Acting Head of the Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA), Pakiso Lebone, has called for stronger collaboration between government, business, academia, and civil society to drive industrial development and inclusive growth in the Free State.
Lebone was speaking at the Free State Industrialisation Indaba held at the Mahube Tumelo Project in Bloemfontein, under the theme Driving Industrial Development and Inclusive Growth in the Free State. He said the province’s industrial policy was developed to address high unemployment and stimulate the local economy through improved industrial competitiveness, innovation, infrastructure, logistics, and investment support.
He stressed that the Indaba was not a talk shop but a practical platform to shape a shared industrial vision, urging stakeholders to contribute ideas and partnerships that can help change the province’s socio-economic conditions. Lebone concluded by calling for clear resolutions and a concrete roadmap to move the Free State economy forward.
Former MEC for Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Makalo Petrus Mohale, called for urgent action to translate policy into practice in order to achieve genuine inclusive growth and industrialisation in the Free State.
He said inclusive growth must reach ordinary people at the community level, including township producers and informal businesses, and not remain limited to established players in the mainstream economy.
Explaining why intervention is necessary, Mohale said South Africa continues to operate with two economies, where most people remain excluded from real opportunities.
He stressed that the government must play an active role as a developmental state, using its procurement power and infrastructure spending to open markets for small and black-owned businesses.
He added that monopolies, lack of market access, and weak coordination across departments continue to block industrialisation.
Mohale concluded by urging the government to start with what it already controls, including spending on schools, hospitals and infrastructure, to support local production and job creation.
He said industrialisation, inclusive growth, and state capacity are inseparable, warning that without decisive action, policies will continue to fail the communities they are meant to serve.
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