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Eastern Cape Premier, Oscar Mabuyane, has raised concern about the slow pace in creating “all-purpose legislation” that would kick-start the province’s cannabis sector.
He was speaking at the Coega Special Economic Zone on Monday during the official investment announcement by the company Medigrow, which will establish an indoor cannabis growing and processing plant for the export market.
Mabuyane said in his maiden State of the Province address in 2019 he said the political leadership of the 6th administration would investigate cannabis as an economic stimulant.
The Premier said they’re also concerned about the slow progress of the country’s policymakers in speeding up the full implementation of the Cannabis Phakisa resolution adopted in June last year.
"Whilst we await the whole plant, all-purpose legislation, we further implore the National Cannabis Steering Committee chaired by Minister Didiza and Cannabis Advisor at Presidency PMO to expedite the “sandbox regulatory interim reform,” he said.
Mabuyane said the "interim regulatory reform" will look at integrating existing and historical cultivation of cannabis by indigenous communities and Black rural farmers into the value chain across multiple demand pathways."
Medigrow MD, Edgar Adams, meanwhile said that small-scale farmers would be supplied with seeds to grow the hemp plant which would then be processed at the SEZ into oil or isolate.
He added that the production process would commence once the building was fully compliant and the necessary machinery installed.
He said through their facility they would be able to help address the problem of rural development by outsourcing the growing of hemp for oil and isolate that will be manufactured in the facility.
Adams said they would also outsource the growing of Hemp for the manufacture of hemp cigarettes with our 17,000 outlets that have become available to them in Europe.
"We have more than 100 licenses that have been issued in SA by SAPHRA," he added.
Medigrow concluded a five-year agreement with the Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform and with the Educational Resource Development Centre as well as with the body that represents the grower in the EC.
"Our target is 100ha of land use with immediate effect and will want to increase this by 1000 ha by September this year and by 2029 we should achieve 10 000 ha.
"This will give us 20,000 to 30,000 new jobs in the market. These are direct jobs. We are not counting the jobs in the manufacturing sector.
"The investment by the Medigrow group by the end of this year would be R246 million and this would bring us to an investment of about R850 million rand by 2029," Adams said.
MEC, Nonkqubela Peters said the province had an approved cannabis strategy that allows for commercialisation of cannabis.
"We laid the foundation of developing this sector in the province to have a skills base, business case, incubation, research, and development," she said.
The MEC said the province has already provided support to more than 120 cannabis farmers to acquire hemp permits.
"We trained 126 cannabis farmers and 20 agricultural advisors through Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency," Peters added.
