Mathabatha says 94.6% of houses in rural areas in the province now have access to electricity. During the State of the Province Address (SOPA) on Thursday, February 29, Mathabatha said people in rural areas overwhelmingly depended on firewood to cook. “Deforestation has impacted our trees and other plants, an important source of oxygen supply for human life, and a key resource of environmental conservation.

Forestation has risen in various areas that were affected, thanks to our massive household electrification programme,” he said. He also referred to the change in the population landscape of the province. “Since 2022, we are now the fifth largest province in South Africa. Although we have moved from the fourth spot, we have become the largest contributor to Gauteng’s population.

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“Our economic and social development programmes should help us retain our youth while protecting their freedom of movement. “However, a greater proportion of our population remains between 18 and 34 years old. This calls on us to strengthen programmes that will address the challenge of youth not in employment, education or training. “The programmes include our youth development strategy, including skills development, placements in work, and youth empowerment,” added Mathabatha.

“Although we lost 40 000 jobs in the last quarter, we have created 182 000 jobs in 2023, making us the second largest province in job creation.” Mathabatha also referred to the progress made in road infrastructure projects. “In the Mopani district, the D3734 road, also known as Tshatshama, is currently under construction. “Similarly, the construction of road D3248 from Thapane access to Nwamitwa is underway.”

He said the Road Agency Limpopo (RAL) has signed a memorandum of agreement with the Palabora Mining Company to rehabilitate and upgrade road D3786 in Mashishimale and road D4424 in Lulekani, with a combined value of R205m. According to him, a further nineteen roads were allocated to the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) to maintain. He referred to the completion of twelve schools that were devastated by severe storms.

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“Schools like Nwaridi Secondary in Vhembe and Khetho Nxumalo in Mopani, among others, stand today as symbols of resilience and hope for our children and communities.” He said the province is committed to public safety, agriculture and health services. “We saw the implementation of the Limpopo traffic college and the construction of the agricultural service centre. In healthcare, we currently have 476 clinics in Limpopo. 216 of our healthcare centres, that is 45%, operate 24 hours a day,” he concluded.