/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, has today 16 April 2025, chaired a meeting between members of the national executive and the Eastern Cape provincial executive council.

The meeting was the fifth formal engagement between the national executive and provincial counterparts. 

Since November last year, President Ramaphosa has led similar engagements in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. 

The President and the national executive plan to conclude the first round of visits to all the provinces in the next few months.
The meetings are part of the commitment by the Government of National Unity to engage with provinces on a more regular and structured basis. 

President Ramaphosa appreciated the existing inter-governmental co-operative framework between the Eastern Cape provincial government, local government structures and the national departments.
The President directed that national departments must work with provincial departments, along with the relevant state agencies, to accelerate all catalytic development projects and urgently address all bureaucratic hurdles that hold back vital economic development. These include rural road and water infrastructure projects and work to improve rail and port infrastructure. 

President Ramaphosa expressed concern at the increasing levels of crime in the province and affirmed the urgent need for additional crime fighting resources and capacity to deal with the scourge of crime impacting communities across the Eastern Cape. 

President Ramaphosa encouraged the provincial leadership to work harder at formulating innovative financing mechanisms for key infrastructure projects, including those to address the housing backlog in the province. 

Issued by the Presidency