Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae was speaking at the post-budget breakfast engagement session hosted by the department of economic, small business development, tourism and environmental affairs (Destea) at Naval Hill in Bloemfontein. She said the urgent need for the provincial government to play a more active role in transforming the local economy and ensuring that provincial resources benefit its own residents.

The event was organised to unpack and reflect on the implications of the budget vote presented to the provincial legislature in June. Addressing government officials, business leaders, and stakeholders, Letsoha-Mathae said one of the key goals of the seventh administration is to ensure that Free State residents are the primary beneficiaries of government contracts and support initiatives.

“It was shocking to find that out of 15 contractors awarded business by some department, only two were from the Free State, and none of them were women. This is not acceptable.”

Need for economic transformation and localisation  

“Our province is struggling with high unemployment, and we cannot continue to allow external contractors to benefit while our own people are sidelined.”

The government will adopt a more stringent approach to ensure that at least 80% of contractors involved in government projects come from within the province. Women will be prioritised as main beneficiaries of these contracts.

She warned against tokenism, stating women should not merely be used as fronts to secure contracts without genuine participation or skill development.

‘They must also be upskilled’

“We are going to empower women, but they must also be upskilled. It should not be that women are used as a route to contracts while others run the business behind the scenes. That time is over.” 

There is also a strong message to local business owners who rent out their licenses and operations to foreign nationals, a practice she says undermines local economic growth.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi and Zenande Mpame dg