She took the podium at the Old Grey sports grounds in Bloemfontein on Friday (20/2) to officially open the provincial legislature. This year’s theme is: A year of decisive action to fix local government and transform the economy.

This year, she said the government will focus on strengthening municipalities, supporting small businesses, expanding infrastructure projects, and accelerating renewable energy investments to unlock economic growth and create sustainable employment across the province.

She placed unemployment at the forefront of the province’s developmental priorities, acknowledging both progress made and serious challenges that remain.

“The unemployment crisis, deeply rooted in historical inequalities and worsened by economic pressures, continues to affect thousands of households across the province,” said Letsoha Mathae. “The official unemployment rate in the Free State fell from 38.5% in the second quarter of 2025 to 36.2% in the third quarter, a commendable 2.3 percentage point drop.

“For the fourth quarter, we now sit at 37.2%. While this is worrying, we are working extraordinarily hard to turn the tide against unemployment,” she said. 

Photo: Facebook/Free State provincial government

Unemployment in the Free State also rose sharply in the final quarter of 2024, when an additional 25,000 people joined the unemployment line, according to the quarterly labour force survey data released last year.

Despite a small national decline in jobless figures at the time, the province recorded an increase in its jobless rate, highlighting the urgency for targeted interventions. The premier reiterated the government’s commitment to inclusive growth, aimed at creating opportunities and reducing poverty.

Central to this strategy is the expanded public works programme, which exceeded its targets in the past year. While the initial goal was to generate 30,115 work opportunities, the programme delivered 46,118. The provincial government and municipalities were directly responsible for 22,698 of these positions.

Photo: Facebook/Free State provincial government

This year, the provincial government aims to create 34,414 work opportunities through the programme. 

Reacting on behalf of the DA, Free State leader Dr Roy Jankielsohn said the premier spoke about some important issues. “The roads, for example, R1.4bn, that’s going to be spent to complete projects. Why complete projects?

“Those projects should have been completed, but because they appointed people who were unable to complete them, now we have to spend money to do that again.”

‘The Free State is now a welfare state’

He’s also concerned about the “huge reliance on the state – the provincial government – for employment opportunities in the province”. The premier did not focus on what she’s doing to create an enabling environment for the business sector to invest and create the needed employment.

“She bragged about 1.5-million people, which is exactly half our population, who are now on social grants. We only have about 200,000 taxpayers in the Free State to support all of these grants. 

“So what she in fact announced today is that the Free State is now a welfare state.”

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OFM News/Zenande Mpame mvh