2020 State of the Province Address

Despite only marginal improvement in economic growth recorded, Premier Stan Mathabatha is nevertheless confident that the provincial government has managed to place the province on a pedestal for a higher growth trajectory.
Delivering his State of the Province Address (Sopa) at the Jack Botes Hall last Thursday, Mathabatha indicated that statistics show that Limpopo’s economy has been growing at an average rate of 1% in the recent past.
“This is certainly far less than what we need in order to achieve our developmental objectives and it is against this background that the 6th administration is anchored on the priorities of building of a capable, ethical and developmental state, the transformation of the economy and job creation, education, skills and health, the delivery of reliable and quality basic services, the transformation of human settlements and the strengthening of local government, social cohesion, safe communities, and above all, the building of a better Africa and a better world,” Mathabatha said and explained that, in this context, the provincial government is implementing some major catalytic projects that are aimed at stimulating economic growth and job creation, such as the Musina-Makhado SEZ, the proposed Tubatse SEZ, the revitalisation of the industrial parks and several agricultural and mining initiatives.
Agriculture and agro-processing
According to Mathabatha, the province has made remarkable progress in revitalising primary agriculture and supporting agro-processing. “Accordingly, we have put together a team of experts to drive the revitalisation of our agriculture and agro-processing value chain plan. This plan, which should be finalised in June this year, will focus on research and development, land availability and access, finance and partnership models, production, markets and logistics and capacity building and training,” the Premier indicated.
Mining and ancillary services
“Mining and ancillary services dominate our provincial economy at 25% contribution to the GDP. During the period under review, Limpopo accounted for 24% of the national mining output. Despite being a dominant sector in our provincial economy, employment in this sector has decreased from 106 000 to 86 000 jobs between the 4th quarter of 2018 and the 4th quarter of 2019. Despite all these challenges in the sector, mining still has a future in the province. The industry has committed a total investment of R36,3 billion in the next five years,” Mathabatha reported.
Tourism
According to Mathabatha, the tourism sector remains one of the most resilient of Limpopo’s economy. “In 2018, it contributed R109 billion to the national GDP and employed 1,5 million people and it is reported that the international tourist arrivals in Limpopo recorded 2,2 million during the period under review. This pattern is indicative of a constant increase in international arrivals to the province. We are rated the most visited province with regard to domestic travel. In 2018, our province welcomed 3,3 million visitors,” Mathabatha said.
Review of Limpopo Development Plan (LDP)
According to the Premier, the 2015-2019 LDP served mainly to guide the 5th Administration in terms of integrated planning and ensuring effective and efficient delivery of services. In this 6th Administration, the revised LDP will focus on specific areas in order to put the province on a higher trajectory of economic development. “With regard to mining, the emphasis will be beneficiation of our mineral endowments such as coal, iron ore, platinum and silicon through our industrialisation strategy, with regard to the agricultural sector, we will strive to expand our agro-processing muscles to ensure that as a province we reap full benefits, we will promote our tourism sector through tailored tourism offerings, we will diversify the economy through placing emphasis in manufacturing, thus creating value along commodities with competitive advantage and we will also support SMMEs and cooperatives through better coordination, financing and public-private incubation,” Mathabatha said.
Review of Industrial Strategy
As part of the province’s strategic economic partnerships, it is finalising the review of an Industrial Strategy. This Strategy is intended to help intensify the implementation of identified clusters across mining, agriculture and tourism and will help to position the province in terms of dealing with emerging new sectors such as renewable energy, the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the economy and the creative industry. The strategy is expected to be finalised by the end of September, according to the Premier.
Limpopo Provincial Theatre
“I have instructed the MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture to expedite the process for the realisation of the much-awaited Limpopo Provincial Theatre. The MEC will make a detailed pronouncement during her budget speech next month,” Mathabatha announced.
Access to health care
“We are intensifying our efforts in dealing with the leading causes of death and disease in our society. We are continuing with the work to ensure increased life expectancy; reduce infant and maternal mortality, and turn the tide against HIV/AIDS and TB. Our efforts in this regard are rallied around the philosophy of health promotion. Indeed, through public health education, we can reduce infections, end lifestyle diseases, prevent disability and premature deaths,” the Premier said.
Stabilising of Provincial Administration
According to Mathabatha, much focus was placed on stabilising the provincial government during the 5th Administration, including addressing issues of financial mismanagement and improving audit outcomes.
“We have achieved much progress in this regard, although there is still more work to be done. We have completely eliminated disclaimer and adverse audit opinions in the Provincial Administration. In the last audit we have managed to receive two clean audit opinions. The number of unqualified audit opinions has also increased. The target for this administration is to substantially reduce the number of qualified audit opinions and increase the number of clean audits and to achieve this we need to deal with the issues of irregular expenditure in the Provincial Administration,” Mathabatha reckoned.
Conclusion
“We will not betray our commitment to the people of Limpopo. We will traverse this journey towards our promised land, the land of the dreams and aspirations of the Freedom Charter. We will marshal every effort, skill and commitment towards the task of growing the economy and creating the much-needed jobs for our people. We will not rest for as long as women and children are not free to walk our streets because of the demon of Gender-Based-Violence. We will not rest until the fight against alcohol and substance abuse is won. We will not tire from the task of building a capable state that serves all our people. Let’s grow Limpopo together,” the Premier concluded.

Story: BARRY VILJOEN
>>barryv.observer@gmail.com