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“Many trees quietly grow into a forest without making noise. While progress is not yet visible to the naked eye, important work continues.” – Mpumalanga premier, Mandla Ndlovu.

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Sizwe sama Yende

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Mpumalanga premier, Mandla Ndlovu, delivered the State of the Province Address (SOPA) on Thursday.

Most political parties raised a serious concern about the slow economic growth to reduce or eradicate unemployment.

These are the notable points Ndlovu highlighted regarding growing the economy and job creation:

·      Of the R238 billion investment commitments made during the Mpumalanga Investment and Mining Conference in October 202 , R25 billion has been signed off focusing on green economy;

·      The Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey for Fourth Quarter of 2025 showed Mpumalanga’s employment at 1.28 million, the highest on record reflecting net job gains of 37 420, the second highest nationally;

·      Employment growth happened  in the construction and trade sector in  five of the six quarters in 2024/25;

·      In 2025, Mpumalanga created 28 717 jobs;  

·      Provincial unemployment rate fell to 32.3% in Fourth Quarter of 2025, improving our ranking to 4th lowest nationally;

·      Lower Bound Poverty Line dropped by 12.7% from 51.1% to 38.4%, ranking fourth lowest nationally.

·      Tourism made major gains as Mpumalanga is South Africa’s second most visited province by both international and domestic tourists;

·      A number of multi-billion rand green energy investment projects are in the pipeline including solar-power, wind-power and hydro-power;

·      A flagship hybrid rice project to be implemented in partnership with the University of Mpumalanga, will see 1.2 million hectares of land dedicated to hybrid rice cultivation, producing 14.4 million tons annually, with a projected turnover of R40.32 billion. This project alone will create at least 388,000 jobs across all phases, a remarkable story to share with the people of Mpumalanga.

·      The Seriti Group’s Agri for Change programme supports emerging agricultural entrepreneurs with technical expertise, business development skills, and improved market access. The programme has contributed to 41 permanent agricultural jobs and enabled measurable entrepreneurial growth.

·      Seriti Green, the renewable energy arm of the Seriti Group, has been in operation for three years and is currently constructing the 900 MW Ummbila Emoyeni Wind Farm in Bethal, with the first 155 MW phase scheduled for completion in mid-2026;

·      Seriti has invested approximately R15 billion, with a further R25 billion planned over the next two years;

·      Plans were being made to unlock R1.2 billion from Infrastructure South Africa for phase one of the Nkomazi Special Economic Zone.