A planned factory shell at Mahwalala’s Zone 6 is expected to create between 250 and 300 jobs and stimulate industrial and commercial activity in the area.
The facility will occupy approximately two hectares, with an eventual operator expected to manufacture industrial goods once it becomes operational.
Mbabane West Member of Parliament (MP) Jane Mkhonta-Simelane, who is also Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, confirmed the development yesterday.
She was part of a stakeholder meeting on the proposed development attended by Mahwalala zone leaders and officials from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade, the Surveyor General’s Office, Microprojects, Mbabane Municipal Council and Mbabane West Inkhundla.
She said the project would bring much-needed economic activity and employment opportunities to the peri-urban area just outside Mbabane.
Work on the factory construction would begin soon.
“The target population for this development will be Mahwalala dwellers. There is a lot of unemployment in Mbabane and it is worse under the inkhundla.
“Many people left their rural residences to settle in the city in search of jobs, but they are now stuck. Some no longer have their rural homes; Mahwalala has become home,” explained Mkhonta-Simelane.
She said moving to the urban area had also deprived many residents of access to rural land where they could engage in subsistence activities such as chicken rearing, vegetable gardening and livestock farming.
The MP mentioned that many residents now lived in difficult conditions on the city’s outskirts, including in stick-and-mud structures, while struggling to meet municipal rates and other household expenses.
“They can’t afford it, including taking care of their families. Mahwalala has become overly populated,” she added.
Nevertheless, the participation of the various government departments and local residents is expected to support the planning and development processes needed to establish the factory shell.
Mkhonta-Simelane said she had been engaging the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade to secure a factory shell for Mbabane West, arguing that the inkhundla should receive similar economic infrastructure to other areas in the country.
“I have been knocking on the door of the Ministry of Commerce like everybody else asking for a factory shell. Mbabane West is no different from other tinkhundla in the country,” she said.
Mahwalala Zone 6 Chairperson Bheki Zwane welcomed the initiative, saying unemployment remained a major concern in the area and contributed to social problems, including crime.
“We anticipate that this factory shell project will give rise to other business ventures that will boost the economy here. We also need skills development for the youth and social welfare for the elderly,” said Zwane.
He estimated the zone’s population at about 6 000 people, many of whom are unemployed.
Beyond the anticipated direct jobs, Zwane hoped that the factory would attract additional businesses, support skills development and broaden economic opportunities for Mahwalala and surrounding communities.
