Hopes fade as rural industrialisation stalls

A YEAR after bold commitments were made to transform rural economies through industrialisation, concerns are growing over lack of visible progress on the ground.

While policy frameworks and new announcements continue to emerge, many rural communities say their lived realities remain unchanged, characterised limited infrastructure, few employment opportunities and continued migration to urban centres.

Nkayi South legislator Jabulani Hadebe said rural communities had grown weary of repeated policy pronouncements that were not matched by implementation.

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