Ramaphosa says Mpumalanga must rise above challenges of unemployment, stagnant growth
He said the province would be a focal point of the transition to a green economy as it’s where most of the country’s coal-fired power is generated.
President Cyril Ramaphosa meeting with the Mpumalanga provincial executive on Tuesday, 10 December 2024. Picture: GCIS
CAPE TOWN – President Cyril Ramaphosa says Mpumalanga needs to rise above its challenges of unemployment, poverty and stagnant growth.
He said the province would be a focal point of the transition to a green economy as it’s where most of the country’s coal-fired power is generated.
Ramaphosa met with the provincial executive on Tuesday as part of a new government programme of the seventh administration to visit all provinces at least once a year.
Ramaphosa said like other provinces, Mpumalanga needs to grow faster, and it needs to leverage its many advantages to drive growth and development.
More than half of this province’s population lives below the poverty line and unemployment is higher than the national average.
Ramaphosa said the government must ensure the transition to a low-carbon economy does not destroy already fragile livelihoods.
“We must plan and invest in new technologies, new industries and we also must also be able to skill our people, to reskill them as well as to upskill them into jobs that are needed in the new era that we are getting ourselves into.”
Ramaphosa said there’s a need for the province to also invest more in infrastructure, including roads to transport mining minerals, facilities for agriculture production and upgrading tourist sites.
He said he expects the ministers accompanying him on Tuesday’s visit to work with provincial governments to build their economies.
His Mpumalanga visit follows that of recent engagements with the provincial leadership of Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal.