With more than R88 billion worth of renewable energy projects coming to the Free State, it seems the province is proving a destination for these type of plans.
This was one of the positive remarks by the newly appointed premier of the Free State, Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae, at the official opening of the Provincial Legislator on Thursday, 8 August, in the Bloemfontein City Hall.
She said this was the result of pledges made during the Free State Energy Security Indaba and the Free State Investment Conference that was held last year.
“We are working together with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition(DTIC), Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) and the private sector to ensure these commitments provide impetus for our growth,” she said in her speech.
Some of these investments include the expansion of the fuel depot in Bloemfontein and Petroleum Agency South Africa’s (Pasa) issuing of exploration licences to Free State businesses.
She said 27 major infrastructure projects have been registered with the ISA. One of these involves R16 million allocated to the psychiatric hospital en district hospital in Mangaung, as well as funding for the Mangaung Airport Development Node.
“We have noted with concern the practice of facilitating payments to service providers, without work being done. We will embark on a process to recover all monies which were unduly paid to service providers,” she said.
Letsoha-Mathae said efforts were underway to refurbish the Sterkfontein, Philip Sanders, Maria Moroka and Gariep Dam nature reserves.
“We will explore prospects of public-private partnerships to maximise the potential of these and other reserves throughout the province.”
She said infrastructure investment was not only important, but also urgent.
“We will accelerate the construction, upgrading, and maintenance of roads with local contractors, with mainly youths and women as the beneficiaries.”
Roy Jankielsohn, the DA leader in the Free State, said in a news release the premier recognised several critical issues facing the Free State, but questions remained about the feasibility of her proposed plans and whether the necessary budget and resources would be allocated.
He said the DA is also concerned by the premier’s track record as former MEC for Community Safety, Roads and Transport, as she failed to address issues like the state of the province’s roads and the dysfunctional licensing and testing stations, which are often plagued by a lack of basic resources like printing paper and toner.
