First Female Premier leads the official opening of the 7th Limpopo Legislature

Since making history by becoming the first female Premier of the Limpopo province, Dr. Phophi Constance Ramathuba has made it known that “dilo ditšhentšhitše,” which essentially means that things have changed, there will be a changed Limpopo through socio-economic transformation. Inarguably, when she officially opened the 7th Limpopo Legislature on Friday the 2nd of August 2024 at Jack Botes Hall in Polokwane, she outlined plans to improve the lives of Limpopo residents for the better.

Preliminary to the address, Premier Dr. Ramathuba, alongside the South African Police Service (SAPS), were seen painting the streets of Polokwane blue and brown in the parade that became the spectacle of the day and brought the city to a standstill. She then took to the podium to deliver an address that spoke to the core needs of the people of Limpopo.

The history-making Premier began by thanking the people of Limpopo for giving her the opportunity to contribute in changing their lives towards economic liberation, and proceeded to dissect the challenges faced within the province. This includes ongoing water provision woes, where Premier Ramathuba intends to remedy the problems by launching a water project called “Hi Nwa Mati Fridays” across all corners of Limpopo to maximise the acceleration of water provision in communities.

“Recent challenges in water provision call for a collective effort to double our levels of supply. This is why water will be our main focus in this tenure, and we shall put all the necessary monitoring mechanisms and interventions that will see us turning this state of affairs around,” detailed Ramathuba.

Another project which will enable rapid economic advancement in the province is operation “Vhuyisa Thundu Ya Muvhuso” that is set to reclaim government buildings and utilize them for better and more beneficial use.

Employment creation is also at the top of Dr. Ramathuba’s priority list as she has directed the MEC for Limpopo Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) to come up with a 6 months turnaround plan to implement the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) project that is targeted to create over 22 000 jobs.

It does not end there, for the Ha-Mashamba born Premier aims to continue maintaining sustainable socio-economic growth by embarking on aggressive skills development programmes linked to key economic levers of our province. This will mainly be done by reskilling young people to meet the demands of our industrialised and digitalised inclusive economy.

Thus she revealed: “We are in collaboration with various Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) entities, embarking on skills development through apprenticeships and learnership programmes that will nurture the skills of our young ones.”

Proper sanitation facilities still remain a concern for former Limpopo Health MEC, especially in schools. Hence, she takes the responsibility of creating a conducive environment for teaching and learning by ensuring that the school infrastructure is fit for purpose. “The Department of Education and other relevant departments are expected to provide schools with water infrastructure and adequate sanitation so that the right to education is further exercised with ease,” expressed Dr. Ramathuba.

Previously named as Africa’s Eden because of its rich biodiversity, Limpopo is one of the most diverse provinces of South Africa with its population comprising of different ethnic groups. Therefore, part of the Premier’s plans is to market the province as a tourist destination and repackage the number of tourism outlets offered by it. As a result, the much anticipated high speed train project which is still in progress will not only decrease traffic volumes on the roads, but will benefit the tourism industry as well.

To continue building social cohesion in the province and boost heritage awareness, Limpopo Premier, Dr. Ramathuba acknowledged the Institution of Traditional Leaderships that predates this democratic state, and pledged to continue working with them to defend and promote the sovereignty of our culture.

In essence, the first female Premier of Limpopo is committed to seeing reduced levels of poverty, inequality, vulnerability, and social ills by 2025, and has an unwavering stance against corruption and maladministration. “Together, we can build a Limpopo where corruption has no place, and where our people receive the services they deserve,” concluded the Premier, Dr. Phophi Constance Ramathuba.