The Director-General of the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti), Mr Lionel October held a meeting with the Griqua Royal House led by King Adam Kok V at the dti Campus in Pretoria today.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss a possible partnership with the dti in projects aimed at developing the economy of the rural Northern Cape towns with the aim of creating employment for the communities. One of the projects discussed is the development of infrastructure that will facilitate the roll-out of the wireless connectivity in Griqua Town, Campbell and Douglas.
“We had a very productive meeting with the King and I am optimistic that this is the beginning of a relationship that will see our department contributing significantly in stimulating the economy of the rural Northern Cape towns identified by the King. As the dti, we were impressed by their project to roll-out Wi-Fi connectivity in the rural areas. We will be considering assisting them in setting up the infrastructure because they have really made a compelling economic development case for the project,” said October.
He added that the department would also look at assisting King Adam Kok V explore agro-processing opportunities in the three towns with the aim of creating job opportunities and growing the town’s economies in line with the objectives of the Industrial Policy Action Plan.
King Adam Kok V also expressed his contentment and gratitude for having had an opportunity to discuss issues related to the economic development of his people with representatives of a national government department.
“We had a fruitful meeting and I am optimistic that the good things that we discussed here will be implemented for the benefit of the communities in the Northern Cape rural towns. I am happy that Director-General October agreed to our meeting as nothing happens in these rural towns and now I am excited that we will be working together with the national government to change the lives of our people for the better,” said King Kok.
Source: Department of Trade and Industry