Newly-elected Limpopo premier vows the administration will not drown in the “glory of the past 30 years”

NEWLY-ELECTED Limpopo premier, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, has described her ascension to the highest office in the province as a “historic occasion”.

The description hit a chord as she is the first woman to become the premier in Limpopo since the dawn of democracy 30 years ago – succeeding Chupu Stan Mathabatha who came after Cassel Mathale, Sello Moloto and Ngwako Ramathlodi.

 To loud applause and cheering in the provincial legislature on Friday, Ramathuba in her acceptance speech said: “To the people of Limpopo, things have changed.”

However, she may have been all too aware that the celebration should end there, as she immediately spoke of mammoth tasks that will define the seventh administration under her leadership especially given the local government elections in 2026.

Previous ANC-led administrations at their given time recorded achievements that were appreciated by voters who returned the party to power, albeit with successive declining outright majority.

It was against this background that Ramathuba unveiled a programme with an understanding that her administration was not to drown in the glory of the past achievements.

“Nevertheless, the challenge for this new administration is not to drown in the glory of our past achievements, but to work even harder to make Limpopo a much better place to live in for all her people,” she said.

Ramathuba emphasised the importance of responsibility which she said would be a defining feature of the administration.

“The word responsibility carries a dual, but complementary meaning. In one sense, it refers to a state of having a duty to deal with something. In another, it talks to the state of being accountable for something.

“It is my intention that a key defining feature of the seventh provincial administration shall be responsibility, a responsibility to create an environment conducive to the economic growth of our province and the socio-economic advancement of her people, tilted of course in favour of the most vulnerable among us,” she declared.

She mentioned focus areas of the programme: fighting crime and corruption, provision of safe drinking water, access to primary health care and quality education, provision of adequate human capital and the improvement of schools and health infrastructure.

She said the programme will further be outlined during the official opening of the legislature probably before the end of June.

Though she remained conscious to not over-dwell on past achievements while challenges of service delivery lie ahead, Ramathuba cautioned of “a tendency that seeks to reverse the gains of the past 30 years of freedom and democracy”.

“At the core of these tendencies is crime and corruption. I implore on all of you to join me in renewed efforts to fight corruption. We must do this because corruption is not only a government problem.

“It is a societal problem that requires all of us to play a role, be it the ruling party, opposition, business and members of the public,” she said.