Free State Office of the Premier Budget Vote 2024/25 by Premier Maqueen Letsoha Mathae, Fourth Raadsaal, Bloemfontein, 20 August 2024

Honourable Speaker of the Legislature;
Honourable Deputy Speaker;
Honourable Members of the Legislature and the Executive Council;
Executive Mayors, Mayors and Speakers of Municipalities;
Boetapele ba Ntlo ya Marena le Ma-Khoisan;
The Director-General and Heads of Department;
Chairpersons of our Public Entities and Chief Executive Officers;
Leaders of the African National Congress and the Alliance;
Leaders of Faith Based Organisations;
Leaders of Civil Society Organisations;
Leaders of the Business Community;
Comrades, Compatriots and Friends.
Honourable Speaker

This is “The Year of United Action to Defend our Freedom and Advance a Better Life for All.” It is the moment of hope to weave our collective efforts to reorder our landscape for the good of our people. 

It is a time of reawakening to recommit to a deep sense of public service. 

Mindful of our common destiny, this is an opportunity to restore trust, optimism and hope in our ability to respond to our people’s aspirations. 

Never before has the need to be daring in what we do been so urgent. And time is not on our side. We need to act, and act now.

Thirty years ago, we embarked on a path to build a province strongly anchored on the principles of democracy, equality and shared growth. 

At the time, our immense task was to undo decades of apartheid legacy. 

Repression, poverty, and racism were lived experiences of our people. 

Apartheid thrived on their pain, despair, tears, blood and suffering.

We remember the role Ruth First played in advancing the struggle of our people for national liberation and social emancipation. Forty-two (42) years ago, on the 17th of August 1982, she was brutally murdered through a letter bomb by the evil and monstrous apartheid regime.

Thirty years later, we are moving ahead with a great sense of confidence. When all hope seems lost, we built courage and regained faith. 

Things are now different. The courage of our people is being rewarded, and their aspirations continue to shape our development trajectory. 

We are now a democracy built on the principles of a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous society, as we continue to rewrite our past.

The wholeness of these principles is what makes us who we are today. 

Unlike before, people have access to water, electricity, quality education and healthcare. We believe that National Health Insurance Act will intervene in access to health care, despite some resistance by narrow interests.

The business sector must take advantage of opportunities provided by Public Procurement Act specifically on set-asides for preferential procurement.

Our national grid remains under immense pressure. As a result, we will be receiving a kind donation in the form of generators from the Minister of Electricity, Dr. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. These generators will assist the people of Maluti-a-Phofung a great deal.

Honourable Speaker
The past few years have been challenging for us as the Free State province. We are wounded. Our economy has been strained by global events, low growth, increasing unemployment, damaging poverty, and widening inequalities. 

With increasing budget cuts, the road ahead will be long and hard. 

But this is not time to complain. Collectively, we face these problems and must solve them together. People have voted for change and renewal. 

In this 7th Administration, our actions will be decisive and hard decisions will be made. We will bring about long-lasting solutions to our challenges. 

We will unleash our potential to create jobs, reduce poverty and lessen inequalities. Our social wage interventions will ease the high cost of living. 

We will roll-out infrastructure investment and support businesses to grow the economy. All of this will be made possible with the implementation of our initiatives to build a developmental, capable and ethical state. 

Honourable Speaker
As the centre of seamless governance, the Office of the Premier will strategically shape and oversee the success of “The Year of United Action to Defend our Freedom and Advance a Better Life for All.” Work to set the policy direction for the provincial government has begun.

And through integrated planning, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, we will ensure that government policy priorities are implemented. 

This role locates the success of the performance of government in the Office of the Premier. So, the centre must hold for things not to fall apart. 

Failure is therefore not an option for us. Our people’s expectations for a better life are high. It is our obligation to fulfil their hopes and dreams. 

From now onwards, our actions will speak louder than our words. 

We will set the agenda for change shaped by our national priorities. Our  work in this financial year will be shaped by the following priorities:

Read further from page 6: https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/2024-08/Premier's%20Budget%20Vote%20Speech%20Final%20-%201_113924.pdf