Limpopo Sopa: Mathabatha speaks of progress but EFF blasts ‘false promises’

Agriculture, mining and tourism are the three pillars of Limpopo’s economy and the province hopes to regain its economic strength through these after the devastation caused by Covid-19, Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabatha said during his State of the Province Address (Sopa) at the Jack Bote’s Hall in Polokwane on Thursday.

Mathabatha’s Sopa

The address, which nearly degenerated into a shouting match between members of the EFF and the ANC, was delayed after the red berets demanded that health MEC Phophi Ramathuba be ejected from the hall. The party claimed Ramathuba was not qualified to form part of dignitaries during Sopa after she was found guilty by the Health Professional Council of South Africa (HPCSA) for berating an undocumented Zimbabwean patient at the Belabela Hospital last year.

Delivering the address, Mathabatha said Limpopo had recovered the lost ground after disruptions caused by Covid-19.

He said his office was assigned to coordinate the development of a comprehensive energy plan that will assist in building electricity generation capacity in the province. This, he said, would require the provincial government and its municipalities to work together to develop energy production projects that would help curb the escalating load shedding that continued to cause chaos across the country.

“It is in this content that I have instructed MEC for Health, Phophi Ramathuba to prioritise the installation of solar power panels to all hospitals and clinics in the province,” said Mathabatha.

Mathabatha said he was also pleased to report the launch of the renewable energy strategy at the Musina/Makhado special economic zones (SEZ) in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He said the strategy would be launched in March.

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Unemployment

On the economic front, the premier claimed Limpopo had recorded a steady recovery in confronting the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality. He said the unemployment rate in Limpopo had decreased. Unemployment is still a concern, he added.

“We are pleased to report that the largest decrease in the country was recorded in Limpopo at 5.3% which is 36.3% last financial year down to 31% this year. A worrying factor though is that according to the Statistics South Africa Quarterly Labour Force Survey, during the third quarter of 2022, young people aged 15-24 and 25-34 recorded the highest unemployment rate nationally. In that number, there were about 10.2 million young people aged 15-24 years across the country of which 34.5% were not in employment, education or training,” he said.

He said the construction of visible bulk infrastructure projects had begun in earnest in the northern part of the Musina/Makhado special economic zones (SEZ). Mathabatha said construction work began with the building of a 14km internal road, which he said was poised to create immediate opportunities for job-seekers and local entrepreneurs in the province. He added that additional installations such as water, sewer, electricity and integrated security were also about to be installed within the zone.

Mathabatha said the environmental impact assessment processes in the southern part of the Musina/Makhado SEZ was delayed by appeal processes by other parties.

On investments made by the province, he said that the first 2021 investment conference, which raised a total of R209 billion worth of investment pledges had now given birth to the establishment of seven major projects worth more than R50 billion.

Mining

According to Mathabatha, who is also Limpopo ANC provincial chair, the province’s mining restoration investments had made significant pledges of R700 million. This investment, according to Mathabatha, will go towards a chrome and platinum mine in the Thabazimbi mining area.

“In addition, the Sefateng Chrome Mine is revolutionising chrome mining with its unique underground shaft.”

The mine, he said, had invested R1 billion into the project, creating 150 jobs during the construction phase and set to create 600 long-term jobs when production begins.

Mathabatha said Nkuna City – a small town built in the Collins Chabane local municipality in the Vhembe district – helped create 2 000 temporary and 550 long-term jobs for locals.

Agriculture

Mathabatha also gave updates on progress made in the agriculture sector. After announcing last year that the tomato company ZZ2 would invest in infrastructure developments in the sector, he told the house that construction work on the R128 million packhouse in the Mopani district was now complete.

The building, according to him, would help small-scale farmers get easy access to agroprocessing equipment, as opposed to travelling long distances and spending large amounts of money to process their farm produce.

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Tourism

The premier said the province had increased the number of international tourist arrivals from 600 000 in 2021 to 1.5 million in the last quarter of this financial year. This, he said had put Limpopo in the top three provinces in terms of international tourism arrivals. He added that Limpopo also recorded 1.53 million domestic tourists in 2022 compared to just 57 000 in 2021.

EFF unimpressed

The EFF, however, was not impressed with Mathabatha’s speech.

“This is cut and paste. It is the same script recited last year but edited with gorgeous words to fool us,” said EFF Limpopo leader Tshilidzi Maraga.

“Everything the premier said today was said during the last Sopa. This was just an election gimmick by the premier, based on false promises in an endeavour to woo more support for the ANC in the upcoming general elections next year.”

Kagiso Sekokotla of Lephepane, outside Lenyenye, said the people of Limpopo were tired of hearing about how the SEZ would create jobs. “First the premier said the SEZ will create more than 1 600 jobs and that international investors invested more than R150 billion. Where is that money?” he asked.

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