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Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane says the province is turning into a massive construction site with several infrastructure projects underway across the province.
Delivering his state of the province address in Ntabankulu on Thursday, he said over the next five years, SANRAL will be investing R50-billion in road construction projects.
"In Buffalo City we are building roads worth R2.3bn which include the completed construction of the Breidbach interchange. In Nelson Mandela Bay we are building roads worth R1.3bn," he added.
The Premier said road constructions projects were underway in several municipalities including district municipalities.
In a wide-ranging speech of 46 pages, the Premier looked back at the work of the 6th administration which he also led, saying that the groundwork as been laid for the current government to move forward.
Mabuyane said he has invited all political parties in the Legislature to work to together to serve the people of the province.
He said the Eastern Cape government had also made a commitment to working with all the Minister in the Government of National Unity to speed up development.
Looking at the road ahead, the Premier said he has expectations that the business community will partner with government to create jobs, develop local industries, and contribute to community development.
Mabuyane said he wants traditional leaders, civil society, and labour organisations, to play crucial roles in fostering social cohesion, while citizens should embrace the opportunities presented to them.
"In return, you can expect a government that works better for and with you. You can expect a government that delivers impactful services and that is highly visible in our communities.
"Lastly, you can expect a government that has discipline in getting things done. I have directed MECs and senior government officials to spend most of their time in our communities resolving the challenges of our people," the Premier said.
Mabuyane said the grand plan for accelerated Growth and Development of the Eastern Cape in the next five years remains the Provincial Development Plan, or Vision 2030, with an additional six growth areas identified in the areas of agriculture and agro-processing, manufacturing, and tourism among others.
On the energy front, he said Bhisho was "heightening building sustainable" energy infrastructure in the province, saying without a reliable supply of electricity, there will be no future economic growth in this province.
"Eskom has done well to keep the lights on for more than 4 months now. We are lobbying Eskom for the development of the Eastern Cape electricity transmission grid.
"This will unlock 547 megawatts of additional electricity generation projects in our province with an investment value of R13.7 billion, and the creation
of over 2000 jobs."
The official opposition in the Eastern Cape, the Democratic Alliance, said it would be closely monitoring the implementation of the commitments made by the Premier in his speech.
The leader of the official opposition in the Legislature, Dr Vicky Knoetze, said a number of these commitments were made during his previous term of office but, to date, have failed to materialise.
The Premier failed to address the elephant in the room, namely the collapse of local government in the province.
Knoetze said EC municipalities were in crisis, with 16 of the 39 in financial distress and three out of our six district municipalities under administration.
However, she welcomed the Premier's commitment to working with other parties in the Legislature.
"We applaud the Premier's commitment to support and work with the Government of National Unity (GNU). We need to echo the GNU call for builders, not breakers or destroyers.
"We need to be weavers, not vultures," she said.
