By BAKANG MOKOTO
28 August 2025- The North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi has expressed optimism in the upcoming visit of President Cyril Ramaphosa and Cabinet in the province due to be undertaken on 12 September in Rustenburg. Mokgosi said the visit stems from the National Government Programme of Action of 2025, to foster and strengthen Inter-Government Relations to see to the full implementation of the priorities of the Medium Term Development Plan (MTDP-2024-2029).
“As part of addressing challenges of unemployment and poverty, the province recently adopted the Growth and Development Strategy. It is centered on repositioning the provincial economy through its main economic drivers which are mining, agriculture and tourism.
“This includes prioritizing the full functioning of the Bojanala Special Economic Zone. The SEZ which has so far garnered investments commitments of over two hundred billion rand will create close to twenty thousand jobs once granted an operational license,” he said.
Mokgosi further said the SEZ once operational will go a long way in assisting the province address the scourge of unemployment and poverty afflicting our communities. He added that they have met several mining companies since the start of this year and have expressed interest in seeing to it that the SEZ succeeds and achieves its intended objectives.
“In relation to the state of local governance, the province recently launched the fifth phase of the Accelerated Service Delivery Programme-Thuntsha Lerole to assist municipalities address various service delivery challenges impacting their administrative and developmental trajectory.
“Local government is critical towards addressing challenges bedeviling our developmental trajectory. Therefore without proper infrastructure we will not be able to address these challenges hence the Accelerated Service Delivery Programme initiative,” said Mokgosi.
He said they will use this engagement to highlight areas which require support and collaboration from the national government to unlock growth and development initiatives in the province.
The Guardian 