17 FEBRUARY 2026
Speaker of the National Assembly (NA), Ms Thoko Didiza
Chairperson NCOP, Ms Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane
His Excellency President, Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa
Members of Parliament
Premiers from our provinces
The beautiful people of our country
We rise today to express our support for the State of the Nation Address delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa, which we regard as a profoundly people-centered address that spoke to the collective aspirations, dignity and rights of all our people.
On behalf of the people of our province, we also wish to extend our sincere gratitude to the President for attending the Men’s GBVF Summit held in Bloemfontein last year. This event brought together over 5 000 men from all walks of life across the province. Your attendance, Honourable President, underscored the commitment of our government to ferociously confront gender-based violence and femicide.
There are moments in the life of any nation when it must pause and ask itself a simple but profound question:
“Are we building a future worthy of our children?”
It is to this question that this SONA debate is directed.
Honourable Speaker
The ANC-led government resolved that ECDs must be moved from social development to basic education to achieve an integrated education system. Since the migration of the ECD function from Social Development, the province has refurbished and provided maintenance to 62 ECD Centres throughout the province, with 13 completed in the current financial year.
The province further managed to complete construction of one fully functional state of the art Lindokuhle ECD Centre in Botshabelo (Mangaung) with the second centre currently in construction in Zastron.
We have integrated our ECD centres into SA-SAMS for effective and efficient management of ECD data.
Through the Bana Pele Mass Registration Drive and awareness campaigns, 222 new ECD centres were formally registered bringing the total number of centres to 1 642 to date, this gave access to 97 540 children.
Since the beginning of the 7th administration, four new schools have been successfully completed, namely, Dr Tate Makgoe Primary, DR Sello Primary, Malebogo and Tlholo.
In the same breath, seven new public ordinary schools and three technical secondary schools are being constructed in various towns in the province to address the shortage of schools caused by rapid urbanization and population growth as well as accommodating technical vocational stream.
In addition, we completed two modern hostel facilities in Bloemfontein and Gariepdam, expanding access to quality education for learners from underserved communities. These are not mere structures of brick and mortar; they are theatres of social transformation.
Honourable President, your administration has prioritized access to quality education for all learners. We have repurposed under-utilized schools by offering multiple learning pathways leading to General Education Certification (GEC); Technical Occupation Certificate for leaners with Mild Intellectual Disability.
In the 2024/25 financial year, two schools were successfully re-purposed, and learners were admitted in different skills subjects, one in Mangaung and the other in Lejweleputswa District.
Furthermore, three hostels for learners with special education needs are currently at different stages of construction in Trompsburg, Xhariep District, Leboneng in Welkom, Lejweleputswa District and Boitumelong in Thaba Nchu. Mangaung Metro.
In the current academic year, two additional schools are earmarked for re?purposing in Thabo Mofutsanyana and Fezile Dabi Districts. To counter poverty, all Quintile 1, 2 and 3 schools in the province are “no-fee paying” schools. In intensifying efforts to eliminate socio-economic barriers that hinder learner success, 594 463 learners in 764 quintile 1 to 3 schools, both primary and secondary schools, as well as 10 Special Schools, benefitted from NSNP.
Honourable Speaker
A society that does not train its youth facilitates its own demise. Through the Free State Training and Development Institute (FSTDI) in the Office of the Premier, we have appointed 67 engineering graduates who are due to commence their Graduate programme on 1 March 2026.
The graduates are drawn from the areas of electrical, civil, mechanical engineering, hydrology, construction management, urban and regional planning, and quantity surveying.
These young people will not only gain practical experience; they will strengthen our government and improve service delivery.
Through the Plumbing Learnership Programme (NQF Level 4), eighty-one learners from all corners of our province have recently qualified. Fourteen in Sasolburg, twenty-two in Welkom, twenty in Bloemfontein, eighteen in Ficksburg, and seven in Gariep Dam. This is how we localise service delivery. This is how we restore capacity.
Honourable Speaker
The declaration of Foot-and-Mouth Disease as a National Disaster was an absolute necessity. Our province welcomes this decision.
Our agricultural sector as a whole facilitates approximately R1.2 billion per annum in exports of animals and animal products. Import bans have, therefore, dealt a severe blow to our farmers, particularly milk producers.
We have adopted the principle of early detection and rapid response, investigating all suspected cases, quarantining infected farms, vaccinating livestock, and strengthening overall veterinary capacity.
