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 The Democratic Alliance welcomes the final winding down of the Mafikeng Industrial Development Zone (MIDZ). This follows a decision of the NW Provincial Legislature in 2010 after recommendations of the Portfolio Committee on Economic Development to stop the funding of the ill-conceived MIDZ.
 
The MIDZ was initially announced with high hopes and stacks of promises, including the creation of 28000 jobs by 2008, in 2001 by a former Premier Popo Molefe.  It was intended to design, build and manages a world class Industrial development Zone; establish viable investment opportunities and recruit potential public and private investors.
 
Nothing of the intentions ever had the faintest possibility to be achieved but it did not deter the North West Provincial Government to pour tens millions of tax payers’ funds annually directly and indirectly into the MIDZ and to use the MIDZ every year during the State of the province address and budget speeches as the NW flagship of job creation and economic growth.
 
Included in the millions fruitlessly expended was the million a month subsidy to an airline to artificially maintain daily flights between OR Tambo Airport and Mafikeng "International" Airport. Millions were also expended on the upgrade of the terminal buildings and other infrastructure at the airport. This did not stop the airport being plundered of its assets and not only losing its International License but also lead to the airport, with the longest runway in South Africa,  being downgraded to the same level as an unmaintained local airstrip.
 
The price that the taxpayer had to pay for this major NW Government image building exercise, which preyed on the hopes of the thousands of jobless NW people, highlights the lack of capacity and insight of the NW Government into the reality of the NW economy and also underlines the futility of attempts of the NW State machinery, crippled through the deployment of incompetent cadres, to execute any successful venture.
 
The stubbornness of the NW Provincial Government, arrogantly ignoring years of calls from opposition parties and later also from (ANC) portfolio committee members, to abandon the project and rather to divert the wasted funding to other viable job creation projects, will remain as its legacy highlighting the squandering of public funds on non-delivery projects and the lack of serious commitment to invest in sustainable projects.