Eastern Cape premier, Oscar Mabuyane, says investments that continue to flow into the economy of the province will end the brain drain it is currently grappling with, as there will be no need for citizens of the province to move to elsewhere for employment.
Mabuyane made the remarks during the third instalment of the Eastern Cape Investment Conference, held at the East London International Convention Centre last week, September 29.
During his keynote address at the conference, Mabuyane announced that R127 billion from 18 companies will be made in various sectors of the provincial economy.
He further said that R22.1 billion of the total R127 billion were investments that were announced for the first time at last week’s conference.
“Of the R127 billion, R22.1 billion are investments that will be announced for the first time at this conference, while R105 billion was announced at the South African Investment Conference in April 2023. We thank all 18 investors for being part of this monumental chapter in our province,” added Mabuyane.
He said that the new investment commitments would also help address youth unemployment, which remains stubbornly high in the Eastern Cape.
“The contribution of the 18 new investors to economic growth and job creation will be felt by young and old, who are yearning for job opportunities in our province.”
“We commit to ensure that the new investors enjoy a profitable stay in our province through after-care support,” said Mabuyane.
He said that the provincial government would be focusing their efforts on unlocking the potential of other sectors of the provincial economy that were not contributing to their full potential to the provincial gross domestic product.
These, according to Mabuyane, include agriculture, ocean economy, tourism, energy and construction.
