By 
Premier of the Free State Province MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae will deliver the much-anticipated State of the Province Address (SOPA) in Mangaung on Friday, 20 February 2026, at the Old Greys Sports Ground, Bloemfontein, 10am.
SOPA 2026 will be anchored on the theme “A year of decisive action to fix local government and transform the economy”. The Premier’s address seeks to report back to the people of the province on injunctions made last year and what the Provincial Government seeks to achieve in the new financial year.
Much emphasis will be put on articulating the Provincial Government’s interventions in stabilising our ailing municipalities as well as outlining our plans to increase support for small businesses. An update on Premier’s undertaking to turn Free State Province into a construction site with road infrastructure investment, as well as built programmes (education and health) in our quest to increase much needed intervention in job creation, especially for the youth will be presented.
The speech will also outline the Free Provincial Government’s plans to deal with the problems of foot and mouth disease (FMD) which are adversely affecting our agricultural sector.
Despite these encouraging indicators, Premier Letsoha-Mathae remains concerned about a number of social ills such as alcohol and substance abuse as well as Gender Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF), which continues to indiscriminately claim innocent lives of women and children in the province.
The Premier remains cautiously optimistic about the change in the province’s fortunes and will use the state of the province address to rally the executive council, as well the people of the province, behind a common vision of a prosperous province.
