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Editorial Comment

Communicating provincial policies
There is since the general election in April this year and the taking of office of the new incumbents in the executive committee of the Free State provincial government, clearly a new move to communicate the provincial policies to be implemented. And quite rightly so. The public (electorate) needs to be informed its after all their taxpaying money which is at issue. However, more than that, the time for practical service delivery within the context of the ominously widening gap between rich and poor has unavoidably arrived.
Still more than that : Government alone cannot do it - the partnership assistance of especially the private sector is essential.
Therefore we sincerely welcome this new communicating drive from Free State provincial governments, especially as it is embodied in their Budget Votes, evidence of which is visible in this and earlier editions of the Free State Business Bulletin. Also the professionalism with which the communicating process is being conducted, is to be appreciated.
As such this new engaging process is to be welcomed - and should be utilized towards much needed co-operative partnerships. It is now up to the business sector in the Free State to take this extended hand from the provincial government.

Mangaung Ekonomiese Ontwikkelingstrategie Die loodsing van die Mangaung Ekonomiese Ontwikkelinstrategie is 'n moedige stap om Mangaung binne afsienbare tyd te omskep in 'n stad van wêreldgehalte (nie noodwendig grootte nie.) Die inhoud van die Strategie is van hoogstaande standaard en plaas die Mangaung metropool ver voor enige ander munisipaliteit in die Vrystaat.
Vir die pad vorentoe is twee sake omtrent die Strategie van sleutelbelang: Die eerste is dat die Strategie spoedig moet realiseer in beduidende werkskepping en ekonomiese groei in die area. Die tweede saak is dat die bal in die baan van die sakesektor in die area geplaas is. Die Munisipaliteit het tasbaar sy uitnodiging op die tafel geplaas - die sakesektor moet nou reageer. Ons wag in spanning.

More developmental provincial budget needed It is all very well for the range of Budget Votes delivered by the various provincial departments to all focus emphatically on improving the lot of the needy and the poor in the Free State, but in a sense the provincial budget remains a welfare one. There is a view - correctly to our mind - that the relationship in the budget between the envisaged expenditure on social development, health and education (83% of the budget cake) and capital expenditure as represented by public works, roads and local government & housing (10%), is not suitable for inducing an envisaged economic growth rate of 6%.
In the province some 2,8 million people must be served with the total budget of almost R12,544 billion for 2004/5, coming to R4 500 per inhabitant. With an unemployment rate of some 43%, that is certainly too little.
Moreover, there is simply too little developmental dynamism built into the budget allocation - too little reverberating job creating projects and multiplier measures. The budget is too little entrepreneurially-orientated.
Perhaps the nature of the Free State provincial budget is being prescribed from national level or perhaps the Free State government is in a position to determine to a greater extent how the budget should be constructed. Be as it may, as it stands now, it looks set to fall short of the longterm developmental aims in the province.