Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi addressing the masses during his 2025 SONA.
The 2025 Gauteng State of the Province Address by Premier Panyaza Lesufi gave hope to the majority of South Africans that despite many challenges faced by the country there is light at the end of the tunnel against all odds.
Lesufi’s speech indeed tackled the three national priorities, re-emphasised by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his 2025 State of the Nation Address. Indeed, the province is aligned with three strategic priorities of the Medium-Term Development plan which are to drive inclusive growth and job creation; reduce poverty and tackle the high cost of living; and build a capable, ethical and developmental state.
"Executive Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya and Deputy Mayor Eugene Modise, Tshwane is back, better and bolder. Together with other parties in your administration, you have demonstrated that a city can be clean and a city can serve all its residents. For that, we say thank you, thank you, thank you! Keep it that way! We are pleased to see the effectiveness of Inter-Governmental Relations to the test and succeeding in enabling the system of government to deliver services to residents."
“The Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (TASEZ) is proof that Gauteng is the driver of Africa’s automotive revolution. It is a bold declaration that the future of manufacturing starts right here. It was the great African scholar Chinua Achebe, who said, “Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will glorify the hunter,” said Lesufi.
“Today, as we host SOPA 2025 in this groundbreaking facility, we are not just celebrating what has been built—we are charting the road ahead. The Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (TASEZ) is proof that Gauteng is the driver of Africa’s automotive revolution. It is a bold declaration that the future of manufacturing starts right here.”
He said TASEZ is the manufacturing flagship programme of Gauteng province. “Five years ago, where we are today at Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone, there was nothing here but an open space that was destined for a very special reason. TASEZ is the manufacturing flagship programme of our province. Five years ago, in 2019, the first sod-turning ceremony was overseen by President Cyril Ramaphosa to start the production line of Ford’s Next-Generation Rangers. Today, this plant is now producing 725 cars a day and more than 200 000 Ford Rangers per year, a remarkable achievement,” Premier Lesufi said.
“Our province is proud to be home to Africa’s first automotive city. We launched TASEZ in 2020 through a strategic partnership between the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, the Gauteng Provincial Government, the City of Tshwane Metropolitan and Ford Motor South Africa. This intergovernmental and multi-sectoral partnership yielded a combined investment of over R26 billion, creating over 8000 jobs, of which 3 300 are permanent jobs. Through this innovation, 229 SMMEs have already benefited from R1.7 billion in procurement opportunities, with targeted support for women, youth, and entrepreneurs with disabilities.”
The Premier of Gauteng said however with Phase 2 now underway, this SEZ will expand its impact, attracting R6.1 billion in private-sector investment and R3.95 billion from government partnerships.
He confirmed that over 4,000 construction jobs will be created, along with an additional 2,150 permanent jobs in high-value manufacturing.
“This is real economic transformation in action, where factories rise, businesses grow, and communities thrive. By doing this, we are #GrowingGautengTogether. TASEZ is an emphatic demonstration of the positive outcomes which accrue to collaboration between the three spheres of government within the context of an IGR agreement. The TASEZ model has been a testament to our commitment to growing and supporting manufacturing sectors in Gauteng. We want to expand and replicate this model of success to the West Rand and Sedibe,” said Premier Lesufi.
In relation to water debacles in the province, Panyaza apologised to the community. “Even though this is not a competency of the provincial government, together with our municipalities, and the Minister of Water and Sanitation Mme Pemmy Majodina, we have taken a drastic decision to allow City Power to take over the electricity supply of the Eikenhof pumping station while Eskom will take over the Emfuleni pumping station to immediately restore power. As we move forward, we are preparing all municipalities to receive a large water supply from the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, set for completion in 2028. This requires massive upgrades to municipal infrastructure to ensure it can accommodate the additional water supply,” the Premier said.
He also condemned vandalism and cable theft in the province which gave birth to anarchism and power cuts. “To date, we have shut down 1079 scrap yards for non-compliance, shut down 593 spare shops and 149 tyre shops for operating illegally. 716 owners and operators were arrested and tried through our courts. We’ve resolved to install tech logs that will alert us instantly when our network is tampered with and a 24-hour response team will always be on standby. And we are making sure that businesses no longer suffer because of power cuts! A reaction unit comprising of various law enforcement agencies and the private sector has been unleashed to safeguard and protect our cables and public infrastructure,” Lesufi said.
He promised to remedy the traffic lights and potholes in the province to make driving comfortable for motorists.
“We have identified more than 400 traffic signals across our province that require immediate replacement. We have now set aside a budget and a team to immediately repair or replace these traffic lights. We welcome the intervention and support from various private sector companies that have adopted various traffic lights in our province. We will unleash an intelligent traffic system that will be tamper-proof. Transport is the lifeblood of our economy, carrying the hopes and dreams of millions who travel our roads, board our taxis, and ride our trains in pursuit of a better life. Gauteng as an inland economy depends on the transport and logistics system to get products to markets in South Africa and the world. So the conditions of our road and road networks must be maintained,” the Premier said.
The consummate leader also promised to leave no stone unturned when dealing with crime and lawlessness. “We have said this before, and we say this again: fighting crime remains an apex priority for the provincial government. Together with the private sector we have identified and profiled 442 kingpins that are causing the worst crimes in our province. These 442 crime kingpins are responsible for Cash in Transit, kidnappings, hijackings, rented murder, ATM bombings, blue light gangs and business robberies. Instead of waiting for them to commit crimes, we have put full-time surveillance around them. Of the 442 we have already arrested 50, and we are monitoring the rest closely,” said Lesufi.
He also applauded the security cluster for dealing with criminals decisively. “Thanks to the partnership with the private sector through Business Against Crime SA and the private security industry. We congratulate the SAPS for arresting an alleged mastermind who has been linked to the murder of a Sandton businessman while he was trying to flee the country to Ethiopia. What is notable about this case is that the three suspects were discovered through CCTV footage and were arrested by the police with the help of a private,” the Premier added.
About the pressing issue of mushrooming of informal settlement, he said his administration demolished more than 6600 new shacks and declared this habit of erecting shacks in Gauteng CBDs, towns, and townships as a crime against the State. “We now have a standing court order to evict these mkhukhu mafias. We’ve developed a new technology that will immediately alert us when a new settlement is established. With the use of the tool, we were able to identify 198 new invasions throughout the province. The tool is also used to protect government land, servitude, and road reserves. It has also assisted us in quantifying the state land lost through land invasion,” said GP Premier.
Premier Lesufi said about 8000 hectares of state land have been lost, which is all the more reason to ensure that we eradicate land invasion. “To accommodate those who genuinely need houses, we are partnering with our municipalities. The City of Johannesburg has approved the concept development of Grand Central Mixed Housing with a yield of 81 000 opportunities that will assist in reducing the Housing backlog to less than 500 000. There are 101 000 beneficiaries who have been approved for benefitting from the Housing Subsidy Scheme,” he said.
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