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On 1 April, the first day of the opening of the Individual and revised Finance Linked Individual Subsidies (FLISP), 447 persons visited the offices of the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements (WCDoHS) in Cape Town, to enquire about how to access these subsidies. A total of 33 applications were submitted. These consisted of 7 …

On Friday, 1 April 2022, the Western Cape Government welcomed 492 newly appointed Premier’s Advancement of Youth (PAY) interns into the civil service. I want to congratulate the interns on their appointment and truly hope that this is a rewarding experience, which will set them up for further success in their careers. This programme is …

Today, Western Cape Minister of Human Settlements, Tertuis Simmers tabled the Provincial Department’s budget for the 2022/23 financial year in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP). The following are extracts from the themed speech, “A Budget with Opportunities For You” https://www.westerncape.gov.za/speech/human-settlements-budget-vote-8-2022-2023 From the outset, I’d like to make it known that the 2022/23 human settlements …

“Department of the Premier receives 4.6% increased budget allocation which sees R40.039 mln allocated in 2022/23 to fighting cybercrime” Today, the Premier of the Western Cape, Alan Winde, delivered the Budget Vote Speech for the Department of the Premier in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. The focus of the speech was on ‘driving innovation and …

Dear Editor The Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the fourth quarter of 2021 proves that the Western Cape continues to be the country’s centre of jobs, with the province’s expanded unemployment levels being 15.8 percentage points lower than the national average of 46.2%. This is a remarkable achievement and is further backed by the …

In light of the cold and harsh winter months ahead, the Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) has operationalized its winter readiness programmes in each region across the province. The DSD, in collaboration with several other government agencies works to ensure that there are appropriate responses in place to mitigate the impact of disaster …

Andre Livingstone-Louw, NSRI Yzerfontein duty commander, said: At 04h30, Monday, 28 March, NSRI Yzerfontein duty crew were activated following reports of a yacht run aground at Dassen Island, West Coast. The sea rescue craft Rescue 34 was launched and on arrival on the scene we found the 3 yachtsmen were safely ashore and one crewman …

Dear Editor Too many people, especially young people, do not have jobs, or have given up looking for jobs, in the Western Cape. However, we welcome the fact that 37 000 more jobs have been created quarter-on-quarter and that we have the lowest expanded unemployment rate in the Western Cape. The Quarterly Labour Force Survey …

The Western Cape Department of Human Settlements urges residents to be aware of fraudulent housing scams that requests you to pay for government housing assistance. Fraudulent scams have increasingly been reported and appears on different platforms, particularly online, requesting citizens to either: pay a deposit or holding fee for a government house; to pay to …

Dear Editor The DA condemns the use of violence this week by Walter Sisulu University (WSU) student leadership and students. These acts of criminality are abhorrent and have no place in our institutions of learning. That being said, the increasing demand for student funding is becoming critical and the DA calls on the Minister of …

Dear Editor We have officially launched the R10 million Municipal Ease of Doing Business Fund, which will provide capacity and funding support to municipalities to make it easier for businesses, to do business in the Western Cape. Making it easier to do business in the Western Cape is a key priority. That is why the …

Dear Editor In the 2022/23 financial year, the Department of Health will be spending R1 176 593 000 on infrastructure. This represents an increase of more than 8% in comparison to the previous year, which shows that the Western Cape is on track with its post-Covid recovery and is committed to providing quality healthcare to …

Dear Editor I will this morning meet with President Cyril Ramaphosa during the President’s Coordinating Council, where I will call for the National State of Disaster to be lifted immediately. South Africans, especially those who are unemployed, should not have to wait until 15 April (and likely longer) because the National Government has simply not …

Andre Fraser, NSRI Mossel Bay station commander, said: At 14h53, Saturday, 19 March, NSRI Mossel Bay duty crew were activated following reports of a drowning in progress at De Bakke Beach. At the time a routine training course was taking place at our sea rescue station and immediately the sea rescue craft St Blaise was …

Mike Vonk, NSRI Wilderness station commander, said: On Saturday, 19 March, NSRI Wilderness dispatched a team to Kleinkranz Beach following a request for assistance for a family dog collapsed on the beach. The family, while taking a walk on the beach with their 4 dogs, their one dog Rex had collapsed on the beach. A …

One of the first decisions you need to make when placing your property on the market is who to entrust with its marketing and sale. Open mandates allow several real estate agencies to market your property at the same time. Sole mandates place the responsibility on a single agent or agency for a period of …

Dear Editor I am disappointed and alarmed by the continued silence of the Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula, to the request to urgently grant Delta Air Lines’ application for a triangular route. As far back as May 2021, I wrote to the Minister, to request that Delta Air Lines’ application to operate a triangular route …

The following address on the extension of the state of disaster was delivered by the DA Federal Leader John Steenhuisen in Cape Town today: On Tuesday, the government extended the State of Disaster yet again. South Africa has now been under a State of Disaster for over two years. All signs are that the government …

Dear Editor Nearly 10 months after first writing to the national Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula, for failing to process and approve flight routes between the United States and the Western Cape, the Western Cape Government has once again launched an intergovernmental dispute. It is disappointing that while the provincial government has reached out time …

Dear Editor I condemn the extension of the National State of Disaster by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, which was set to expire today. Despite having months to prepare alternative public health measures that would normalize our response while enabling us to focus on creating jobs, it seems that …

The Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) has welcomed the appointment of a service provider to assist with the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Stimulus Relief Fund payments to those eligible ECD centres that are still waiting to receive funding. The appointment of a service provider by the DSD comes after the decision by the …

This past Friday there was a security breach at the Qolweni Phase 3A (169) housing project site, when one of the units was vandalized and a window frame stolen. A criminal case has since been opened at the South African Police Services (SAPS). Minister Simmers said: “I condemn this criminal act in the strongest possible …

Dear Editor The Western Cape budget for the 2022/23 financial year delivered today by provincial Minister for Finance and Economic Opportunities, David Maynier, will capacitate the provincial government in pushing forward to see true recovery and growth for residents. The job obsession of the Western Cape Government announced by the Premier in his State of …

Dear Editor More than a year since 108 claimants were first meant to receive their homes in District 6, the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development will be meeting with claimants, the City of Cape Town and the national Department to discuss matters relating to District 6 claims. We are pleased to …

Dear Editor Following five murders which occurred this week in Manenberg, the decision was made for the LEAP Reaction Unit to be deployed yesterday. The Unit will further capacitate and bolster the operations led by the Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) and Metro Police, which is aimed at curbing gang violence in the area. Once again, we …

Dear Editor This morning, I met with Ukraine’s Ambassador to South Africa, Ms Liubov Abravitova, where we were joined by the Director-General of the Western Cape Government, Dr Harry Malila, and the Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, David Maynier. This meeting follows a commitment made during a provincial cabinet earlier this week to …

Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu says government plans to scale-up collaborative interventions to tackle gangsterism in the Cape Flats. Responding to questions to Ministers in the Social Services cluster on Wednesday, Zulu said socio-economic programmes are aimed at preventing young people from participating in gang activities. “Going forward, our plan is to scale-up collaborative interventions …

Dear Editor During a Peace and Security Cluster meeting in the National Assembly last week, Minster Bheki Cele has once again tried to undermine capable sub-national governments from keeping communities safe. This after he called the City of Cape Town’s Safety and Security Investigations Unit (SSIU) “unconstitutional” – an independent unit which operates within the …