President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his State of the National Address (Sona) in Cape Town on Thursday, February 7, that this town, which forms a part of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, has become productive again after being idle for so long. 

The other Free State area identified as one of the industrial parks selected for revitalisation is Phuthaditjhaba in the eastern part of the province. These townships and rural areas join Garankuwa, Isithebe, Komani and Seshego, among others, on the list. 

Ramaphosa stressed in his address that in order for the country to create jobs, certain levels of economic growth need to be achieved and this cannot be done without “massive new investment”. The acceleration of economic growth and creation of jobs was named by Ramaphosa as one of five urgent tasks that government must undertake currently.

“The inaugural South Africa Investment Conference in October last year provided great impetus to our drive to mobilise R1.2 trillion in investment over five years. The Investment Conference attracted around R300 billion in investment pledges from South African and international companies. A huge success indeed.”

Over 10 kms away from Botshabelo, lies Thaba Nchu. OFM News spoke to a resident of this town today at the Free State High Court who says residents are rallying together to organise a march against the lack of services in Thaba Nchu as compared to Botshabelo. He says there are unused factories in the area that are merely lying there, a building previously owned by the Free State Development Corporation (FDC) that also stands vacant as unemployment in the “forgotten town” continues to rise.

OFM News