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The African National Congress (ANC) in the Free State has thrown its weight behind its deployee Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae’s State of the Province Address (SOPA); saying it empresses the resolutions taken at the ANC PEC Lekgotla earlier in February.
The ANC says the speech delivered by the Premier is not just rhetoric or a flexing of bureaucratic muscle on governmental activities; instead, it is a living testament to the enduring relevance of the Freedom Charter. The party says Letsoha-Mathae has faithfully translated their resolutions into a concrete, measurable, and people-centred programme of action.
The Premier touched on a number of issues affecting the Free State province, even the sensitive matters of dysfunctional municipalities, an area that can make or break the ANC if they do not get the municipalities working optimally.
According to the Spokesperson of the ANC in the Free State Thabo Meeko, the ANC PEC Lekgotla was unambiguous: the credibility of the movement will be won or lost in the municipalities, where the people experience the state daily through the availability of water, sanitation, and roads.
He said The Premier has given decisive effect to this resolution.
“The announcement that municipalities, including Nala, Matjhabeng, Masilonyana, Tokologo, Mafube, Nketoana, and Kopanong, are now under Section 139 interventions is a necessary and bold exercise of state power to root out maladministration, stabilise governance, and protect our people from the consequences of institutional failure.
This is consequence management in action, not for political expediency, but as a revolutionary duty. Furthermore, the establishment of service delivery war rooms and work streams by end February 2026, as resolved by the Lekgotla, will ensure that government machinery is mobilised for rapid response, bringing immediate and visible relief to communities. The days of paralysis are over. The ANC is in motion,” said Meeko.
The ANC also welcomed the Premier’s address on the economy of the province. The party says the Premier’s address powerfully reaffirms the Lekgotla’s strategic thrust that economic recovery is impossible without functional municipalities and reliable bulk infrastructure. The reduction of unemployment from 38.5% to 37.2%, and the creation of 46,118 EPWP work opportunities, are not merely statistics; they are households with income, families with dignity.
Thabo Meeko said the living examples highlighted by the Premier, in so far as Bokang Lehloenya of Wa Rona Motoho, Tumelo Pedi, and Jabu Matshinini, are proof that the Freedom Charter’s declaration that “the people shall share in the country’s wealth” is being realised.
These are young, black entrepreneurs, supported by a developmental state that refuses to leave the destiny of our people to the whims of the market.
The R100 billion in tracked renewable energy investment positions the Free State as a national leader in the Just Energy Transition. This is the ANC’s industrialisation and localisation agenda in action, breaking with the colonial extractive economy and building a new, inclusive, and sovereign productive base,” said the ANC Spokesperson.
“As we approach the 2026 Local Government Elections, this SOPA is our charge to the people of the Free State. The ANC is not a party of empty promises. We are a movement of delivery, of renewal, and of hope. We call on all Free Staters, workers, farmers, students, entrepreneurs, traditional leaders, and communities, to join hands with the ANC-led government.
Let us build on this progress. Let us hold each other accountable. Let us climb the next hill together. The road to a truly transformed, prosperous, and united Free State is clear. The work is underway. And we will not rest until every family has water, every young person has a job or a skill, and every community is safe,” concluded Thabo Meeko.
