MESSAGE
Infrastructure is a key driver in job creation and development Limpopo Premier Chupu Stanley Mathabatha outlines his administration’s priorities in welcoming potential investors to the varied economy that is already receiving interest from China and elsewhere.
W
e are fresh into the 6th Provincial Ad m i n is t r at i o n after our most successful national and provincial general election. This was an election which was fought on the
Chupu Stanley Mathabatha, Premier of Limpopo
LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2019/20
promise of growth and development of the economy for jobs and a decent quality of life. This is a promise which we intend to keep, working in partnership with all our social partners and stakeholders. Our collective focus is on the creation of jobs, the need to end poverty and the urgency of building a better life for all. This requires greater focus and determination, and our set targets and objectives can only be realised through working together as government, business, organised labour and other groups and organisations. As we prepare to implement the manifesto priorities of the ruling party, we move from a premise that over the past 25 years the lives of the people of South Africa have changed for the better. Millions of people have houses, electricity and access to clean drinking water. Children from poor communities have access to free education. In the past five years the number of HIV-positive people on antiretroviral treatment has doubled while the overall rate of new infections is decreasing. Over 17.5-million of our most vulnerable citizens receive social grants. We advanced the cause and rights of workers to organise, collectively bargain, refuse dangerous work, and to strike. Our work is guided by the conviction that without ignoring our collective achievements, so much more can and must still be done.
Infrastructure One of the key drivers of employment creation in the province is the government’s deliberate investment in infrastructure projects. By the end of the 2018/19 financial year, provincial infrastructure expenditure stood at above R5.5-billion. We look forward to spending more of the province’s infrastructure grants on capital infrastructure projects which will help to stimulate the economy and create jobs for the people of Limpopo.
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