Dear Editor
I welcome President Cyril Ramaphosa’s unequivocal confirmation that it is businesses that create jobs, not governments. This is the established policy position of the Western Cape Government, and we believe it is a necessary foundation to base a successful economic recovery in South Africa.
I am, however, disappointed that President Ramaphosa did not use this important moment to provide clarity on when the National State of Disaster will finally come to an end.
It is understandable that our normalised COVID-19 response will need to be incorporated into existing public health legislation. But we must ask why it has taken so long to do when this was raised months ago.
Given the economic challenges our country is facing I do, however, welcome the announcement made that an injection of R100 billion from the fiscus will be made into infrastructure over the next 10 years. My State of the Province Address will focus on investment infrastructure in the Western Cape, as an important way to help businesses create jobs.
I was also happy to hear that the National Government is now considering introducing a Remote Working Visa. This follows submissions made by the Provincial Department of Economic Development and Tourism to their national counterpart arguing for the introduction of a remote working visa last year, following my State of the Province Address announcement.
As I set out before the SONA, the President needs to address the National Government’s failings which include inefficiencies at the Port of Cape Town and the failure of Metrorail in the Western Cape. We also need to improve policing resources, which includes not only personnel but also the tools they need to do their important work. This will correct the inequity in allocation that exists in our province. We will push for these to be addressed as quickly as possible so that our residents have the jobs, the safety and the well-being that they deserve.
Going forward, I will be delivering the State of the Province Address in Velddrif on 15 February 2022, where I will set out our plans to recover and move forward, with a focus on fighting the second pandemic of unemployment.
Regards
Premier Alan Winde
