She says the party "cautiously" welcomes the new members of Premier Mxolisi Dukwana's cabinet "the majority of whom have minimal experience". 

"The province needs new and fresh ideas to address its challenges. This will require the Free State’s Exco to put the needs of the people ahead of their own to arrest the decline.

"This new cabinet should focus on getting the basics right. This includes the economic recovery in townships, the empowerment of local municipalities, the completion of abandoned capital projects and dealing decisively with corruption in their departments.

Kopane reckons Moses Makume, the MEC of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), has a steep road ahead of him with Free State municipalities incapable of delivering basic services "after being crippled by financial mismanagement, poor governance, and rampant corruption for two decades".

"Residents have been subjected to widespread water cuts, including the municipalities of Mangaung Metro, Matjhabeng, Kopanong, Maluti-a-Phofung, and Masilonyana. Some of these municipalities have been forced to implement planned water-shedding as a result of the poor maintenance of their water infrastructure. 

"The debt owed to Eskom by Free State municipalities is estimated at R17 billion. Water boards are owed nearly R7 billion, and pension funds are owed R446 million. Sanitation issues need to be tackled with urgency as it is an enormous human rights violation."

Kopane says the provincial cabinet will have to come up with a strategy on how to complete various abandoned capital projects that are compromising service delivery, such as the Dark/Silver City construction of residential units in Phahameng, Bloemfontein. "The project has cost the taxpayer R260 million to date, yet they remain white elephants while people are in desperate need of housing."

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She says an urgent plan is also needed for the abandoned Bloemfontein Taxi Rank, which has cost the state R400 million yet remains incomplete. "The plan was to have a rank with a covering that will protect commuters and hawkers from adverse weather conditions. This should be one of their priorities."

She urges the MEC for Public Works and Infrastructure, Dibolelo Mahlatsi, to come up with a plan for the province's decrepit road infrastructure, as it is severely hampering the economy, "especially the agricultural sector, which is the buttress of our economy".

"She should focus on the basics by using the existing expanded public works programme (EPWP) to provide work opportunities to more people, especially young people, to help fix the potholes in our roads, clear public spaces, and improve service delivery. 

"The Department of Health has massive challenges to overcome, including dilapidated buildings, immobile ambulances stationed at the government garage, and a surgery backlog."

"We believe that if they address these basics, the province can once again become the beacon of hope for South Africa, driving economic growth everyone can benefit from. ActionSA will keep them accountable to ensure they deliver the basics our people desperately need."

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