Gauteng has some dope plans for the future. The province is set to not only grow and process cannabis as part of a new development in the Vaal River area, but also on Jo’burg’s old mining land.Gauteng premier David Makhura has committed to building the first cannabis hub in the country as part of the R45-billion development in the Vaal River area which will include a green hydrogen innovation hub, an aerotropolis and an aerodrome, as well as a steel manufacturing sector.More recently, the provincial government and the Department of Agricultural and Rural Development have invited interested parties to submit business partnership proposals as part of the new cannabis industrialisation plan.The plan was gazetted in April – and the Gauteng government says it has the potential to unlock significant economic opportunities and job creation through the cultivation and processing of hemp and cannabis. This has to happen at an industrial scale, hence the move towards a cannabis hub.According to Makhura, ongoing interaction has been taking place with the cannabis industry and large and unique opportunities have been identified for Gauteng. In a recent address, he said during the course of 2022 a dedicated cannabis unit would be established within the provincial government to work with the industry and national government to address regulatory and licensing issues, attract investment, and facilitate black participation in this new sector, which has enormous medicinal and industrial potential.He has maintained that the province’s cannabis plans are for medicinal purposes and not for recreational use.The establishment of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the Vaal area will play a critical role in the provincial cannabis plans. The SEZ will also be a logistics centre for other agricultural products. At least R45bn has already been committed to the development.In its request for partnerships, the government has identified several focus areas, including a funding and capitalisation mechanism for cannabis/hemp cultivation, processing and distribution; exchange, trading and aggregation platforms for domestic and export markets, including certification and quality assurance partnership proposals; aggregation schemes for cultivation and processing; and cannabis-driven carbon reduction and bioremediation programmes, including rehabilitation of compromised mine lands. Government plans to lease state-owned or state-controlled land assets as part of its commitment – as well as tenancy in special economic zones.According to a spokesman for the Gauteng government, cannabis has been identified as one of the ten high-growth sectors in Gauteng, and its Cannabis Industrialisation Programme is part of the Growing Gauteng Together 2030 (GGT2030) plan.Plans to accelerate the implementation of the programme are under way.
