The Gauteng Department of Economic Development (GDED), in collaboration with the Growth
and Development Agency (GGDA), invites members of the media to a breakfast and panel
discussion following the Gauteng Economic Development MEC of Tasneem Motara’s trade
mission to the United States at the end of August 2023.
The trade mission’s objective was to meet with businesses to discuss and explore
opportunities the Gauteng Province holds across various priority sectors. One of them is the
renewable energy sector, which also includes opportunities in the solar, microgrid, hydrogen,
wind, energy storage, and waste-to-energy sub-sectors.
The delegation included the US Consul General in South Africa Vincent Spera; the Economic
Planning Deputy Director General Bulumko Nelana and Vaal Special Economic Zone CEO of
Xola Sithole. It visited several government agencies and companies (i.e. Ford Motor
Company, Citi Bank, Intel, Amazon Web Services Skills Centre and SGH2 Energy), some of
which have already pledged interest to invest in Gauteng and others that were lobbied to
consider the province as an investment destination.
MEC Motara also hosted several business roundtables on Gauteng’s economic development
priorities and opportunities, including the Vaal Special Economic Zone (SEZ), with the support
of the Corporate Council for Africa, Power Africa and Prosper Africa.
The Vaal Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is a venture led by the Gauteng Growth and
Development Agency (GGDA) under the auspices of the Gauteng Provincial Government’s
Department of Economic Development. It stands as a dynamic initiative aimed at reigniting
the birthplace of industrialisation in South Africa. Anchored by six strategic pillars, the Vaal
SEZ propels a green energy-driven industrial transformation, steers investments into crucial
food, agriculture, and agro-industrial domains, harnesses the potential of gateway logistics,
and harnesses the captivating prospect of the blue economy and the tourism sector along the
Vaal River.
DETAILS OF THE BREAKFAST ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Date: Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Venue: InvestSA Gauteng, 1 Sandton Drive
Time: 09:00-11:00
INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES:
- GDED MEC for Economic Development: Ms Tasneem Motara
- US Consul General in South Africa: Mr Vincent Spera
- GGDA Acting Group CEO: Mr Saki Zamxaka
- Vaal SEZ CEO: Mr Xola Sithole
RSVP: Lerato Sewpersad (leratos@ggda.co.za / 072 909 4463)
MEDIA QUERIES
- Sabelo Ndlangisa (sabelo.ndlangisa@gauteng.gov.za / 066 486 0444) for GDED & US Consulate
- Lerato Sewpersad for GGDA & Vaal SEZ