Tuesday 13 November.
“This ongoing process of refocusing and strengthening our organisation will act as a catalyst in re-establishing ECDC as a key engine of economic growth in the Eastern Cape,” said Nkuhlu.
At a media briefing preceding a gala dinner, both Nkuhlu and ECDC chief executive Mxolisi Matshamba stressed that the past 12 months had been marked by significant development both for the Eastern Cape as a whole and for its official development arm, the ECDC.
The Report and Review have been submitted to the provincial government and will be tabled in Parliament within days.
“The ECDC is on a firm footing to strengthen and develop our core business focus and, in doing so, reclaim our leadership position around economic development,” said Matshamba, adding that “while an internal restructuring process has presented the corporation with significant challenges over the past financial year, it has presented us with a huge opportunity to realign the organisation in terms of the province's developmental objectives and priorities”.
Matshamba said the restructuring process had also afforded the ECDC the opportunity of refocusing its own internal mandate of contributing to the systematic dismantling of poverty, unemployment, inequality and underdevelopment in the Eastern Cape.
Key achievements for 2006/07 included:
- The ongoing development of a R1.3-billion particle board plant at Ugie in the northern region of the province. A public-private investment partnership, this venture will result in around 3 000 direct new job opportunities.
- An innovative eco-tourism and empowerment project, Kuzuko Game Reserve's 14 500-hectare “big 5” safari park which has been incorporated into the Addo Elephant Park .
- The revitalisation of storage and milling capacity in the province.
- Development of the NMB Technology Hub. A division of the Eastern Cape IT Initiative (ECITI), this is a multi-faceted programme focused on providing SMMEs in the ICT and related industries.
- The development and implementation of a groundbreaking skills development initiative, the Integrated Emerging Contractor Development Model (IECDM); and
- Several international trade missions which boosted the provincial economy by at least R5 million in direct orders, with investments in the pipeline.
Nkuhlu said of the unqualified audit report that “this is just the beginning. We will build on this to create and sustain public confidence in the ECDC, that it is a professionally run body which can be relied upon and trusted. This will go a long way in making the Eastern Cape attractive to potential investors”.