The year 1994 will always be remembered as groundbreaking, with the people of SA from all walks of life and across racial and cultural lines, flocking to the voting stations to elect the first ever democratic government.
In this historic moment, which proved the doubting Thomases wrong, the majority voted for the Nelson Mandela-led African National Congress (ANC) to lead the democratic dispensation. Who will ever forget Nelson Mandela making that declaration to the world that “never, never and never again shall this beautiful land experience the exploitation of one by the other”.
Limpopo, then called the Northern Province, gave ANC an overwhelming 92.7% share of the provincial votes. Since then, the ANC guided by its "Ready to Govern" document hit the ground running in the implementation of its transformational agenda. Today, though we acknowledge that a lot still needs to be done, the living conditions of the people of Limpopo province have changed for the better compared to pre-1994 National Party rule. Our policies have always embodied the values of our great movement, but most importantly remaining a social object that binds our communities together.
Inheriting government that only focused on the minority, we started to roll out programmes that changed the socio-economic outlook of our province. We built bridges and roads that were none existed before knowing fully well that roads are major conduits of human activity and are vitally important to help the economy of our province.
The ANC in Limpopo presided over a government that saw the construction of social infrastructure such as clinics, schools, libraries and other social amenities that our people could not access before 1994. Today our people have access to healthcare facilities at their doorsteps. Our children who in the past walked long distances to access education can now commute with ease and comfort to school.
Under the stewardship of the capable ANC, the province is currently implementing the Musina Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) and the Fetakgomo-Tubatse Industrial Park, which are the game changers in the economic landscape of Limpopo. The key focus of the proposed Fetakgomo-Tubatse Special Economic Zone is to develop an industrial ecosystem in mineral beneficiation, agro-processing and manufacturing of green energy. As such the industrialisation of the province is high on the agenda with notable progress reported in the two special economic zones which will see an investment of R40bn in Fetakgomo-Tubatse Special Economic Zone alone.
Despite the adverse macro-economic pressures in Limpopo, the province created 133,000 jobs in the 4th quarter of 2022, marking Limpopo among the top five provinces which recorded the largest increases in employment rate. Jobs were created significantly in trade (44,000), mining (35,000) and finance (31,000), with the official unemployment rate now 31.8%, improving by 2.1%.
As the ANC, the struggle to finding new solutions to the challenges facing our people continues, so that we ensure that our provincial economy grows to reduce unemployment and inequality. With a population of more than 5-million, our greatest asset is our youth whom we must at all times ensure that we harness their development to its full potential. We are people known for always being optimistic, people who always rise to the challenges and come out victorious.
There is no doubt that things in our province are getting better. Our province and its people has what it takes to defeat doubt and adversity as it has shown in the past. The road to building a better Limpopo will always be bumpy but forward we go to the province of our dreams.
Monama is ANC provincial executive committee member in Limpopo.
