By John Young
Fixing roads and improving supplies of water remain key priorities for the North West Province. Various schemes have been announced and budgets allocated to ensure that these vital parts of the infrastructure of the region are improved.
The private sector is playing a role in assisting in the provision of infrastructure, for example in the building of roads by mining houses, but municipal, provincial and national government still have to lead with regard to bulk infrastructure. The province planned to spend R429-million on roads to link rural towns and farming communities to bigger economic hubs in the 2024/25 financial year. A total of 20 new schools are planned over the next five years, which will help the construction industry.
The provincial Government of the North West reports that the resuscitation of the Taung irrigation scheme is in “full swing” and that good collaboration is the order of the day with regard to the Vaalharts Water Users Association.
Public-private-partnerships (PPPs) are being explored in other areas of the regional economy, namely transport and tourism. Plans to position the George Dick Montshioa Airport (formerly Mafikeng Airport) as a logistics hub are back on track and investment in the order of R176-million is being actively sought to make this happen.
The other airport with potential to grow is the facility that serves the Sun City Resort, Pilanesberg Airport. Requests for proposals to revitalise and commercialise the two airports have been issued and a contractor is expected to be appointed in the course of 2025.
Plans to position the George Dick Montshioa Airport (formerly Mafikeng Airport) as a logistics hub are back on track and investment in the order of R176-million is being actively sought to make this happen.
The North West has superb tourism assets and it is a popular tourism destination with many excellent facilities run by both private and public entities. But the reach of government can only go so far. In that context, PPPs will be established with a specific mandate to improve infrastructure within what is known as the Protected Areas Network.
Eco-tourism is one of the fastest-growing subsectors of tourism and tapping into this market has the potential to benefit investors and communities alike. North West Premier Lazarus Mokgosi announced in his 2025 State of the Province Address that mining house Glencore would assist in the creation of a nationally recognised botanical garden within an upgraded Kgaswane Mountain Reserve near Rustenburg, another example of a PPP.
The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), which manages South Africa’s 10 national botanical gardens, intends for every province to have such a park by 2030.
Another PPP is tackling the problem of potholes. In the first year of its existence, The Pothole Patrol fixed more than 100 000 potholes in Johannesburg. The concept has been extended to the North West Province. Discovery Insure, Dialdirect Insurance and Sun City Resort are the private companies involved in the programme to repair potholes on the R556, the road that links Sun City to the N4 highway. Leisure travellers and conference delegates play a big role in the provincial economy and so making their journeys easier and safer is a good investment.
The ability of local authorities to manage the infrastructure of towns and districts has been under scrutiny for some time and national government has signalled its intention to intervene. A Panel of Experts on Mega Infrastructure Projects has been appointed by the provincial government. This is part of a concerted drive to change the way infrastructure is delivered in the province.
The panel has identified 185 projects, with eight being prioritised based on a number of factors, including bankability and potential impact.
These projects include a Smart City development in conjunction with Gauteng Province, the proposed Bojanala Special Economic Zone (SEZ), agro-processing and agro-hubs, water and bulkwater supply, health and large urban precinct developments, renewable energy and solar component production and broadband connectivity. It is hoped that these projects will contribute to being able to process more of the raw products that are produced by the agriculture and mining sectors.
Mining and agriculture have always been the economic mainstays of the economy of the North West, and this is still true. But whereas the platinum group metals (PGMs) mined on the parts of the Bushveld Igneous Complex that lie beneath the province’s soils have been attracting good prices and the future of mining these particular minerals looks good because of the relevance that they have for the growing renewable energy economy, the North West is now expanding its interest in other parts of that green economy.
Large solar farms are now being built at an increasing rate in the North West.
The establishment of the Mafikeng Digital Information Hub, a co-working 4IR hub in the centre of Mahikeng, is an indicator that the province is intent on joining the digital movement. The hub is led by Joseph Ndaba, who is serving on the Presidential Commission on 4IR.
Small to big
Assisting small businesses in the process of becoming bigger businesses is part of the brief of the North West Development Corporation (NWDC).
