Edition February 2025

Free State Premier Letsoha-Mathae is resolute in her commitment to holding corrupt officials accountable, vowing to ensure they face the full extent of the law during her tenure. This move underscores government's broader commitment to combating corruption and reinforcing transparency and integrity in the public sector.

In an exclusive interview with Public Sector Manager magazine, the Premier said fighting corruption and ensuring good governance are critical in maintaining the integrity and functionality of government.

“We are going to ensure that in the 7th Administration, there is a high level of professionalism and (that) ethical standards are maintained,” said Letsoha-Mathae.

Fighting corruption remains a top priority for government, as the scourge in both the public and private sectors undermine efforts to deliver essential services effectively to the people.

Service delivery

The Premier highlighted the vital link between service delivery and communities, stating that “there cannot be public service without communities and there cannot be public servants without communities.”

She urged public servants to show compassion in their service to citizens and to go beyond the call of duty.

“Many of our people use public facilities because they cannot afford private facilities. When a patient attends a clinic or hospital, a true public servant must receive such patient with the necessary courtesy and warmth to the extent that the patient would subsequently feel a bit of relief from the pain or any distress,” she said.

Upon assuming the role of Premier in June 2024, one of her priorities was to visit various healthcare facilities across the province.

“I interacted with many caring and true public servants even though I also had to reprimand a few who treated our people like second-class citizens. We are in our positions because of the people; we, therefore, owe them all the quality services
they deserve,” she added.

She reiterated that delivering quality services remains a priority for the 7th Administration and that moving forward, the provincial government will implement a technologically advanced integrated complaint management system and establish an inter-departmental service delivery rapid response management team to improve service delivery.

Letsoha-Mathae added that the provincial government will also improve the capacity of municipalities to effectively utilise their municipal infrastructure grants to improve service delivery.

“Through the Premier’s Coordinating Forum, we are going to agree on key service delivery issues, which are electricity, water, sanitation, roads, waste collection and good governance as standing items which municipalities must report on continuously,” she said.

She explained that at local government level, they have deployed community development workers who will monitor service delivery issues and refer them to relevant departments resolve.

Among the challenges the province has been grappling with are water shortages,
sanitation issues and electricity supply problems. Government is, however, working hard to ensure that the challenges are addressed.

The Department of Water and Sanitation is, for instance, working around the clock to resolve water challenges in some of the municipalities.

Addressing challenges

“The department has already invested multi-million Rands to assist the province with water and sanitation infrastructure,” she said.

To tackle the electricity challenges, the provincial government has partnered with Eskom to establish viable payment plans for municipalities that owe the power utility. The Department of Electricity has also intervened to address the challenge.

“Through intervention by the Department of Electricity and Energy, we have received 11 power generators from the People’s Republic of China which we will distribute to schools, health facilities and other government building with electricity challenges,” she said.

Youth empowerment

To create more employment opportunities, the Premier said her office has partnered with the National Skills Fund to facilitate comprehensive training interventions for young people.

“We recently launched the Youth Business Pitching Competition to provide youth start-up businesses with access to financial and non-financial support. We are collaborating with Maluti, Motheo and Goldfields Technical Vocational Education and Training colleges to give expression to this initiative,” explained the Premier.

Additionally, over the next five years, the provincial government will introduce various innovative support programmes and incentives to expand access to finance, focusing on women, youth, people living with disabilities and military veterans.

She revealed that the provincial government has commit- ted to several initiatives aimed at boosting the Free State's economy, including leveraging infrastructure projects to create jobs.

“The Free State government will create an agro-manufacturing complex to leverage our centrality and access to markets. To enhance interprovincial cooperation on transport investment, discussions with Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal to develop the Harrismith Logistics Hub will soon be initiated.”

Fighting GBVF

The Premier described, gender- based violence and femicide (GBVF) as a pandemic that destroys families, leaves souls battered and inflicts deep pain. he provincial government will intensify the fight against the scourge “through education, community activism, empowerment, law enforcement,
counselling and the provision of shelters across the province.”

She added that more resources will be directed to Thuthuzela Care Centres, safe houses, and victim-friendly shelters.

Furthermore, she said more qualified personnel will be hired at these centres to pro- vide professional support to survivors of GBV, adding that support will also be offered to members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

To demonstrate her commitment to combating the courge, the Premier has appointed the Free State’s MEC for Finance, Tourism and Economic Development, Ketso Makume, as the province’s political champion to fight against GBVF.

Among the key programmes overseen by Makume are men's dialogues, conversations between men and boys, a day dedicated to men taking on women's roles and Flower Day. These initiatives aims to create a platform for men to share experiences, raise awareness, and encourage other men to join the fight against the abuse of women, children and people living with disabilities.