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Overview of the Provincial Revenue and Expenditure (OPRE %u2013 2025/26)2 PROVINCIAL BUDGET STRATEGY AND AGGREGATES 2.1 Introduction The President in his State of the Nation Address for 2025 has highlighted the need for deeper implementation of policy reforms to guide the country%u2019s forward march in a rapidly changing domestic and global environment. Mindful of the changing external environment the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP) sets out the country%u2019s immediate development priorities which include an inclusive growing economy that creates jobs, tackling poverty, the high cost of living, and developing state capacity to better deliver public goods and services. In attaining the required inclusive growth, the ramping up of economy-wide investments in infrastructure (particularly logistics, water and energy) and private investments will be necessary. Such investments will not only serve to boost short-term employment but also enhance the country%u2019s productive capacity and overall competitiveness over the short to medium term. At micro and sector levels government support will need to be streamlined and directed towards cost-effective regulatory reforms and sector growth master plans that foster transformative development targeting high-growth manufacturing subsectors, agriculture commodity value chains, tourism, including some the new growth frontier industries in the digital economy and green energy. Investing in human capital in the form of universal quality basic education, universal health coverage, and access to social and community safety nets will be critical if the province%u2019s mediumto-long-term development goals as reflected in the Provincial Development Plan 2030 are fully realised. Healthier and more educated people tend to invest more on their skills and capabilities thus fostering a virtuous cycle of economic inclusion and resilience against external shocks to income and livelihoods. The effects of these socio-economic processes will naturally be influenced by the unique demographic and social characteristics of the province.30