The statement was made by FF Plus leader in the province, Armand Cloete, during his Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (Destea) budget debate. 

This follows after the MEC responsible for the department, Thabo Meeko announced that plans are under way to revitalise the raceway. It has been reported that the Matjhabeng local council has greenlit the FDC to source investors for the facility. “We experienced a remarkable expansion in the economy, but we still see a high unemployment rate. This, amidst the fact that we are still funding Phakisa (amongst others), which remains a white elephant for the province,” said Cloete.

Meeko previously said the revitalisation of Phakisa will create both direct and indirect jobs in the area. It will also serve as a nucleus around which the broader Phakisa Development Node will be built. Cloete, during his debate, mentioned that the province has already spent more than R9,4 million on the raceway in two financial years, while it was only able to bring an income of R1,2 million rand during this time. He said during the tourism month in September of this year, the department will stage the second Free State Tourism Saamtrek at Phakisa Raceway in Matjhabeng as a platform to identify the best of the best in the tourism value chain in the province. “We call upon our municipalities to participate in this programme.”

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It was announced in July 2022 that Phakisa will be renovated for economic growth. Destea’s Head, Dr Mbulelo Nokwequ, told OFM News that Phakisa Raceway will hopefully improve the economy of the Matjhabeng Local Municipality, as some world-renowned motorsports associations have recently shown interest in using the raceway. 

The former Destea spokesperson, Kgotso Tau, said the Saamtrek was held to assure travellers and tourists that the department is ready to do business again and that the province is ready to be rediscovered and explored after the tourism industry was heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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In 2021, Phakisa Raceway was listed among five key infrastructure projects in the province, which were scrutinised to see if they are yielding tangible fruits. This was as the head of the Infrastructure and Investment in the Presidency, Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa, descended upon the province to inspect the progress thereof.  The other four key infrastructure projects were the Bram Fischer International Airport Node Project outside Bloemfontein; the Botshabelo Industrial Park; the Homsek Dairy and Sinayo Group; and the Virginia Gas Project.

In his 2019 State of the Nation Address (Sona), President Cyril Ramaphosa named Botshabelo, located over 60km outside the Free State capital, Bloemfontein, as one of 16 industrial parks countrywide that had at that stage undergone revitalisation to stimulate economic growth. 

Ramaphosa alleged the town, which forms a part of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, had become productive again after being idle for so long. The other Free State area identified as one of the industrial parks selected for revitalisation was Phuthaditjhaba in the eastern part of the province.

OFM News