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This term will be business unusual and road less travelled as the new premier promises to change old habits of doing things.

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Sizwe sama Yende

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In setting the tone for his administration, Mpumalanga premier Mandla Ndlovu said his focus will be on growing the economy and creating jobs for the youth.

Ndlovu delivered his first State of the Province Address this week where he promised to do things differently – a term he referred to as “business unusual” and a “road less travelled.”

He said that he intended to grow the economy by three to five per cent annually to create the much-needed jobs and eradicate poverty.

Ndlovu said that the four areas that needed special attention for job creation were mass infrastructure programmes, manufacturing and beneficiation, mining and energy, agriculture and forestry, tourism and cultural industries, and the green economy.

The province’s economy has, he said, however shrunk by 0.5% in the first quarter of 2024. Mpumalanga’s economy has grown exponentially from R64 billion in 1994 to R550 billion in 2023, making Mpumalanga the 4th largest economy of the nine provinces - almost 8% share of SA’s GDP.

“Our provincial economy has always been the most resilient even during economic downswings; recording growth higher than the national growth, however the first quarter of 2024 saw our provincial economy shrinking by 0.5%,” he said.

“Despite this first quarter shrinkage, there is still hope. During the last quarter of 2023 our provincial economy created more than 63 869 jobs. This is commendable given the fact that our economy is facing headwinds and is fraught with uncertainty.”

Ndlovu said that his administration intended to absorb unemployed youth at a large scale especially those with very low skill levels – out of school, out of work and out of tertiary education young people.

“Our Province has a very youthful population approximately 60% of the population consist of economically active people (15 to 34 years of age). Therefore, this young generation provides us with significant human resources for future economic growth and sustainability. Youth unemployment, especially young unemployed graduates, remains a serious concern,” he said.

These are the measures that Ndlovu’s administration is going to take and the job-creating projects:

·  Convene a mining summit considering that the sector contributes 23.2% to the province’s GDP;

·  Development of medicinal plants with emphasis to hemp and cannabis agro-processing facilities. More than 40 farmers have received their permits to plant industrial hemp within the province;

·  Ummbila Emoyeni: a R25 billion investment by Steriti Green on a wind farm in Mpumalanga Highveld. The first phase of the project will deliver R4.8 billion to the province;

·  Green Hydrogen Power Development: a R54 billion investment by Hydrogène De France Energy to contribute to resolving the shortage of electricity-generation capacity;

·  Natural Gas: A R155 million LNG pilot project by Kinetiko Energy on their in Amersfoort;

·  Carbon Capture, Storage and Utilization: The Council for Geoscience has finished a pilot project in Leandra;

·   Battery manufacturing: Manganese Metal Co (MMC) is being engaged for projected growth plans;

·  Hyshif- Aviation Fuel: A consortium comprising Sasol, Enertrag, Linde and Hydregen is participating in one of the leading hydrogen projects which is taking shape in the province for development of sustainable aviation fuel.

Ndlovu said that the Extended Public Works Programme remained the backbone of employment creation in Mpumalanga as hundreds of thousands of people have benefitted through this programme since it was established. 

In the next 5 years, the province has set a target to create a total of 215 692 work opportunities in all sectors of the economy, he said. These jobs will benefit 129 415 (60%) women, 118 631 (55%) youth and 4 313 (2%) people with disabilities.