Guided by the firm belief that supporting local is always “lekker”, Kouga Wind Farm takes every opportunity to procure both products and services locally. By contributing to local economic development and the growth of businesses in our neighbouring towns, it helps to create stability and employment opportunities for our communities.
The wind farm is proud to use a number of companies from nearby Humansdorp that provide vital professional skills and services with the added benefit of local knowledge. These include:
- Eastern Cape Accounting and Tax (ECAT), which handles the wind farm’s socio-economic development (SED) programme administration and project-based finances. Their role is to be an extended arm of the programme, specifically dealing with document management, filing and spending projections. They were preferred because of their proximity to the programme and capacity to assist with its affairs.
- Spangenberg Attorneys, who provide legal services to the SED programme, such as drafting and interpretation of contracts. They were also preferred because of their proximity and the greater pursuit of contributing to the local economy.
- Rehoboth Training Centre, which runs our sponsored basic computer course in the communities. They were selected because of their understanding of local conditions, accessibility and that Kouga Wind Farm strives to support local emerging enterprises and community-based organisations.
- One-Way Driving School, which rolls out the wind farm’s sponsored driver education programme for community members. The school has more than 20 years’ experience in the industry and the capacity to run the programme effectively.
Also hailing from Humansdorp is Oupa Jack, who built the Sea Vista community library, Nkqubela Creche in Humansdorp and may soon renovate Kouga Wind Farm’s site office in Oyster Bay.
Oupa is a local contractor and emerging businessman, who started off as golf caddy before getting a break in the construction industry where a number of opportunities presented themselves. Oupa was identified through the database of emerging contractors and has become a trusted supplier in managing large building projects.
Another exciting example of locally sourced skills is Ocean Smile, a spinoff of the Sea Vista pathway project. This is a group of local women who produced mosaics for the pathway project, which is sponsored by the Kouga Wind Farm Community Development Trust.
The women were working under the guardianship of a local mosaic expert and would now like to start their own mosaic business in the St Francis Bay area. They are currently in consultation with experts to develop a business plan which will be submitted for funding consideration.
“While local is lekker, we do, however, have to take cognisance of the fact that some of the important resources to drive our objectives are not readily available locally, hence we sometimes resort to acquiring those outside the area,” says economic development manager Trevor Arosi.
We remain resolute though to continuously explore ways of developing local potential. To this end we use the services of Khusela Energies from Jeffreys Bay and PE-based Eya Bantu Electrical Engineering, who offer a comprehensive range of technical services in the energy sector.”