The Cacadu district stretches over an area of approximately 60 square kilometres which covers the rural western areas in the province. The district is the largest of the six districts in the province and is made up of ten local municipalities, namely; Camdeboo, Blue Crane Route, Ikhwezi, Makana, Ndlambe, Sunday’s River Valley, Baviaans, Kouga, Kou-Kamma and Aberdeen Plains which is the district management area. The district has an estimated population of 364 000 making it the second smallest population in the province.
DISTRICT ECONOMY
Cacadu ranks as the third largest economy of the province with agriculture being the dominant sector in the district accounting for 28 per cent (2000) of Cacadu’s district domestic product per region (GDPR) and employing over 31 000 people. Agricultural activities span from live stock farming, crops, forestry and fishing.
Manufacturing and construction are secondary sectors in the district, together contributing a total of 13 per cent towards the GDPR in 2002. Manufacturing centres on agro-processing such as food and dairy processing, furniture production, wool and mohair as well as crafts.
Tourism is a booming sector in the district. Tourism attractions include the serene Tsitsikamma and beautiful Baviaans which lie on the extreme west of the district close to the Western Cape. The Addo Elephant Park recently saw expansion from 148 000 hectares to 360 000 hectares of land which will further increase tourism in the district. The coastal resorts of Jeffrey’s Bay and Port Alfred are other tourism centres that draw tourists from all over the country and abroad. Other tourist attractions include Graaf-Reinet which is renowned for its history and architecture, and the Karoo which is slowly emerging as a farm tourism attraction.
Cacadu has the potential to leverage of ASGISA initiatives in agriculture, wood, pulp and paper manufacturing, as well as tourism. These sectors have a strong existence in the district that will in turn raise the levels of growth and investment in the district, and accordingly to the province.
The Eastern Cape Cotton Project owned by Da Gama Textiles and facilitated by the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC), the Department of Agriculture and Cotton SA has strong presence in the Cacadu district. Somerset East (in the Blue Crane route) and Addo (district) are locations of cotton plantations which contributed to the 300 hectare of cotton harvested for the project in March 2006.
GROWTH SECTORS IN CACADU
Agriculture, manufacturing and construction industries are dominant contributors towards the district’s and province’s GDP. With these strong sectors playing an active role in the district’s economy, Cacadu is recognized as the third largest economy in the province with a (9 per cent contribution towards the provincial value added)?
Agriculture is the district’s primary sector followed by secondary sectors manufacturing and construction. Agriculture grew by 1.5 per cent between 1996 and 2005, and the secondary sector grew by 3.1 per cent in the same period.
For an indepth look at the investment opportunities in Cacadu such as agriculture (hotlink), manufacturing, construction (hotlink), tourism (hotlink) and SMME development, click here.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Cacadu has six accessible airports located in Graaff-Reinett (Cambedoo), Aberdeen (Aberdeen Plains), Willowmore (Baviaans), Somerset East (Blue Crane), Grahamstown (Makana) and Port Alfred (Ndlambe). These airports are within reasonable distances to the main airport in the province in Nelson Mandela Metro which is capable of handling cargo for exports.
The harbour is also located in Nelson Mandela Metro and has a multi cargo port. Agriculture and fishing benefit from it for exporting produce.
Road transport is the favourable mode of transportation in the Cacadu district. However, infrastructural development is a key priority of the provincial government and is supported by the national government. This will see the CDM take an active role in developing and maintaining roads and railways to allow efficient transportation within local municipalities, provinces, country and neighbouring states.
SUPPORT STRUCTURES
A sound judicial system exists in the district. The protection of property and contractual rights, counteraction towards fraud and corruption, and the libelarisation of markets are key principles that guide the judiciary in Cacadu.
Local municipality
Local municipalities in each district provide necessary support to the community, business, potential and existing investors and SMMEs. District municipalities are encouraged to develop the capacity of its financial resources, infrastructure, personnel, and to provide appropriate skills required in each local municipality allowing each locale to sustain and increase entrepreneurship, foster competition in the markets and thus increase the GDPR.
Development agency
The CDM has identified the need for a Cacadu District Municipality’s development agency, instigated by a board, comprising institutions and individuals including local commercial farmers, organised agriculture, local municipal authorities and local agro-industry role players.
A key priority for the proposed development agency is to identify opportunities in using unskilled people in service provision initiatives.
This includes providing life and social skills that will foster behavioral change of individuals to become pro-active in developing, maintaining, and improving positive skills that enhance social interaction and appearance.
Life skills will be aligned to the social, emotional and educational needs of individuals, as well as being gender-sensitive and promoting health, safety and protection.
Social skills will also be integrated into the capacity building exercise and these will include, critical thinking, decision-making, interpersonal communication, assertiveness and self concept, negotiating and influencing, conflict resolution, strategic problem solving, leadership, planning, self-management and monitoring and team building.
Technical skills have also been identified as necessary so as to meet the demand for technically trained manpower. These will be aligned to the specific services provided by the agency and in accordance to primary objectives of proposed projects.
Since the development agency has to sustain itself, a need to capacitate individuals with entrepreneurial and business skills in necessary.
A range of services has been identified as appropriate for the development agency. These include contact work for entrepreneurs, construction and maintenance of rural roads, erosion control, jackal hunting, fencing, gardening services, shearing (wool and/or mohair), pruning of fruit trees, and water works. |
