President Cyril Ramaphosa meeting members of the Mpumalanga executive council. Photo by Bulelwa Ginindza
MPUMALANGA needs to grow its economy faster.
This is what President Cyril Ramaphosa told ministers and members of the executive council in Mpumalanga on Tuesday, 10 December during his visit to the province.
Ramaphosa and various ministers visited the province as part of government’s engagement with executives from all seven provinces. Mpumalanga is the third province to be visited by the president.
“It’s our expectation that this meeting will set in motion a more structured as well as a regular form of cooperation between the national and provincial executives.
“We come to Mpumalanga pretty excited by the great potential that exists in this province. We are here to come and hear exactly how you as the leaders of the province are conceptualising your dreams and ambitions for this province as to improve the lives of the people of our province here,” he said.
Ramaphosa said although the province faces many challenges which include the high rate of unemployment which has surpassed the national average, the province needs to have an inclusive economic growth plan and job creation must therefore be at the forefront.
“It must be at the forefront of all the efforts that we can ever embark upon, but we should be able to do so with our social partners,” he said.
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He said like other provinces, Mpumalanga needs to grow faster and grow the economy in a much faster way so that many more people can benefit.
“Fortunately, this province has many advantages, it has many cooperative advantages that it can use to drive growth and development. It is this that we want to hear because as a province you have a number of wonderful endowments, but you have also been able to achieve great deal in the number of other areas,” he said.
He described the province as the engine growth of the country, stating that electricity is generated in the province.
“Mpumalanga can literally be South Africans engine growth, in fact you are the powerhouse of our country. The electricity we currently have is generated here, you give the whole nation power. Most of the country’s electricity comes from here, fueled by the abundant coal reserves in this province,” he said.
Ramaphosa said discussions will also include the low-carbon economy.
“These are some of the discussions we ought to have to see how best we can actually turn the tide around so that greater benefit can flow from this era that we are getting into of low carbon economy,” he said.
Ramaphosa is expected to officially handover a bridge in Thembisile Hani Municipality on Wednesday, 11 December.
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