THE 2026 STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS DELIVERED BY THE PREMIEROF GAUTENG, PANYAZA LESUFI, AT NASREC, JOHANNESBURG 23 FEBRUARY 2026

About twelve months ago, we stood before this august House to deliver the 2025 State
of the Province Address. In that SOPA, we announced bold commitments in pursuit of
our renewed electoral mandate to drive socio-economic transformation in our
province.
We are honoured to stand before this House on this occasion of the third SOPA of the
7th Administration of the Government of Provincial Unity to report back on these
commitments.
It remains an honour to lead and be the face of this province of ours. Where I erred or
misrepresented our province, I sincerely and honestly apologise, as I always take my
responsibilities seriously. The African proverb tells us that “the hands that make
mistakes belong to those who work”.

This evening, we are joined by an outstanding and powerful woman who led during
the most difficult period in our struggles against apartheid. She is a worthy recipient of
the iSithwalandwe/ Seaparankwe, an honorary doctorate from the University of
Johannesburg and a string of awards, both locally and internationally.

As we celebratethe 70th anniversary of the Women’s march held in our province, we are honoured to
accord her a welcome as a special guest of our government. Ladies and gentlemen, I
present to you Mama Sophie de Bruyn, the lioness of our people. Mama, we are your
children, and you remain our mother. We love and cherish you, imbokodo!
2
This House convenes here at NASREC, where the last sitting of the G20 Leaders’
The summit took place, and members unanimously adopted the Leaders’ Declaration that
paves the way for solidarity, equity, and sustainability.

Our choice of this venue is nothing more than a token of appreciation to our President, the residents of Gauteng, and global organisers for entrusting our province with the hosting of this historic first-ever global summit on the African continent. The success of this event was the result
of intensive and coordinated work between the provincial government, the national
government, and all municipalities.

During his delivery of the State of the Nation Address, our honourable President, Cyril
Ramaphosa reaffirmed the three national priorities as contained in the Medium-Term
Development Plan. These are:

• Driving inclusive economic growth and job creation;
• Reducing poverty and tackling the high cost of living, and
• Building a capable, ethical, and developmental State.
  These remain the priorities of the 7th Administration of the Gauteng Government of
  Provincial Unity.
  G1: Water
  People of Gauteng;
  On 27 January 2026, we were hit by an unexpected water shortage. There was a huge
  explosion at the Rand Water plant. After the explosion, fire hit our transmission
  machines, followed by a huge burst pipe. Immediately thereafter, our water supply was
  deeply affected. We then went into emergency mode. The area affected by the
  explosion was rectified within 72 hours, the fire extinguished, and the burst pipe
  repaired. However, the water levels were badly affected.
• 
  The President sent a Ministerial team to camp in our province, and our Water
  The emergency team went on overdrive. This resulted in the Minister of Water and
  Sanitation, Honourable Pemmy Majodina, giving an extraordinary proclamation to
  Allow Rand Water to extract more water from the Vaal River immediately
  Water System.