Lephalale Development Forum makes great strides

It is for this reason that the Lephalale
Development Forum (LDF) was established in July 2008, bringing various public and private stakeholders such as Eskom, Exxaro and the Lephalale Municipality together as partners in growth.
Initially the aim was to review the impact of the development of the Medupi power station and the Grootegeluk Mine expansion (GMEP) on the town, as economic growth placed major strain on the existing rural infrastructure. Today, with a lot of new infrastructure in place, the LDF identifies and facilitates projects which greatly benefit the Lephalale community.
“The LDF was established as a neutral stakeholder forum to work towards an integrated development drive within the Lephalale municipal area, contributed to by all of the stakeholders. We established five wor-king groups to address issues such as local economic development, infrastructure and housing needs, social needs and challenges, labour- and skills development requirements, as well as environmental sustainability challenges,” says LDF coordinator, Jacques
Snyman.
Under the banner of Local Economic Development, Anglo Zimele Fund, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Africa (Pty) Ltd, Shanduka Black Umbrellas, the Medupi Leadership Initiative and Exxaro have expanded the original Hitachi Hub to include Shanduka Black Umbrellas (SBU) and Anglo Zimele in order to offer a broader range of funding and incubator services, including access to office facilities and coaching for up to three years, to further the development and sustainability of SMMEs in the area. The Lephalale Enterprise Development Centre was launched in April and more than 20 businesses are now at various stages in the incubation process.
“Growing businesses in Lephalale is a major focus for the forum and instead of each company establishing its own hub, these role players were brought together to share their expertise and knowledge with business ow-ners. Our aim is to collaborate with partners in the private sector, government and civil society to address low levels of entrepreneurship and high failure rates of emerging businesses. The original Hitachi Hub managed to create more than 280 jobs over the last two years through their stimulation of growth in the SMME sector,” Snyman adds.
In the agricultural sector the LDF has brought together Exxaro, Eskom, the Transformation Enablement Trust, various communities and agricultural experts to establish self-feeding schemes as well as income generating projects. “Overall, these projects have been a major success and currently supply produce to local supermarkets.
A total of three projects (Mokuruanyane community, Amokelani Cooperative, Morongwa community trust) have been established by the various stakeholders involved,and a fourth site has already been identified to further expand these projects. These projects are successful because of the sustained effort and contribution by all the stakeholders.”
Eleven additional projects have also been initiated by the department of Agriculture and are all functioning and producing a wide range of vegetables. “These projects have become a major integrated team effort where stakeholders work together to ensure sustainability and growth of the projects. It has also brought a mind shift for the local community in terms of working towards a gainful future. By stakeholders working together, the impact of these projects is significantly increased.”
“Identifying needs in communities and driving skills development that starts at school level has also been at the heart of the effort of the LDF,” says Snyman. “Exxaro and Eskom are both working with the Department of Education to improve, repair and maintain infrastructure at schools in the Lephalale area in an integrated manner. Both companies have each adopted a number of primary and secondary schools in the area, which they are supporting wholeheartedly. Apart from infrastructure, student needs, teacher needs, and equipment needs among others, are also supported. The adoption of a school really means that the stakeholders support every aspect that is needed to ensure the school is a well-functioning school with improving results. Lephalale will need engineers, technicians and a range of other skilled and semi-skilled workers to help it grow into the energy hub and the first new post-apartheid democratic city of South Africa. We need to focus on skills development and it starts with the very young,” says Snyman. Schools and learners have also benefited from Saturday schools with extra help in subjects such as Maths, Science and English.  
The LDF will continue to identify community needs and bring stakeholders together to address these needs to the betterment of all our people. “We are excited by what has been achieved through private and public stakeholders working together in a collective effort toward sustainable growth, and they are all commended and thanked for the huge contribution made to the greater Lephalale area,” says Snyman.