By Teboho Moloi
QWAQWA – Free State Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae has issued a blunt warning to communities: criminality, looting and violent protests are driving away investors and deepening the province’s unemployment crisis.
Speaking at the Maluti-a-Phofung Men’s Indaba at Mohaladitwe Secondary School in Makwane on Sunday, Letsoha-Mathae said lawlessness has become one of the biggest barriers to economic recovery and job creation.
She made it clear that her administration will not tolerate any form of criminal behaviour – nor accept unemployment as an excuse for it.
“Unemployment has existed for years, but it can never justify crime. We cannot accept a situation where people turn to looting or violence in the name of survival,” she said.
The premier said while unemployment remains a national crisis, conditions in the Free State are being worsened by instability on the ground, which discourages both local and international investment.
She pointed to the lingering economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, but stressed that the destruction seen during the 2021 unrest dealt an even more damaging blow to fragile local economies.
“Many businesses closed. Investors pulled out because they feared for their lives and their assets. That damage is still being felt today,” she said.
Letsoha-Mathae revealed that her office is actively engaging potential investors interested in the province, but said their message is consistent: they want guarantees of safety and stability.
“They are willing to invest and help create jobs, but they need protection. They cannot operate in an environment defined by looting and violence,” she said.
She singled out the planned Maluti-a-Phofung Special Economic Zone as a critical intervention to revive the local economy, attract industry and tackle soaring unemployment – but warned it would only succeed if communities safeguard it.
“These are multi-million rand projects meant to change lives. But they must be protected. Without stability, there will be no investment, and without investment, there will be no jobs.”
Her remarks come amid mounting pressure on government to address rising unemployment, with the premier framing crime and instability as key obstacles to turning the tide.
The message was unequivocal: without law and order, economic recovery in the Free State will remain out of reach.
