Service delivery and unemployment are expected to take the centre stage during the State of the Province Address by Free State Premier Sisi Ntombela on Monday.
Last year, government committed to tackle issues hampering economic growth, and the creation of jobs for the youth. The province’s political instability has also impacted service delivery, which led to a number of violent service delivery protests.
Ntombela had announced that they increased investments to boost the local economy. Industrial Parks in Botshabelo and Qwaqwa were identified for job creation and opportunities.
The address also comes at a time when many municipalities in the province are on the brink of collapse. The Mangaung, the only Metro in the province, is under administration and has failed to honour its payment arrangements with the water board, Bloem Water.
Preview of Ntombela’s SOPA:
The coalition-led Maluti-A-Phofung municipality in Qwaqwa still owes Eskom millions of rands. Residents still hope for better service delivery.
“The issue of water is disturbing us, it’s smelling and is not healthy. Some people even get sick, it is an issue that needs to be resolved,” says a resident.
“Our water is dirty, we have to cook it before drinking, it’s a terrible situation,” says another resident.
Meanwhile, farmers have also called on government to attend to the poor state of roads in the province.
Farmer Martin Nel says this will help ease the transportation of goods and products.
“It’s a huge problem for our farmers. We cant get to town, get children to school, to get whatever we need. It’s impossible. This road was graded last in the first week of November 2019. It was due for a regravel in 2020 August, nothing happened. We talked to the department. they said they are short of drivers, actually, the driver of the grader died.”
Those in business had a serious knock due to the COVID-19 restrictions. But, they are hopeful that the situation will change as soon as regulations are more relaxed.
Some of the business people had this to say.
“I feel so happy because things are going back to normal, we have lost many of our clients, they are not coming to cut because they are afraid of this sickness. So they are not coming to the salon because they are afraid to get sick.”
“Things will be much better because we have lost so much already. We cannot wait to have a normal life again.”
“It is not easy selling here in the streets but we are trying to make a living to survive.”
Premier Ntombela said about 56 000 expanded public works programme job opportunities will be created.
“We want jobs, they have given us NSFAS to go to school and now we are done and qualified but with no jobs,” says an unemployed person.
Last year, the provincial government also committed R17 million for the prevention of violence against women and children.
