The MEC for Education, Tate Makgoe, and the MEC for Health, Montseng Tsiu, will also draw up their departmental plans for the 2022/23 financial years. 

The Free State Department of Education has been a beacon of hope for the image of the province, which mostly has to do damage control over its image tainted by fraud and corruption. 

However, matters at the Provincial Department of Health have been quite the opposite. Its controversy dates back several years, when a young doctor was raped at the Pelonomi Hospital and, in another, similar incident there, a suspect was branded "the tongue man" after he attacked and tried to rape an intern doctor, who bit his tongue in self-defense.

Also read: #PelonomiAttack: Management to address staff's safety concerns following attempted rape 

Recently, the department has been embroiled in yet another controversy involving its Head of Department (HOD), Godfrey Mahlatsi, who is in court for contravening the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) alongside 16 other officials, including his predecessor, David Motau. 

Also read: #BreakingNews: Current FS Health HOD is in cuffs

However, the two departments will on Tuesday also announce the financial allocations to different programmes, with Covid-19 expected to be at the forefront of the announcement by the Department of Health. 

MEC Makgoe will outline plans which seek to solidify the position of the province in the matric results. The province has now achieved the top spot for three years running. This year the Free State achieved an 85.7% pass rate, with Motheo and Fezile Dabi amongst the three top-performing districts across the country.

Both budget speeches will be delivered at the Free State Legislature's sitting in the Fourth Raadsaal in Bloemfontein this morning.

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