BEE farm complex inaugurated in Franschhoek
2006-11-02
THE Fransche Hoek Estate at the foot of the Franschhoek Pass was recently inaugurated by Joan Sonn, wife of Dr Franklin Sonn.
This once barren and environmentally-abused property has now been transformed into a model wine estate, one of the largest in the Franschhoek valley.
With the support of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), more than R16million has been invested in establishing vineyards and infrastructure, the latter including a state-of-the-art logistics complex.
Dr Franklin Sonn, who is the chairman of Frandevco, the private sector partner to the Stellenbosch Municipality and the community’s Franschhoek Empowerment and Conservation Trust (Fremco) in the PPC-partnership.
One of the biggest BEE projects ever in the viticulture sector, the Fransche Hoek Boerdery company, is owned 50/50 by, on the one hand, leading industry partners selected for their proven expertise, and on the other hand, by the previously disadvantaged, with the Fremco Trust holding 25% of the equity and the Estate’s Workers’ Trust the other 25%.
It all started in February 1998 with the signing of the ground-breaking Franschhoek Social Accord.
The community had pledged mutual co-operation to provide low-cost housing, make reparations for forced removals, and to provide access for local PDI’s to the main-stream economy centred on tourism and viticulture.
This concept gave birth to the “Franschhoek Empowerment and Development Initiative” (FEDI), from which already flowed the successful Mooiwater housing project, hailed as a model through giving title to superior-quality low-cost housing units entirely free to beneficiaries.
Since 2003, some 771 families have received new homes and the second phase is now being rolled out.
Key to FEDI has been the optimal utilisation of formerly publicly-owned land, as source for cross-subsidising capital and to afford access opportunities to agriculture and tourism - sectors from which PDI’s have been excluded till now.
As part of this optimal utilisation strategy, a public/private/community partnership was formed for the development of the erstwhile Franschhoek municipal commonage.
In terms of long-term viability, the Boerdery company has Frandevco subsidising operations for the first three years (whilst awaiting the first harvest) to the tune of R3 million.
Combined with the inauguration ceremony, were expositions by other BEE ventures associated with the Fransche Hoek Estate, such as the Molapong trout breeding venture and Kei Carpets, both set to re-locate to the Estate.
The Fransche Hoek Estate’s Tourism Node, a village development to be anchored by a top-rate all-suite hotel with spa, is set to afford local PDI entrepreneurs access to the tourism sector, was also introduced.
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