TSHANENI – RES Corporation has embarked on a multi-million emalangeni project which
will focus mainly on developing at least 500 hectares of land under cane on the newly
purchased IYSIS farm.
RES Managing Director Nick Jackson said: “Our company is key in contributing to the
economy of Eswatini. About 75% of our annual spending on goods and services goes to
companies in Eswatini. This is between E1.5 billion and E2 billion, which creates and
maintains jobs in the country. It is therefore important that the company remains sustainable.
The nine-month set-up project will see the company investing more than E120 million in
developing the 500 hectares of land at an area called Homestead, which is located on the
IYSIS Farm.
He added: “It is projected that the yields to be achieved on these new fields will be on
average 129.2 tons cane per hectare. This project supports the company’s cost reduction
strategy known as Simama 20-25, which is squarely aimed at boosting the company’s
sustainability.”
Jackson explained that Simama 20-25 aims at reducing the unit cost of production by either
increasing production with the same amount of resources, or reducing costs, or a combination
of the two.
“The project specifically supports the Increase Productivity Objective in that it will increase
cane volume and sugar made in the mills, thus reducing the cost per ton of sugar. In such a
challenging market environment, this is one of the ways in which we seek to keep RES
sustainable,” Jackson added.
The project phases include bulk water infrastructure, bush clearing works, irrigation system
installation, sub-surface drainage installation, roads construction and fencing, just to mention
a few. The majority of these activities will be done by contractors, who in turn hire many
EmaSwati, Jackson said. “That is why our sustainability is critical.”
He said,“RES Corporation management and board seek to continue developing the sugar
company and ensuring that the company creates and maintains jobs to benefit EmaSwati and
also ensure that shareholders get their dividends and communities continue benefiting
through Corporate Social Investment. We continue to position the company as an active
contributor to the socio-economic development of the Kingdom of Eswatini.”
