Times Of Swaziland: E5.7BN LIQUOR PROJECT FOR ESWATINI

E5.7BN LIQUOR PROJECT FOR ESWATINI
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Mhlonishwa Motsa on 12/11/2023 16:07:00


MBABANE  – One of the noticeable diplomats in the global political space was
in the country for an investment project that will benefit the Kingdom of
Eswatini.
Widely known in the United Kingdom and USA, Jean Pillard, the former Ambassador
of Haiti to the United Kingdom met several stakeholders that included Eswatini
Sugar Association (ESA) over an alcoholic beverage project valued at E5.7
billion. He wants to set up a plant in Eswatini, an investment that will, for a
start, create 300 jobs.
beverage
Pillard was in the country a fortnight ago. His business interest is in rum, an
alcoholic beverage. Rum is an alcoholic beverage made from sugar cane. It is
made from 100 per cent cane products that include raw cane juice, white or brown
cane sugar, cane syrup, evaporated cane sugar and cane molasses. Rum is
distilled under 95 per cent alcohol by volume. For it to be legally considered a
rum beverage, the finished product should be a minimum of 37.5 per cent in
European Union countries and 40 per cent in the United States of America; making
it a strong spirit. ARK Behavioural Health warns about over-proof rum. The
USA-based organisation states that a rum with an ABV (alcohol by volume) of
about 57.5 per cent is not good.
This means that it has to be at least 114-115 proof. This is much higher than
regular rum, which has an ABV of 40 per cent or 80 proof.
dangerous
Overproof rum is popular in the Caribbean. Brands like J. Wray & Nephew White
Overproof Rum, Bacardi, and Cruzan can go up to 75.5 per cent ABV or 151 proof.
This makes for a very strong drink that can be dangerous in large quantities.
Because of its strength, it’s most often used in mixed drinks like daiquiris
although some people drink it straight. Because the US has a limit on the proof
of alcohol that can be shipped from another country, any overproof rum one finds
is probably going to be in the 150 proof range. Some over-proof rums include
Bacardi 151, Hampden Estate Rum Fire Overproof, Lemon Hart 151, Smith & Cross,
Gosling’s 151, and Worthy Park Overproof.
History Of Overproof Rum
This rum originally got its name when British Royal Navy officers used to test
the quality of the rum by using gunpowder. If the gunpowder still lit up after
being soaked in rum; that meant it was of high quality and plenty strong. This
is why some over-proof rums are also advertised as ‘navy strength’ or
gunpowder proof. How is overproof rum made? Most rum produced today is made with
sugar cane and goes through a distillation process to remove any of the
impurities. This leads to a spirit that is anywhere from 160-190 proof.
Normally, the alcohol is diluted through aging and blending to bring it down to
80 proof. It has been established that Pillard is the Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of Crosswave LLC, a US investment group that has interest in investing in
the African region.
He is a Haitian national, who previously served as Haiti’s Ambassador to the
United Kingdom (UK) and Northern Ireland, where his focus was restarting
diplomatic relations between Haiti and the UK after over half a century of
strained relations. He facilitated the creation of the first ever Haitian
Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain, where he served as Chairman. With over 25
years of experience in the private and public sectors, Pillard currently serves
as President of Life Skills Haiti, a non-profit organisation that focuses on
vocational education in Haiti’s countryside. In August 19, 2022, he was
announced as Pure Water for the World (PWW) new Board member. He confirmed,
through his agent, that he was in the country to assess business opportunities. 
He also confirmed that Pillard was interested in investing in the country. He
said the project was valued at US$300 million (about E5.7 billion).
confirmed
His visit to the country was further confirmed by Dudu Dlamini, who explained
that the former ambassador came to the country on invitation by an entity known
as the Organisation for Women in International Trade Eswatini. Dlamini is also a
member of this organisation. She said Pillard was on a fact-finding mission for
possible investment opportunities. “Appointments were set up with government
companies and private institutions including Eswatini Sugar Association (ESA)
and the Sugar Growers Association,” she said. She said a majority of the
institutions honoured the invitation. Dlamini said the meetings were conducted
in a professional manner. “To the best our knowledge, all the institutions
presented us with all the information and officials were very helpful to the
extent of giving us advice and approaches towards successful investment
opportunities,” she said. She said they were introduced to the ambassador, as
an investor, by his agent and they facilitated his invitation to the country
through Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority (EIPA) and the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.
Excellence
She said Pillard’s investment ambitions were divided into three with the rum
project being the most expensive one. She said the other two areas were a
construction of a centre of excellence in diplomacy and public relations. The
value of this project could not be ascertained. Dlamini said it transpired from
their engagement with the investor that the centre of excellence was meant to
assist the country in countering misinformation and the spread of propaganda.
“He mentioned that according to his study, the country was found wanting on
issues of PR, with social media taking charge in the 2021 political unrest. The
centre of excellence would help the country to rebut false information, hence he
met different industry players such as the University of Eswatini and others,”
she said. Dlamini further stated that the investor intended to invest in the
sector of health. She said he also mentioned that it was time the country
derived some wealth from the health sector. She said Pillard was looking for
opportunities to expand on it.
investment
However, they were not able to get to anyone on the sector until the investor
went back. Information gathered from the investor’s agent, who requested not
to be mentioned, was that a hospital investment worth over US$39 million
(E741million) was being discussed after receiving a interest from a local
businessman. The urgent thanked ESA for an informative meeting and briefly
stated that the investor was coming back to finalise the rum plant project and
the hospital. “We are grateful that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
There has been a lot of misinformation already but we are hoping that this
article will set the record straight. The investor is very keen and Eswatini is
strategically placed to be a base for the investments that are targeting the
African continent,” said the agent. ESA CEO Banele Nyamane confirmed that they
met with the investor who had appointment booked Dlamini. He said Dlamini was
the intermediary the delegation was requested to submit a formal request, with a
clear business plan and details of the specific product they required from ESA.
He said this was met to allow ESA to fully appreciate their request and consider
it accordingly.
approve
He said ESA was not in a position to approve or reject private investment
proposals and the investor retained the sole prerogative to go ahead with the
project or not. Nyamane said ESA was confined on the expected input required
from ESA. “It is in ESA’s interest to ensure that a viable project is being
proposed so that whatever decision it makes, it ensures that its interests for
future business are taken care of. This is more-so since there is high demand
for the sugar and molasses, with most of it already committed in any case. ESA
supplies a number of products such as refined sugar, VHP Sugar, raw sugar and
molasses. Before we can commit to supplying a customer, we need to assess our
current commitments and capacity to deliver,” he said. Nyamane added that they
requested the investor to supply ESA with adequate details of the project and to
put it all in a proposal form. He emphasised that they were looking forward to
feedback from the investor in order to advise accordingly. He said ESA’s
mandate is to promote the development of the sugar industry in the country,
through providing technical services and marketing products such as sugar and
all its by-products.
support
“We do have policies that focus on supporting investments that will add value
to the sugar industry products (sugar and molasses in the current instance) in
the country. We remain open to consider and support such initiatives, subject to
ESA having the capacity to supply the required product,” added Nyamane.
According to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, post forecasts sugar cane
production in Eswatini were expected to increase by 1.5 per cent to 5.6 million
metric tonnes in the 2023/24 financial period, based on increased available
irrigation water, expanded planted area, and a return to trend yields. Post
forecasts sugar production will increase by four per cent, to 652 057 metric
tonnes in 2023/24, based on an expected rebound in the volume of sugar cane
deliveries to mills and improvement in the recovery rate. Eswatini was fully
expected to fully utilise its allocated USA tariff rate quota in 2023/24 and
2022/23.