By Johnathan Paoli
Free State Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae said on Friday that the province is tracking renewable-energy investments of more than R100 billion and will lean on infrastructure spending and public-works jobs fas it tries to cut unemployment and revive struggling municipalities.
“As of January 2026, the province (through the DTIC) is tracking twenty-nine renewable energy projects with capital investment in excess of R100 billion, mobilised largely through private sector participation,” Letsoha-Mathae said in her State of the Province Address in Bloemfontein.
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“Ongoing and planned projects like the Khauta Solar Project, Springbok Solar Plant, and Mulilo Battery Energy Storage Project continue to transform our landscape for the better. We are reigniting growth through, amongst others, strategic development corridors. These corridors are key in unlocking our investment potential, creating jobs, improving connectivity, and facilitating trade.”
She said unemployment fell from 38.5% in the second quarter of 2025 to 36.2% in the third quarter before rising again to 37.2% in the fourth quarter. “While this is worrying, we are working extraordinarily hard to turn the tide against unemployment.”
She was expecting an improved provincial economic growth rate of 1.85%, said the premier.
She said the province had exceeded its Expanded Public Works Programme target, and had created 46,118 EPWP work opportunities.
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She said the province had allocated R1.4 billion for 2026/2027 to complete existing infrastructure projects, with a focus on rural roads, small-town connectivity and pothole eradication.
Regarding the country’s Foot-and-Mouth-Disease (FMD outbreak), the premier said: “As vaccine availability improves over the next few weeks, the Free State Government shall work with all stakeholders, including the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders, to continue the fight against FMD.”
She said the province was revitalising its agricultural sector, with “the role of women and youth farmers continuously affirmed”.
“Financial support for women beneficiaries has increased to 34% and, even more significant, financial support to youth farmers increased from less than 5% to 31% of our Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme conditional grant funding envelope. Our support will meet the 50% and 40% respective thresholds in the 2026/2027 financial year.”
She said the province had made progress in cutting murder rates but warned of a sharp rise in attempted murder and stubbornly high levels of sexual violence.
“We have seen a 12.6% decrease in murder, a hard-won gain that reflects focused effort. However, this is offset by a 20.5% increase in attempted murder.”
“This shows a move towards more extreme, premeditated violence crimes,” she said.
Letsoha-Mathae also backed tougher action against gender-based violence. “We stand in support of the classification of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) as a national disaster,” she said, adding the province would develop a mobile app “which will allow users to send an alert and get immediate assistance”.
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She called sexual violence a crisis of values and enforcement. “Sexual offences represent our deepest moral failure.”
“While sexual offences fell by 2.8%, the actual eight hundred and ninety reported cases in three months are shocking.”
Regarding education, she said the province had shifted focus to early learning.
Those accessing early learning programmes numbered 97,540, she said, while “1,642 ECDs registered to become eligible for funding allocation” of more than R642 million in 2026/27.