EThekwini Mayor Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda has commended South African Breweries (SAB) for the R240 million investment the company has made into the Prospecton Plant in Isiphingo, south of Durban this year.
This massive investment by SAB is geared towards creating additional jobs in the beer value chain of the city and the province.
Mayor Kaunda met with SAB management today, 19 October on site where he expressed his pleasure that SAB continues to expand their investment in the city. He said this was critical to creating sustainable jobs.
“Today we are witnessing the expansion of a plant that is currently employing over 500 people. This company has been a household name, not only in Durban, but in the country since its inception 127 years ago. Of these years of operation, 49 have been spent in Durban nurturing small businesses in the form of distributors and creating much-needed jobs,” said Mayor Kaunda.
He also thanked the management of SAB saying that despite the calamities eThekwini has faced in the past three years, they have decided to retain and expand their operations in the city. Mayor Kaunda said some of the setbacks experienced in the city were COVID-19, the July 2021 civil unrest, and the recent floods.
“This is a clear demonstration that if we collaborate as social partners, a great deal can be achieved,” he added.
Regional Director of SAB Nkanyiso Mncwabe said during the 2023 South Africa Investment Conference they pledged to invest R 5.8 billion. He said of that amount, R240 million has been spent in the expansion of the Prospecton Plant.
“In KwaZulu-Natal, SAB directly employs 572 workers of which the Prospecton accounts for 50 percent of the total employment in the province. In 2019, SAB’s total impact amounted to R9.2 billion contributed to the country’s Growth Domestic Product (GDP), which is equal to 1.1 percent of KwaZulu-Natal’s GDP. We invest over R20 million in socio-economic development annually. We are also glad that during the floods and civil unrest, we were able to retain jobs. We attribute that to the support we received from the Municipality,” said Mncwabe.