We have placed 136 agricultural graduates into workplaces at a cost exceeding R12 million and we have absorbed twenty-three (23) community service vets into the Department.
We consider the road network as arteries of our economy. It is through road network that people can meet and economy can thrive. We have ensured that we allocate adequate resources to maintain and upgrade our roads especially those that connects towns.
In this financial year alone, our roads infrastructure programme created over three thousand five hundred (3 500) jobs, recruited through a transparent public recruitment system to ensure fairness and inclusion.
These are not abstract numbers. They represent bread on the table and dignity restored. And we shall increase this number in the years ahead.
The right to health care services is guaranteed to all citizens of South Africa by the Constitution, irrespective of their financial status. Consequently, we are unable to pursue the commodification of health services and limit the availability of high-quality healthcare to a select few.
We are grateful to the ANC for introducing a progressive policy in support of the implementation of National Health Insurance. This will ensure that the citizens of South Africa receive the greatest possible benefit.
As the country advances toward National Health Insurance, our clinics and hospitals are aligning with Ideal Clinic and Ideal Hospital standards. Infrastructure upgrades and improved patient management systems are underway, which will ensure that when universal health coverage is fully realised, the Free State will not be found wanting.
I am proud to report that in the Free State, one hundred and ninety-five (195) of the two-hundred and sixteen (216) of primary healthcare facilities assessed have attained ideal clinic status, and sixteen (16) out of thirty-two (32) hospitals have achieved an ideal status in 2025/2026. Honourable Speaker
To ensure that all citizens receive government services, the Office of the Premier utilises integrated services programme to reach rural and underserved communities. This initiative brings together a variety of government entities and departments, including SASSA, IEC, SAPS, Health, Home Affairs, etc, to offer comprehensive services to our communities.
Additionally, we offer a mobile dental service that is capable of providing services to patients in any location. From April 2025 to February 2026, this programme has provided assistance to approximately 42,673 individuals with a variety of issues, including the issuance of title deeds, birth certificates, IDs, and business support.
As a means of bringing services closer to our people and thereby reducing the cost of transportation, we will continue to implement this programme. As part of contributing to participatory democracy, the Office of the Premier will engage IEC for collaboration in assisting with voter registration.
The youth represent the future of our country and we must take all the necessary efforts to support them and link them to opportunities.
During the 2025/26 financial year, thirty-one youth-owned agricultural projects were supported. We currently have four thousand and ninety-nine unemployed youth benefiting from our various Graduate Internship, Work Integrated Learning, Apprenticeships, Learnerships, Short Skills and Artisan Recognition of Prior Learning Programmes.
The Free State province is located at the centre of our country and this serves as an opportunity for transport logistics and tourism.
Tourism continues to gain momentum as a strategic pillar of economic growth and job creation in the province.
We have strengthened support for major provincial festivals and sporting events, including Mangaung African Cultural Festival (MACUFE) and related activities in Mangaung, recognising their significant contribution to local enterprise development, hospitality, and the creative economy.
We are expanding tourism opportunities along the Vaal River corridor and prioritising the development of the Vredefort Dome as a premier destination in the Northern Free State, supported by an allocation of approximately R10 million to unlock its full tourism and heritage potential.
In addition, we are actively promoting key destinations such as Gariep Dam, Sterkfontein Dam, and Bloemhof Dam. We are also advancing the Lake Gariep and Orange River corridors as integrated adventure tourism hubs.
Discussions with the Premiers of the Northern Cape and the Eastern Cape are at an advanced stage regarding feasible, cross-border catalytic projects aimed at stimulating sustainable tourism development and regional economic growth.
The Dinosaur Interpretive Centre at Golden Gate Highlands National Park has secured R135 million for infrastructure development, marking a significant investment in heritage preservation, tourism growth and educational enrichment. Since its official opening on 22 June 2025, the Centre has attracted approximately 90 000 visitors, including a substantial number of learners from across the province and beyond.
This affirms the Centre’s potential not only as a world-class tourism attraction, but also as a catalyst for local economic development, job creation, and the advancement of science, heritage and environmental education.
As I prepare to sit down, Honourable Speaker
The task of the provincial government is not merely to administer budgets. It is to shape destiny, and we are engaged in the quiet work of building. History does not reward noise. It rewards perseverance and discipline.
We are mindful of the burdens we carry, confident in the mandate we hold and resolute in our determination that the Free State, under your leadership Mr President, shall remain a province that works.
I thank you…