New Act aimed at empowering community trade

The Gauteng government has invited entrepreneurs to come forward with commercial proposals for the provincial cannabis industrialization programme. It published the invitation in the Government Gazette on 29 April 2022, the same day that Premier David Makhura ratified the Township Economic Development Act (TEDA), aimed at empowering townships and informal settlements.

Agriculture MEC Parks Tau, who is in charge of the province’s cannabis strategy says TEDA’s benefits include:

• cutting red tape by introducing model standard bylaws,

• providing targeted tax incentives to unlock capital formation and job-creating investments, and

• providing targeted funding and targeted procurement whereby 40% of government procurement from the Gauteng provincial government comes from companies in the TEZs.

Tau: Vaal River Smart City will be SA’s first real cannabis hub

Writing in the Sunday Times on 1 May 2022, Tau said TEDA was “ a welcome legislation to unleash the potential of the township cannabis and hemp sectors that will be fully licensed in the full hemp value chain and acting as gateways for the industry. This will make Gauteng a “green gold” mecca, as announced by Makhura, with the establishment in the Vaal River Smart City area of the country’s first cannabis hub focusing on cultivation of cannabis primarily for medical use and application”.

Tau said the implementation of TEDA would be done in conjunction with the private sector and community organizations. “TEDA is a whole-of-society call to action to build better townships and informal settlements reeling from the negative effects of the Covid-19 health and economic pandemic, the July 2021 civil unrest and the complex spillovers from the Russia-Ukraine war” he wrote.

“Moreover, this requires the introduction of a solidarity economy through, for instance, a service delivery co-production for municipalities where enterprises and organisations such as stokvels and mutual benefit societies provide their own communities with goods, services and knowledge that meets the local community’s needs”.

Gauteng wants to form partnerships with private sector

The Gauteng Department of Economic Development and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development are championing cannabis reform as part of the province’s goal to create jobs and boost the economy by processing hemp and cannabis at an industrial scale.

Companies interested in partnering with the provincial government must take into consideration in their application that their proposals must include:

• details of funding mechanisms,

• cannabis-driven carbon reduction,

• rehabilitation of compromised mining land,

• and the inclusion of communities as partners.

In return Gauteng says it will provide support for private sector partners by:

• offering leases on state owned or controlled land;

• providing rentals at special economic zones, industrial parks

• subsidies at private facilities;

• financing partnerships,

• funding input and administrative costs

• facilitating collaborations with other state organs, aimed at removing barriers on projects.

Antony Moloto is the man riding point on the project. His contact details are below:

Email enquiries: Anthony.Moloto@gauteng.gov.za

Queries: Mr Anthony Moloto

Phone: 011 240 2684/ 083 408 5493

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Upload a completed form here with CV’s, BBBEE certificate /affidavit, tax clearance certificate and proof of CIPC registration as well as a proposal. Application inclusive of attached documents must be no longer than 20 pages. Please complete the checklist at the end of the application form.