MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The municipal council granted the municipal manager, Advocate Thys Giliomee, the authority to investigate the establishment of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and has undertaken to give him the necessary support in this regard.
At the monthly council meeting, council agreed that a SEZ would contribute greatly to the economic growth of the greater municipal area.
A SEZ is an incentive offered by the SA Revenue Service and Department of Trade and Industry that offers several tax incentives such as tax relief, employment tax incentives, building allowances and reduced corporate tax income rates.
Special Economic Zones are geographically-designed areas set aside for specifically targeted economic activities to promote economic growth and export to attract foreign and domestic investments and technology.
The SEZes are usually categorised by free ports, free trade zones, industrial development zones and sector development zones aimed at attracting foreign and domestic direct investment, creating jobs and balanced regional development.
"Positioning Mossel Bay as a SEZ would be of great strategic benefit to not only the greater municipal area but also the region as there is no SEZ between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.
"Considering the town's infrastructure such as the harbour, airstrip and proximity to the George Airport, well maintained road infrastructure and national highways, Mossel Bay is ideal for establishing a SEZ," municipal spokesperson Colin Puren told the Mossel Bay Advertiser.
Unique
The Mossel Bay SEZ would be unique as it would benefit from the oil, gas and related product industries, as well as from the waste reduction and recycling, considering the proximity of the planned regional waste site.
Other sectors mutually beneficial for a local SEZ would be the agri-exports and the aviation industry, bunker fuel, rig repairs, containerisation and trans-shipment.
Council concluded that creating a SEZ would require partnerships with various key stakeholders and that it would ultimately present Mossel Bay with enormous economic possibilities and position the town on the global economic map.
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