Programme Director,
Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr. Velenkosini Hlabisa,
Premier of the Free State, Ms. MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
MECs,
Executive Mayors,
Officials,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning and thank you for availing yourselves for today’s engagement.
Allow me to begin by commending Premier Letsoha-Mathae and the provincial leadership on the ambitious, future-facing and outcomes-oriented State of the Province address last month.
I was particularly struck by the attention to detail given to the initiatives planned for the year ahead, particularly around youth job creation, vocational training for young people, support for the agricultural sector, township economy revitalization and others.
This is what the District Development Model we initiated in 2019 is all about – namely the finer, granular details of not just what is being done to localize development, but also the ‘how ‘and the ‘when.’
Timeous implementation is the yardstick by which we are measured, and also by which we will be judged.
We look forward to the presentation from the Premier on the priorities, challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the Free State.
We also wish to congratulate the Free State for achieving an 89,33 per cent pass rate in the 2025 matriculation examinations, the second highest in the country.
Naturally this came as something of a damper because the province had been on a six-year streak with the highest pass rate. Nonetheless this is a fine achievement, and we certainly look forward to the province reclaiming the first place crown next year.
This is the eighth engagement between the National Executive and provincial leadership, with the first having commenced in late 2024. We will be meeting with the leadership of all nine provinces in due course.
The purpose of this engagement is to see how we can work smarter and in a more integrated manner to drive inclusive growth and job creation; to reduce poverty and tackle the high cost of living; and build a capable, ethical and developmental state.
Achieving our collective strategic goals necessitates that we deepen cooperation between the different spheres of government as mandated by our Constitution.
With the State of the Nation address having given the line of march, as it were, we are here to offer our support, and also our counsel.
Being agile and responsive is a hallmark of the capable, ethical and developmental state we are striving to build, and we are also here to listen.
Having members of the National Executive here today offers you an opportunity to raise the urgencies requiring their attention directly.
This engagement is really opening an additional channel of communication beyond what already exists within the intergovernmental relations framework, like the President’s Coordinating Council (PCC)
Colleagues,
The DDM model acknowledges the direct correlation between delivering on our mandate, and the state of local government.
When local government is effective, capacitated, and professional, service delivery is improved. With effective financial management and strong, accountable leadership in local government, we are responsive to the needs of citizens and enjoy their trust.
When there are weaknesses or failings at local government, it isn’t just service delivery that suffers, but the trust between government and citizens becomes frayed.
To put it quite bluntly, across much if not most of the country, local government is in crisis.
As of 2025, 35 of our country’s 257 municipalities were classified as distressed, and approximately 63 per cent were classified as being at risk.
The number of municipalities across the country being placed under administration is growing, including seven here in the Free State.
We are alive to the realities and to the magnitude of this problem.
Underfunding, lack of capacity, high debt and struggling revenue generation models are just some of the challenges. At the same time, many municipalities are practically paralysed by poor governance, financial mismanagement and corruption.
Premier, in your State of the Province address you characterised fixing local government as regaining our pride, and I wholly concur.
In this year’s State of the Nation address I outlined the steps we will be taking to strengthen local government, including reviewing the funding model for municipalities and establishing ring-fenced utilities for water and electricity services.
We will also be undertaking extensive consultations around the updated White Paper on Local Government during the course of this year.
Restoring the fortunes of local government must be at the center of our efforts if we are to attract investment that creates jobs and boosts the provincial economy.
Next week we will be hosting the sixth South Africa Investment Conference in Gauteng, and I will be making the point, as I have done every year, that all our nine provinces are ripe for foreign and domestic investment.
The Free State is uniquely positioned to be at the heart of our country’s economic growth story.
It is strategically located, making it a natural logistics and distribution hub linking major economic centers.
The province has extensive agricultural capacity, contributes significantly to our nation’s food security, and has a growing agro-processing sector.
Mining is well-established here, with increasing opportunities in manufacturing and beneficiation. The province is also leveraging its natural resources to generate renewable energy and for battery storage.
The Free State’s urban centers that are already administrative hubs are well-positioned to attract investment in professional services, education and sectors.
These endowments and advantages must be leveraged to drive inclusive growth and create jobs.
With the necessary support, focus and direction, guided by the provincial One Plan developed under the DDM, the Free State’s full potential must be unleashed.
I have said, colleagues, that we are also here to listen: not only to what is not going well, but also to hear from you what is being done well and what lessons can be drawn.
For example, the Free State is leading the way in providing comprehensive agricultural support to emerging farmers and in implementing food security initiatives in vulnerable communities.
During the last financial year, the province also exceeded its work opportunities targets through the Expanded Public Works Programme, reaching more than 46 000 beneficiaries.
The Free State also continues to register successes in the provision of health services, notably around HIV/Aids and TB. There has also been notable progress in fighting crime.
In your State of the Province address, Premier, you indicated that by the end of June 2025, that 93 per cent of Municipal Infrastructure Grants (MIG) had been spent on providing and maintaining public infrastructure.
Considering the well-known problem of municipalities underspending on conditional grants for municipal infrastructure, this is truly commendable.
As National Treasury forges ahead with plans to reform the way in which local government is currently being funded, we look forward to hearing more on the
Free State’s experience with the MIG and other grants.
As you build on the progress made over the past year, be assured of our full support as the National Executive.
This year marks 30 years since our democratic Constitution was signed into law. The Constitution enjoins on us to work together to free the potential of and improve the lives of every citizen, to advance the Bill of Rights.
As much as introspection is necessary and critical, let us at the same time cast our horizons to the future we aspire to.
Inasmuch as we need drill down what the challenges, obstacles and bottlenecks are, this must be matched by solutions, and timelines for implementing them. This would be time well and effectively spent today.
We are one government, united by One Constitution for One People, and it is in this spirit of cooperation that I would like our deliberations today to proceed.
So welcome once again and I look forward to our discussions.
I thank you.
#ServiceDeliveryZA
