Milk Afric project gets environmental nod
Tumelo Mouwane | Friday May 5, 2017 14:32
Since its introduction in 2014, the project under the directorship of agronomist Philemon Matibe has been stalled by several hurdles resulting in the delay in the start of the production. Production was initially slated to start in April this year.
In an interview on the sidelines of council leadership elections held on Tuesday, Kruger said there is progress at the plant after the Environmental Impact Assessment report was released.
“The Milk Afric project has taken too long but it is not because the investor failed. The investor met challenges. He waited for three years for the Environmental Impact Assessment report,” Kruger said.
She further said dairy cattle are ready to be transported from South Africa immediately after erection of facilities. She added that she went to the United States of America (USA) to see progress of students who have been sent there for dairy production training.
“The 2,000 cows which will be milked have already been bought in the Northern Cape. I went there and saw the cattle and they are ready for transportation as soon as the building facilities are ready. Milk Afric has sent students to Florida in the USA for training at the tune of P300,000 tuition fee for each student.
“I have been to Florida to see the progress of the students. Nine of the students have successfully completed their studies and one of them excelled and was the best student in the whole state of Florida. These are the students who are going to run the Milk Afric dairy project which is a massive project,” she said.
The Milk Afric project is worth P120 million and is expected to create 250 jobs in its first two-and-half years. Milk Afric, which has signed a processing agreement with Parmalat, has also roped in the Lobatse Town Council as they entered into a Public Private Partnership deal through the leasing of a dairy farm for 25 years.