OCN 4th Edition – Town Transformation extract

Oranjemund has been a diamond mining town since 1936. At the height of diamond production life was extremely good to employees, who also happened to be the only residents. For decades life was good beyond what most people can dream of. In the last 30 years, the mine has steadily produced less diamonds, and increasingly outsourced services – the beginning of what was relatively slow change. State owned enterprises and Government offices set up shop. Private owned businesses came into being, serving mostly the functions that the mine had outsourced. People other than mine employees began living in town. The town was proclaimed, a local authority was established and eventually the town did open up, triggering both fear and excitement amongst residents. Slowly but steady, vitally important sustainable changes set in. We are now at the precipice of the next 10 years of change, and it is going to be fast paced and very tricky. We have to diversify the economy of the town in order for Oranjemund to have a future beyond mining. We call it Town Transformation, and OMDis Town Transformation Agency was formed to accelerate this process. We are a Section 21 company, non-profit, and exclusively have a business-in-Oranjemund focus. In 10 years’ time, other large industries, like agriculture and tourism, should be operational in town. Private property ownership should have increased exponentially, SMEs should be less dependent on the mine and service other industries and residents profitably. It takes 15 years to transform a town, and we are fortunate that we can start this process while mining is still active. It will take residents, business community, local & National Government to make sure this happens for Oranjemund.

– Ronel van der Merwe

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