Free State Finance MEC Ketso Makume. Picture: Supplied
The Free State provincial government plans to grow its stagnant economy rapidly by introducing crowdfunding investments in the province.
This was announced by the province’s Finance MEC Ketso Makume during an interview with The Star on Monday.
Makume said the province’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was expected to grow at an annual average rate of 1.57% by 2028.
He said the increasing evidence of easing inflation, and in turn possible lower interest rates, may be a tonic that the economy needs, which may see robust economic activity and demand.
The MEC further said President Cyril Ramaphosa’s plan of placing the inclusive economic growth at the centre of the work of the Government of National Unity (GNU) meant that his department was placed at the top of both the national and provincial agenda.
“It is this department that will be expected to drive economic growth that will create jobs and reduce poverty within the Free State province. The most pressing task in 2024 and beyond is to set the economy on a higher path of shared growth, to create more jobs and provide opportunities for millions of South Africans.
“This requires levels of investment far beyond what has been achieved in recent years. We need to mobilise domestic and international investment while we work with greater effort to unleash the economic potential of all our people, especially youth and women, by ensuring they have skills, assets and opportunities,” said Makume.
He alluded that the province had a GDP of R280 billion in 2019 and R340bn in 2023, resulting in an increase of R60bn. This meant that the province’s contribution to the national GDP has been hovering around 4.9% and 5% compared to 38.0% in quarter one of 2024.
“Some have referred to mining as a sunset industry, but indications are that there are still some opportunities in gold extraction for years to come. Other mining opportunities in the Free State are in low-grade coal, diamond, uranium, and salt. Furthermore, the natural gas deposits discovered in a large area around Virginia and other parts of the province, represents an opportunity for creation of hundreds of jobs in downstream economic activities.
“The province also prides itself of being the bread-basket of the country. Crop production represents about two-thirds of the province’s gross agricultural income. The main crops are maize and wheat. Sunflowers, sunflower seeds, sorghum and soya beans are other major crops.
“The agriculture sector presents huge potential for growth and is thus a good destination for investments. Game hunting is also a significant sector, and several large Free State farms have been converted from stock to game farms.”
Furthermore, Makume said Free State was also an ideal destination for renewable energy projects; which included solar photovoltaic (PV), hydro, and wind projects adding that the grid availability in the province continued to attract investments by independent power producers (IPP) in renewable energy projects.
The Star
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