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To unleash its economic potential, the Provincial Treasury in the Free State is investing more than R5.2 billion towards infrastructure in the 2025/26 fiscus year, which will result in the creation of job opportunities across the province.
The province is set to become a construction site and an investment hub as government will be partnering with the private sector in turning the province into an infrastructure hub.
According to the MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Mr Ketso Makume, the economy of the Free State is not growing fast enough, which is concerning; however, the investment in infrastructure will boost economic growth as it will create many job opportunities and reduce poverty.
As the province moves in this direction, it will also have to intensify monitoring projects to ensure that they do not go over budget and finish on the set time.
“Delivering infrastructure on time and within the allocated budgets becomes very critical for growing our provincial economy and creating jobs. Let us work together, private and public sectors, in turning the Free State province into an infrastructure hub,” said Makume.
Makume said the province will spend just above R5.2 billion on infrastructure investment, he said 42 percent of the budget is allocated for projects that will be handled by the Department of Community Safety, Roads and Transport. He said this kind of investment underscores the promise made by the Free State Premier Ms MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae in relation to addressing key roads across the province.
“This also affirms your clarion call to turn Free State Province into a construction site,” he said.
The Department of Education is allocated R93 million through the Performance Based Incentive System programme which is managed by National Treasury. The programme is aimed at improving effective planning and deriving efficiencies within the infrastructure delivery chain.
“We must emphasize that Infrastructure development remains a cornerstone of economic growth and social transformation. Given the fiscal constraints, departments and municipalities are encouraged to submit proposals to the Budget Facility for Infrastructure (BFI) to secure additional funding for priority infrastructure projects.
The National Treasury has published a call for proposals under the new system. The BFI helps allocate funding to large-scale infrastructure projects that are expected to have a significant impact on economic growth, social development, and job creation. The first window is now open and will close in mid-April. We wish to call upon all our departments and municipalities to take advantage of this opportunity,” said MEC Ketso Makume.
