03 Mar 2024

Selebi Phikwe Citrus project is a model of SPEDU’s commitment to promote investment in Selebi Phikwe and the greater SPEDU region.

Established by government to coordinate diversification of the regional economy beyond the mining operations, SPEDU has been instrumental in facilitating the citrus project and ensuring that the project was delivered to its maximum against all odds.

“Our journey with Selebi Phikwe Citrus started in 2018 after receiving investors from South Africa, who were keen on investing in our region by producing citrus fruits on a large scale,” said SPEDU acting director - strategic projects,  Mr Maiba Samunzala in an interview.

Mr Samunzala said facilitating a project of such a magnitude came as a big shock that challenged the company to get off the comfort zone and go an extra mile to deliver on its mandate.

“Delivering a project of this magnitude was not a walk in the park for the company as it involved a lot of things including adequate water supply and a large chunk of land, which at the time were not available.

We scouted around to look for the most suitable place to set up this project.

We went to Talana Farms and the Thuli Block area, but we could not find adequate land to accommodate this project,” he said.

After moving around, pondering their next move, it suddenly dawned on the company that Mmadinare Multipurpose Cooperative Society had a large chunk of land that had been idle for 18 years.

The investor was taken on an inspection tour of the 1 700-hectare Mannaesi Farm and after satisfying himself with the proposed land for the project, he gave the company a green light to start negotiations with Mmadinare cooperative society.

“We approached Mmadinare cooperative to deliver the good news.

Since the land had been lying idle for 18 years, the cooperative did not hesitate to grab this opportunity to enter into agreement with the investor to lease out 1 500 hectares of their land, an exercise that went smoothly due to the dedication and the zeal displayed by the SPEDU team and other stakeholders,” he said.

He explained that Mmadinare Cooperative Society benefitted a great deal from the citurs project as it generated income through rental and also gave them the opportunity to purchase 10 per cent shares from the project.

“We are currently helping the cooperative to source funds from local financiers to purchase the 10 per cent stake,” he added.

He said in addition, the cooperative had been given the leverage to create other spin offs such as juice production and transportation, among the few opportunities.

He added that after securing the land, the team was faced with another mammoth task of finding adequate water supply of around 48 million cubic metres to water more than 800 000 trees.

He said SPEDU approached Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) to assist.

“Through fruitful deliberations and thorough assessment, WUC came to the conclusion that Letsibogo Dam with a capacity of 100 million cubic metres had the potential to be used for irrigation of the citrus farm,” he said.

He added that since raw water supply was pricey and likely to hurt the investor’s pockets, SPEDU engaged with the Ministry of Lands and Water Affairs and WUC to reduce the water tariffs from P7 to P1.61, resulting in the construction of a 12-kilometre pipeline from the dam to the project site.

He further indicated that just when the project was about to take off, COVID-19 emerged and forced government to restrict movement, which made it impossible for the concerned parties to meet.

However, he said SPEDU fought tooth and nail to reach out to the investor through online platforms so that the project could be implemented irrespective of the circumstances that prevailed at the time, leading to the official ground-breaking by President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi in December 2020.

“This is the biggest project in the SPEDU region and we are proud to have delivered it successfully.

We are happy because it is going to make a positive impact in our local communities and also contribute to the economic growth of our country.

We also appreciate the efforts by government departments and parastatals in removing any impediments that affected the delivery of the project,” Mr Samunzala said. Ends