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Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe delivers the keynote address at the National Freedom Day celebration in Ermelo in Mpumalanga on 27 April 2025.
Acting President Gwede Mantashe says he would encourage people to go and build in Orania if he was the president of South Africa.
Mantashe says this move would would encourage healing over hatred among people of all races as the country marks 31 years of democracy this year.
He was speaking at the Freedom Day celebrations in Ermelo, Mpumalanga today where various government officials commemorated the annual celebrations at the AJ Swanepoel Stadium.
“Actually, if I would be a president for more than three hours, I would declare that people must go and build in Orania. Black people must go and build there. And we mix them. They appreciate that hatred can never survive. Peace. It is peace that builds a nation. But, I can’t. If I was, I would say go and build in Orania.”
Integrated Residential Development Programme
Meanwhile, the Mpumalanga government says it has launched a multi-million-rand special Integrated Residential Development Programme.
The aim of the programme is to address the housing as well as water and sewerage infrastructure challenges.
Residents of Ermelo are bemoaning spilling sewage and a lack of basic services in their area.
Premier Mandla Ndlovu says phase one of the project has been completed.
“We are implementing a number of infrastructure projects including bulk water and bulk sewerage. Some of them include but are not limited to, installation of a bulk sewerage pump station as part of the integrated residential programme in Ermelo extension 44. This project will cost R25-million on completion and phase one of this project has been completed.”
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