Africa-Press – Eswatini. Over 3 000 people will be employed as Jonsson Workwear sets up shop at Jabulani area, a few kilometres outside Nhlangano town.
This was disclosed by Minister of Commerce Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo yesterday during the Jonsson Workwear factory site handover ceremony yesterday at Magidaneni Farm under Maseyisini Inkhundla.
The minister said the investment came at a time when the country was in dire need of creating jobs and also increase productivity. He said the construction of a factory shell at Nhlangano would improve the livelihood of Emaswati and also create other business opportunities.
Khumalo said establishing factories in other towns besides the industrial hub of the country, Matsapha, was one way of operationalising the new decentralised development model. He said the essence of this model was to address social and economic development challenges through synchronising planning across all government spheres.
He said in practical terms, local government was planning to build factory shells and provide services that would realise improved livelihoods across the country.
“An increased demand on business opportunities in the retail sector, agricultural sectors, transport sector and housing is also expected to be the spin-offs of this project,” he said.
The minister said the tasks at hand required different radical approaches and they could no longer carry out programmes in the usual manner.
Khumalo explained that the decentralisation of firms and other government services to the other towns outside of the Mbabane and Manzini corridor informed and improved the whole country’s business ecosystem.
“We are happy to announce that this project has been allocated funds in this financial year and according to the programme it is envisaged that the project will hire over 200 people during construction and also more than 3 000 people during its full scale operation,” explained Khumalo.
Factory shell
He mentioned that the contractor shall complete the factory shell in 12 months. Khumalo said the ministry was convinced that this initiative would significantly decrease the migration of the youth from Nhlangano to the Manzini or Matsapha corridor and bring an improved urban environment to the area.
“The main contractor for this project is Construction Associates who won the tender at a tendered amount of E185 810 580. The scope of works entails the construction of a 20 000 square metres factory shell, canteen and locker rooms. The auxiliary buildings and the factory shell will add up to 23 150 square metres,” Khumalo said.
The minister further urged MSMEs to supply some goods and services that may be required by the main contractor.
“Ladies and gentleman together let’s move Eswatini forward in one accord,” he said.
The minister thanked Swaziland Consulting Engineers the technical team that had designed drawings, Quantec for the quantities, the central agencies for facilitating the investment and EIPA.
“Further appreciation to the parliamentarians from both houses for appropriating these funds to the factory shell construction programme and the investor himself, Nick Jonsson for considering Eswatini as the investment destination of choice,” he said.
Khumalo said government was committed to working together with the Nhlangano citizens and urged the town to embrace the factory shell as their own and provide protection for it.
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