Coega launches worker registration drive

Ed Richardson The government is "confident" that the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) "is attracting significant interest from large investors", says Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin. Introducing the debate on his departmental policy in the National Council of Provinces recently, the minister said that the East London and Coega ports would undoubtedly position the Eastern Cape as one of the key competitive areas in South Africa. Noting that the Eastern Cape was the hub of SAÕs auto industry, Erwin said that "as the country is improving its export performance in the context of an integrated manufacturing strategy, the province has the potential to increase its contribution to the manufacturing sector". Meanwhile, the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) has launched a worker registration drive which has seen the distribution of 600 000 forms through the Nelson Mandela Metro and the rest of the Eastern Cape. The forms will be used to draw up a database of skills for contractors and investors in the Coega IDZ, and will also help with the planning of training, says CDC communications manager Raymond Hartle. This follows a drive to register businesses in the metro and the rest of the country. In East London, the IDZ company has issued tenders calling for expressions of interest in the design of the bulk engineering.