The Corporation’s newsletter has reported some notable successes in the North West’s small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMME) sector in recent months. Two types of pepper sauce made by Rustenburg-based Reabetswe Maungwa won gold at the Aurora International Taste Challenge 2024.
The brand name of the sauces, 1019 Relish Sauce, is inspired by the house number of the home of the creator’s grandparents in Tlhabane, Rustenburg. The idea for the sauce arose from time living in Ghana combined with needing to find something to do during the Covid lockdown. The five-pepper sauce is organic, suitable for vegetarians and those who love a bit of fire with their food.
Special horses
The climate of the North West is excellent for the health of animals, so it is no surprise that in the specialised world of breeding of horses for show jumping, dressage and eventing, the province is the chosen location for stud farms. Two prominent studs are near Broederstroom (Capital Stud) and near Schweizer Reneke (Lorelock Warmblood Stud). The Tierra Pequena Training Centre in Potchefstroom produces dressage horses professionally.
A new development in the world of horses was launched in 2025 by the North West Gambling Board (NWGB), an entity under the Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism (DEDECT). Traditional horse racing was revived at the “Lobelo La Dipitsi” event held at a racetrack in Vryburg, in the Naledi Local Municipality.
The NWGB partnered with Mompati Horse Race for Change, an entity that organises traditional horse-racing events. The organisers aim to rotate the “Lobelo La Dipitsi” event annually to different parts of the province, ensuring that varied communities benefit from its economic and social impact. The NWGB has stated that it is a provincial event designed to stimulate local tourism and support SMMEs across the North West Province.
Better known as the centre of a cattle-farming district, with Bonsmara cattle predominating, Vryburg also hosts a large annual agricultural
show and has links to a pioneering veterinarian, Sir Arnold Theiler. The Theiler Agricultural Museum and Cattle Research Centre is on the farm Armoedsvlakte, a short distance west of the town.
Geography and economy
The North West is bordered on the west by the Republic of Botswana and on the east by Gauteng, the engine of the South African economy.
The North West Province makes up 6.8% of the population of South Africa (3.6-million), 8.7% of the land mass (105 076km²) and accounts for 5.8% of economic output in terms of gross value added.
The Vaal River runs along the province’s south-eastern border with the Free State, and the province also shares borders with the Northern Cape to the south and Limpopo in the north. The mineral reserves in the province are enormous. Platinum group metals (PGMs) predominate but there are significant deposits of gold, uranium, diamonds, copper, vanadium, fluorspar and nickel. Stone and limestone are also found in large quantities.
Mining beneficiation takes place at many places, with Rustenburg being particularly strong in this sector. The economy of the town is closely linked to the fortunes of platinum mining, with the sector contributing about 70% of the city’s gross geographic product.
Automotive components firms are clustered in Brits, which in turn is close to the automotive manufacturing hub of Rosslyn (Pretoria) in Gauteng. Towns like Klerksdorp (agro-processing and engineering) and Potchefstroom (food and beverages) also have manufacturing capacity.
The North West is a major producer of maize and sunflower seeds and many other agricultural products. About 20% of South Africa’s maize comes from the province, as does 15% of its wheat.
The dry western part of the province is home to beef cattle, game ranching and hunting. The normally well-watered eastern and north-eastern regions carry varied crops, many of which are sold in Johannesburg and Pretoria.
The agricultural sector also generates large scale storage and logistics operations, particularly in Klerksdorp, Vryburg and Brits, together with a number of agro-processing plants. Senwes is one of the biggest with extensive silo infrastructure while Suidwes has 17 retail outlets and MGK makes full-fat soy at its manufacturing plant. Lichtenburg-based NWK makes liquid fertiliser and animal feed, processes sunflower seeds and runs 37 silos and three grain mills.
The province’s three Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges and the well-respected North-West University all have several campuses catering to a wide range of educational disciplines.
The university has a strong reputation as a research institution. NWU’s support of innovation has seen more than one successful enterprise spun off by its Technology Transfer and Innovation Support unit. One of these stories is covered in detail in the Manufacturing Overview of the 2025/26 edition of North West Business.
