​Thembisa Shologu
The West Rand economic recovery and reconstruction is taking shape in collaboration with all three spheres of government. 
The Gauteng Provincial Government is coordinating all spheres of government and the private sector to diversify and turn the West Rand beyond the present mining economy into an active agro-processing, agri-logistics, and agri-business hub of Gauteng.​
"Currently, agriculture is an important sector of the West Rand economy. The private sector is currently building renewable energy – which will be a key sector in the region. 
"Sibanye Stillwater has made land available to government to roll out land parcels. Part of the land will be set aside for small scale farmers, particularly women and young farmers from various townships in the West Rand. To enable significant black participation in the agri-food sector of Gauteng," said spokesperson for Gauteng Premier, Vuyo Mhaga.
Part of the provincial government's plans, working with the private sector, is to build a Mega Industrial Park for food processing and food export in the West Rand. A key role of government is to give support by providing bulk infrastructure. This will be done using different models and drawing in agencies of the state including the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). 
"Currently, the provincial government has supported 48 horticulture farmers with 3 tunnels each for vegetable production, 23 farmers with infrastructure for piggery, 8 farmers with poultry egg laying infrastructure, 29 with poultry broiler production infrastructure that ranges between 1 000 to 10 000 capacity," said Mhaga.
These partnerships will see the West Rand with a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) that is focusing on agriculture and agro-processing known as the Special Agro-processing Zone and will see food value chains being the key focus.