Ramaphosa puts state institutions on the hook for R120bn plan

President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed accountability for a R120 billion investment programme squarely on the shoulders of government institutions, warning that the success of three major Free State projects will be judged by implementation rather than announcements.

Speaking at the launch of the Free State Catalytic Investment and Industrialisation Programme at the Phuthaditjhaba Multipurpose Centre in QwaQwa on Friday, the President said the provincial government would track announced actions over the next 30, 60 and 90 days. He called on municipalities to provide dependable services and responsive planning, investors to honour their commitments, and communities to be meaningfully involved throughout the development process.

The three initiatives, worth more than R120 billion, span renewable energy, electric vehicle manufacturing and agricultural processing. The largest, the proposed YJC renewable energy project, represents an investment of approximately R100 billion and has the potential to create 6,500 jobs. The planned Joylong Automotive Manufacturing project, valued at approximately R5.5 billion, is expected to create 1 500 direct jobs over five years and produce up to 8,000 electric vehicles annually. The Walk of Life Apple Juice Concentrate Plant, at approximately R330 million, is expected to create 100 permanent jobs and about 600 seasonal employment opportunities.

The President’s message on governance was direct. He noted that the Free State was a manufacturing hub until the early 2000s, but deteriorating municipal services and infrastructure had contributed to companies closing or relocating to other provinces. Reversing that decline, he stressed, depends on reliable infrastructure and effective municipal services to attract and retain investors.

“To attract the investment to this area, government is committed to providing reliable electricity and water provision, functioning roads, safe industrial premises, efficient approvals and accountable project management,” he said. “Good and reliable infrastructure attracts investors. The quality of municipal services influences where companies invest.”

Central to the province’s industrialisation strategy is the Maluti-a-Phofung Special Economic Zone, which plays a central role in the Free State Growth and Development Strategy. The President said the zone had sites for 65 factories, of which 58% were occupied. He argued that the Free State is strategically positioned to become a key contributor to South Africa’s economic growth, particularly through the industrialisation of the Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality, aided by the province’s central location and its connections to transport and logistics networks, agricultural producers and markets in South Africa and beyond.

The President also framed the investments as a test of whether public resources can unlock private capital. Development finance institutions and specialised agencies, he said, would need to leverage private investment through the effective deployment of public resources.

Beyond infrastructure, the programme extends to skills development and local supply chains. The President acknowledged 130 learners who had received skills training and were progressing towards placement opportunities, trained by the Free State Development Corporation, the Unemployment Insurance Fund and Eskom in areas including plumbing, environmental practice, construction road work, food and beverage, first aid and electrical systems management. He called for stronger partnerships between government, industry, training institutions and investors to connect skills development with economic participation and decent work.

“Institutions and employers must help young people connect training to further experience and, where opportunities become available, to decent work,” he said.

Meanwhile, he urged local businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises, to prepare to participate in the supply chains created by the new industrial investments, which could supply components, materials, packaging, maintenance, security, cleaning, transport and professional services. “A factory depends on far more than its production line. It needs to be part of a broader value chain,” he said.

The President said the province needs to move beyond primary agricultural production towards agro-processing, beneficiation, packaging, manufacturing and expanded market access, with the Walk of Life investment demonstrating how agricultural production can be linked to industrial processing and value addition. The electric vehicle project, by contrast, could position the Free State within the emerging green economy and new-energy industrial value chain.

“The measure of today’s success will be what happens after the banners come down,” he said. “Our ambition is to build a Free State that makes more of what it uses, processes more of what it grows and creates more paths into productive work.” Preparing projects properly, investing in enabling infrastructure, and equipping people with the necessary skills and information, he added, would help turn the province’s industrialisation ambitions into reality. Whether the 30, 60 and 90-day milestones are met now rests with the institutions charged with delivering them.