The African National Congress has fulfilled our expectations in its role as leader of the great march towards the attainment of a national democratic society
Mbombela – Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane is confident that the provincial government has significantly improved the lives of citizens, especially when comparing data from 30 years ago when the first democratic government was elected into office.
Mtshweni-Tsipane said as the Mpumalanga Provincial Government held its last State of the Province Address, it was important to reflect on both wins and losses that have occurred over the past three decades.
“We have left the valley though we have not reached the mountain top. I salute the African National Congress. It has fulfilled our expectations in its role as the leader of the great march towards the attainment of a national democratic society. As we approach the end of the tenure of this current administration and move towards celebrating another great milestone in our history of 30 years since we ushered the democratic dispensation, we need to reflect on the journey that we have travelled together, acknowledge the tremendous progress that we have made, identify our shortcomings and mistakes and forge ahead with a common purpose to better the lives of our people.
“April the 27th, 1994, will forever remain indelible in the minds and annals of our history. A day when South Africans of all races voted for the first time as one nation under a democratic dispensation. On each and every occasion that we have held the general elections, the ANC-led government, working with its alliance partners and civil society, have made commitments to renew this covenant with the people of this province which the late president [Nelson] Mandela committed us to. As part of strengthening and legitimising our democratic dispensation, we periodically hold national and provincial elections, followed by local government elections, one of the key internationally recognised tenets of our democratic government,” she said.
Premier Mtshweni-Tsipane said she was confident that the level of service delivery attained under the ANC-led government would inspire voters to once again give mandate to the governing party to continue, come election day, on May 29, 2024.
“Just over two months from now, our people will be going to the polls to decide who represents their dreams, aspirations and plight for the next five years. For the past six general elections, the people of Mpumalanga province have overwhelmingly voted for the African National Congress, demonstrating their confidence that we can, and should continue with our work no matter how difficult it is to make their lives better. Despite all domestic and global challenges that we have had to contend with, our performance as measured by what prevailed in 1994 and what prevails now speaks volumes,” said the Premier.
Below are a series of notable achievements that the Mpumalanga Provincial Government has managed to register on the service delivery scale.
Economic growth:
- The province’s GDP has grown from R46-billion to R530-billion, becoming the 4th largest economy in the country.
- Employment has increased from 627 000 to 1.25 million.
- The poverty rate has decreased from 64% to 49.5%.
Education:
- The percentage of 7- to 17-year-olds attending school is at 98%.
- One million children from poor backgrounds now enjoy free hot meals.
- 96 077 girl children in poor schools are provided with sanitary towels.
Social welfare:
- The infant mortality rate has dropped from 80 to 11.2 per 1 000 live births.
- The maternal mortality rate has dropped to 106.8 per 100,000.
- Life expectancy has increased to 65.8 years for women and 60.7 years for men.
- Over 236,000 low-cost houses have been built for the most vulnerable.
Infrastructure development:
- 3,762 projects have been completed in terms of education and health infrastructure.
- 802 kilometres of roads have been upgraded from gravel to paved surfaces.
- 1274 kilometres of roads across the province are under rehabilitation.
- 76 projects have been constructed under the Integrated Rural Mobility and Access programme.
- A state-of-the-art interchange will be built in Emalahleni to improve traffic flow.
Challenges:
- The youth unemployment rate remains high at 46.4%.
- Some roads require repairs.
Future plans:
- The Nkosi City Development project is expected to improve the lives of people in the Ehlanzeni district.
- The government is committed to revitalising provincial nature reserves.
