Mbashe Local Municipality, in partnership with the Mineworkers Development Agency (MDA), handed over 400 beehive pollination units to bee-keeping co-operatives under the local municipality.
The municipality said that the handover was part of the municipality’s ongoing annual support to the sector, which is aimed at providing the tools of the trade to recapitalise their businesses.
The handover ceremony took place at Idutywa Town Hall on April 18.
“Our aim is to develop co-operatives to ensure that they can reach commercial status. We do this by giving them tools of the trade to increase their production capacity, so that they can sell honey from the beehives, they can sustain themselves and they can get income from their co-operatives,” said MDA representative, Luthando Brukwe, adding that the MDA was planning to distribute a further 14 000 beehives in the next two years.
“We want to see co-operatives from the Eastern Cape successfully competing in honey production and agriculture in general,” Brukwe said.
Beneficiaries of the donation have thanked both the municipality and MDA for supporting them.
“We appreciate the beehive pollination units, which means growth for our businesses. The sky is the limit now for our businesses. My only wish now is for the municipality to offer capacity development initiatives, to ensure that everything we do in this sector is in line with industry standards,” said Mzolisi Matshabane, on behalf of the beneficiaries.
Mbhashe Local Municipality Local Economic Development portfolio head, Nomvuyiseki Mgedezi, said that the municipality appreciated that MDA also considered co-operatives under their municipality among those they supported this year.
“We are not oblivious to the fact that there are many co-operatives and SMMEs that desperately need this kind of support in other municipalities in the province, and we really appreciate the fact that MDA chose to support co-operatives under the Mbhashe Local Municipality as well this year,” Mgedezi said.
The MDA said beehives have also been donated to co-operatives under the OR Tambo District Municipality, Sarah Baartman and Ngqushwa Local Municipalities this year. According to Mbhashe Local Municipality, 32 women and 18 young people benefited from the support through the co-operatives that were identified.
