RES DRIVES MULTI-MILLION SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT

RES Corporation has embarked on a multi-million Emalangeni project which will focus mainly on developing at least 500 hectares of land under cane on the newly purchased IYSIS farm.

RES Managing Director Nick Jackson said the company was key in contributing to the economy of Eswatini. “About 75 per cent of our annual spending on goods and services goes to companies in Eswatini. This is between E1.5 billion and E2 billion, which creates and maintains jobs in the country. It is therefore important that the company remains sustainable,’’ he said.

The nine-month set-up project will see the company investing more than E120 million in developing the 500 hectares of land at an area called Homestead, which is located on the IYSIS Farm.

Jackson added , “It is projected that the yields to be achieved on those new fields will be on average 129.3 tons cane per hectare. This project supports the company’s cost reduction strategy known as Simama 20-25, which is squarely aimed at boosting the company’s sustainability.’’

He explained that Simama 20-25 aimed at reducing the unit cost of production by either increasing production with the same amount of resources, or reducing costs, or a combination of the two.

“The project specifically supports the Increase Productivity Objective in that it will increase cane volume and sugar made in the mills, thus reducing the cost per ton of sugar. In such a challenging market environment, this is one of the ways in which we seek to keep RES sustainable,’’ Jackson added.

The project phases include bulk water infrastructure, bush clearing works, irrigation system installation, sub-surface drainage installation, roads construction and fencing, just to mention a few. The majority of these activities will be done by contractors, who in turn hire Emaswati. “That is why RES Corporation management and board seek to continue developing the sugar company and ensuring that the company creates and maintains jobs to benefit Emaswati and also ensure that shareholders get their dividends and communities continue benefiting through Corporate Social Investment.

We continue to position the company as an active contributor to the socio-economic development of the Kingdom of Eswatini,’’ Jackson said.