… As Ubombo Sugar Limited and EWADE sign MOU.
BY KWANELE TSABEDZE
UBOMBO – “We wish to announce to our stakeholders that EWADE’s projects have sustainability plans through relationships with our stakeholders”
These were the words of Eswatini Water Development Enterprise (EWADE) Chief Executive Officer, Samson Sithole, when speaking at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between EWADE and Ubombo Sugar Limited.
The MOU establishes how the farming companies by Emaswati will be formed under the Lower Usuthu Irrigation Project (LUSIP) II, which covers 4,000 hectares.
Speaking at the MOU signing today at the Ubombo Country Club, Sithole appreciated that the partnership comes a long way back, since the inception of LUSIP I in 2005.
“Over the past 18 years, the EWADE and the Ubombo Sugar Limited have collaborated successfully in the delivery of LUSIP Phase 1 objectives and the ongoing LUSIP Phase 11, founded on the mutually shared objective to leave no one behind on issues of poverty alleviation through the establishment of sustainable and profitable farming businesses with emphases in sugarcane production,” observed Sithole.
He went on to note that major milestones were achieved under LUSIP I, where over 56 farmer companies are still benefiting from the cultivation of 5,000 hectares of sugarcane.
“Moving to LUSIP Phase II, the collaboration looks to improve the implementation efficiency by allowing well-defined separation of duties, allowing USL to take full responsibility of the 4,000 hectares targeted for sugarcane establishment once EWADE has ensured infrastructure for the farmer companies,” added the EWADE CEO.
“It is my belief that a solid foundation has been laid, to support the Ministry of Agriculture and the entire Sugar Industry as well as community leadership will facilitate a springboard towards sustainable and improved agri-business opportunities in the communities we serve,” added Sithole before concluding his remarks and signing the MOU on behalf of EWADE.
The objective behind the MOU is to ensure the successful establishment of new farming companies in the 4,000-hectare LUSIP II Scheme. The MOU also details that the objective will be met through the provision of technical support from USL and EWADE to the newly created farming area.
