Development and Investment

The Makhuduthamaga municipality has identified agriculture, tourism and construction as the key growth sectors that have the potential promote the growth of the local economy. There is a number of mining exploration exercises taking place within the municipality. Should mining prove feasible, it will contribute to the creation of much needed jobs and the growth of the local economy.

The decision to locate the District Municipality offices in Jane Furse will provide a lot of construction opportunities and lead to substantial economic growth within Makhuduthamaga. This concept of District offices relocating to Jane Furse is called Township Establishment and it will be creating opportunities for retail development, accommodation, office parks and green space economy development.

Furthermore, the agricultural and tourism potential of the municipality have yet to be fully exploited. At the moment limited forms of agricultural and tourism activities are taking place.
In 2011 STATSSA recorded that the growing economic sectors that are contributing significantly to employment within the municipality are community/social/personal sector and the retail/wholesale sector.

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

This sector represents only 2% of all formal sector employment opportunities throughout the municipality. Forestry and fishing activities do not take place. Agriculture is the main formal contributor to the economy of the municipality albeit at very limited scale. There was a slight decline in terms of the contribution of this sector from 1986 to 2001 due to weather and environmental factors.

Farming is the predominant land use within the municipality, more specifically subsistence farming and livestock farming. The Limpopo Department of Land Affairs prepared a land cover map for Sekhukhune District which indicates the land quality and the area it covers. With regard to Makhuduthamaga the study indicates that the remaining good soils for agriculture are along the Olifants River and south of Jane Furse. There exists within the municipality an opportunity for the re-establishment of commercial agricultural activities.

Prolonged overgrazing and other poor farming practices by the rural communities have led to degradation of the land. Other challenges associated to farming in Makhuduthamaga include: