Address by the Premier Hon MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae -Free State (MAP-SEZ) industrialisation launch in Harrismith
Programme Director
His Excellency, the President of the Republic of South Africa
Honourable Ministers
Honourable Deputy Ministers
Honourable Members of the Executive Council
Honourable Speaker and Members of the Provincial Legislature
Honourable Executive Mayors, Speakers and Councillors
Distinguished Traditional Leaders present
Morena e Moholo Moremoholo Mopeli of Bakoena ba Mopeli Principal Traditional Community
Morena e Moholo Montoeli of Batlokoa ba Mota Principal Traditional Community
Morena Paulus Moloi of Makholokoe Traditional Community
Kgosi Nkgahle Tsotetsi of Batlokwa ba Mokgalong
All Traditional Leaders present
Prof Prince Ngobeni, Principal of the UFS Qwaqwa Campus
The Director-General and Senior Officials of the Free State Provincial Government
Mr Mziwabantu Dayimani, Chief Executive Officer of the National Empowerment Fund
The leadership and team of the FDC and MAP-SEZ
Distinguished Chinese business leaders and investors
Business leaders from the Free State and South Africa
BoMme le boNtate Dumelang!
Today marks an important day in the history of our province, and I, as I am sure you all are, am honoured to be part of such an important occasion.
Mr President, our gathering here today signals a new chapter in the history of our province and marks an important milestone in our endeavour to change the lives of our people.
In May this year, I, together with MEC Ketso Makume, undertook a working visit to the People’s Republic of China with the primary aim of attracting potential investors to our province.
I am pleased that our efforts were not in vain. We were able to attract investment whose utility brings us here today.
During our discussions with our friends from China, we sought to convince them that the Free State would be an ideal investment destination, and fortunately, we were able to persuade them.
This investment presents several opportunities. In addition to the thousands of jobs that will be created, it will also expose the Free State as a tourism destination of choice.
It is our wish that the eye-catching and captivating beauty of this area will be enough to attract new tourists.
MEC Makume has a wonderful saying which goes:
“The Free State is the Province to go to, Not to Go Through!”
What this says is that the Free State is ready for business and welcomes all investors to entrust our province with their investment.
The Free State Province is strategically located at the centre of our country and borders six other provinces as well as the Kingdom of Lesotho.
Because of this location, our province is rightly placed to serve as an important link between South Africa’s major economic centres and the wider Southern African region.
But our geographical position must be more than a matter of location. It must become an economic advantage. We are working extraordinarily hard to ensure that the Free State becomes a province where value is created.
It must be a province where agricultural products are processed, where manufacturing takes place, where skills are developed and where young people find meaningful economic opportunities.
Harrismith, in particular, occupies a strategic position on the N3 corridor, linking Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal and connecting the industrial centres of Johannesburg and Durban. This location gives the wider Maluti-a-Phofung area a strong foundation for logistics, distribution and manufacturing.
The Harrismith Gateway, MAP-SEZ and the Tshiame industrial area are therefore important components of our province’s logistics and industrialisation strategy.
Honourable President, this event is a result of hard work, long and often difficult discussions. Most importantly, this gathering is a manifestation of many years of friendship.
A friendship borne out of our shared commitment to freedom, equality and self-determination. Our respective countries share a common commitment to liberty and prosperity.
Indeed, it was China, together with many other countries, that extended a hand of friendship to South Africa during the dark days and stood in solidarity with us.
Our friendship with the People’s Republic of China has therefore come full circle. The solidarity that was extended to us during the struggle for political freedom can now find expression in our common endeavour to advance economic development and prosperity.
Political freedom must ultimately, and as a matter of necessity create the conditions for economic freedom. It must enable our people to work, to produce, to participate and to build a better future for themselves and their children.
Therefore, seeing all this coming together feels wonderful. It almost feels surreal because of the hard work it took to turn the dream we had into this beautiful reality.
At last, our efforts are beginning to bear fruit.
Our purpose is to build an economy that rewards ability, creates dignified work and gives our children a reason to build their futures here and dream of a better tomorrow.
To borrow from Amilcar Cabral, one of the greatest African thinkers:
“The people fight … to live better and in peace, to see their lives go forward.”
This is precisely what development must mean to our people. It must translate into a better life, greater dignity and a future in which opportunity is not preserved for a few.
Programme Director, in February this year, during the State of the Province Address in Bloemfontein, I stated the following in relation to Maluti-a-Phofung Special Economic Zone:
“We are determined to significantly increase the number of jobs from the current one thousand five hundred and twenty-seven in the MAP-SEZ.”
The appointment of Dr. Moeketsi Mosola will hopefully unlock the Special Economic Zone’s massive, untapped potential. I hope that this is only the beginning and that more investors will come flocking to invest in our province.
I cannot overemphasise the importance of creating sustainable livelihoods for our people, particularly women and youth. Lack of meaningful participation in the economy creates conditions in which people become vulnerable to all manner of social ills. The consequences can be devastating.
The youth turn to crime, drugs and alcohol. They end up finding solace in dangerous substances to numb the pain of unemployment and exclusion.
Women find themselves trapped in abusive relationships. Sadly, some even turn to sex work and transactional marriages.
As responsible leaders of government, we cannot fold our arms and watch this tragedy unfold.
That is why we worked hard to make this day possible.
The efforts we have made will ensure that thousands of people from Maluti-a-Phofung have an opportunity to participate in their economy. These projects should open opportunities for local manufacturers, farmers and service providers across our province.
I urge investors to develop local suppliers and transfer knowledge, so that the skills and productive capacity created through these partnerships remain in the Free State.
We shall work harder to ensure that processing happens in our province. This will create enormous opportunities from growers and transport operators to packaging suppliers, technicians and distributors. We are intentional about helping our emerging producers and smaller enterprises to meet industry requirements.
What makes me even happier, Mr President, is that some of those who will benefit from the opportunities that are going to be created are women. Those women will be economically empowered and will not have to depend entirely on their partners for their survival.
Our country is confronted with the serious challenge of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, poverty, unemployment and inequality.
Economic empowerment must therefore form part of our broader effort to build safer, more equal and more dignified communities.
Mr. President, as promised in December last year during the launch, yesterday we held yet another Men’s Indaba, the second one in QwaQwa this year. The first Indaba in QwaQwa was held in March of this year at Mohaladitoe Secondary School in Makoane. Because of the size of QwaQwa, we felt it necessary to have another Men’s Indaba in the area which was held in Riverside yesterday.
The aim was to have an open discussion with men about the worrying scourge of Gender Based Violence that is affecting our communities.
We had promised to take the Men’s Indaba to all the districts in our province and I am pleased to announce that we have indeed managed to do so.
We are encouraged by the response from the men of our province who have declared that Gender Based Violence will not happen in their name!
Eo e nthabisitseng haholo fela President ke hore bo ntate ba nkile kano ya hore, ba tla sireletsa bo mme e bile bat la bua le bana ba bona ba bashimane ho ba bontsha hore hlekefetso ya bo mme le bana, ha se ntho e ntle.
As Frantz “Omar” Fanon taught us:
“Each generation must discover its mission, fulfil it or betray it.”
Mr President, I believe that our generation has a responsibility to ensure that economic transformation becomes part of that mission.
Jwale, re thabile ho bona mesebetsi e phethahala. Bongata ba batho ba rona, haholo-holo bacha le bo-mme, ba tla fumana mesebetsi sebakeng sena sa Maluti-a-Phofung Special Economic Zone.
Kopo ya rona ke hore lona le le sechaba, le se sireletse hobane bo-rakhwebo bana ba tlisitse tjhelete e ngata e fileng bana ba habo rona mesebetsi. Jwale, a re se keng ra dumella dinokwane le diqitolo ho senya botle le menyetla eo re e bonang kajeno.
As the Premier of this beautiful province, I want the promise of this investment to be felt in the daily lives of our people.
I call on every department, municipality and investment partner involved to carry this work forward with discipline and urgency. Our people deserve to see this opportunity become lasting progress.
Before I hand over to the President, I would once again like to thank all our investors for making all this possible. In a meaningful way, you have breathed life into Maluti-a-Phofung. And I am confident that this is only the beginning.
Ke rata leho leboha Marena a rona ka karolo ya bona ya bohlokwa jwaloka bahlokomedi ba setjhaba, mme re kopa tshebedisano ya lona ho sireletsa matsete ana, ho tshehetsa ntshetsopele le ho netefatsa hore menyetla ena e fihla ho batho ba rona bohle.
Our responsibility now is to ensure that this investment grows, that it creates opportunities for our people and that its benefits are felt far beyond the boundaries of the Special Economic Zone.
BoMme le boNtate, it is my honour to introduce someone who does not need any introduction.
He is a distinguished leader who led during difficult times. He was appointed Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa on 25 May 2014. In December 2017, he was elected 13th President of the African National Congress, the movement that fought for all us to be enjoy the freedoms we have today.
He was deservedly sworn in as President of the Republic of South Africa on Thursday, 15 February 2018.
Ladies and gentlemen, let us put our hands together and welcome the President of the Republic of South Africa, Honourable Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, to the stage.
Ke a leboha.
