Opposition members and business leaders in the Limpopo Province have welcomed the R17,6 billion provincial budget, tabled in the Provincial Legislature on Tuesday, as "very positive".

In presenting the budget to the House, Finance MEC Thaba Mufamadi said it was aimed at encouraging economic development, while also addressing social needs.

Education will get the largest slice, viz. R7,3 billion, which represents 41 percent of the total budget. Welfare is next on the list with R3,6 billion, with increased social pension payouts and a large allocation of R45 million for HIV/Aids awareness programmes as the most interesting features.

The business sector is very pleased with the fact that over R1 billion will be spent on improving infrastructure throughout the province.

Mufamadi pointed out that there had been an inflow of investment in the province, amounting to R4,5 billion, during the 2001/2002 financial year. This had created 4 870 permanent jobs, with mining (2 900 jobs) and agriculture (1 615 jobs) benefiting the most.

He said the province's economy grew at an average of 5,5 percent in real terms between 1995 and 2000. The growth rate in 2 000 alone reached 3,9 percent.

In view of the investments currently flowing into the mining industry, Mufamadi said he expected substantial growth in this sector over the next three years.

Nafcoc president Tom Boya said the large allocation for the improvement of essential services and infrastructure would create many new business opportunities. He was also delighted with the substantial planned increase of expenditure on the HIV/Aids awareness campaign.

African Christian Democratic Party leader Neels Roelofse welcomed the availability of more funding for development projects, but said he still had questions regarding the capacity of government departments to adequately manage their spending.

Schalk van Schalkwyk of the New National Party supported most aspects of the budget, but deplored the fact that only R118 million had been voted for rural development.