By As the world is evolving and getting smarter, the Free State province is following suit with the global trends and launched a R780 million Smart City project in Harrismith on Friday, 22 March 2024.
More than 2400 sites will be developed turning informal settlements into a smart city. The city will bring market places and shops close to the people, which interprets into no more long travelling to work. The Free State Provincial Government and the Free State Department of Human Settlement told the residents of Intabazwe in Harrismith that the project is aimed at creating integrated and suitable human settlement for them.
The smart city also carries with it great economic opportunities resulting from the N3 corridor and many other opportunities. Many jobs opportunities will be created for the locals as well during the construction of the smart city and after.
The project was launched in Intabazwe, where the Executive Mayor of Maluti-A-Phofung Masetjhaba Lakaje-Mosia told Intabazwe residents that history is being made and that the provincial government has demonstrated through this project that it cares for its people.
The Free State MEC for the Department of Human Settlement Mr Ketso Makume said the smart city will be the first of its kind in the province, he said there have never been plans to build a smart city except for now and for the first time in Maluti-A-Phofung.
“Smart City means this, things that could not be found in any informal settlement and town, will be found in a smart city; and it will align itself with your economy from the N3. We are going to bring shops that are not found in the communities and in town; those shops will be built but the people who are going to work there, must be people from Intabazwe,” said MEC Makume.
The Free State Premier Mr Mxolisi Dukwana said smart city has a lot of advantages as it comes with a lot of things with it. He said it is a town that is resilient and that responds to future challenges, it is a place where children can safely play, a place that is environmentally friendly. Dukwana said another low hanging fruit in the creation of a smart city is recycling, a gold mine that needs to be mined.
“I am appealing to you that we make this project a success, a pilot project that will show us that when you fully develop an integrated settlement that has human dignity, this is what it does to people and for people to realise their wishes and their children to grow up and excel in their talents,” said Premier Mxolisi Dukwana.
