Today (30 September, 2021), Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, David Maynier, tabled the 2021 Provincial Economic Review and Outlook in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament.
The 2021 Provincial Economic Review and Outlook is a world-class annual research publications produced by Provincial Treasury, aimed at informing policy-makers, departments and municipalities on key economic trends and developments in the Western Cape.
What the 2021 Provincial Economic Review and Outlook tells us is that:
We expect, an average annual economic growth rate of 2.9 per cent between 2021 and 2025 in the Western Cape.
We expect the economy to grow by 3 per cent this year in the Western Cape.
Which means that, this year, the provincial economy will grow at a slower rate than the national economy in South Africa.
Which illustrates the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and related lockdown restrictions on the tourism and hospitality sector, which accounts for 4.5 per cent of GDP, and 6.6 per cent of total employment in the Western Cape.
Which is why we have to do everything we can to reignite the tourism and hospitality sector in the Western Cape.
And we have to do so with urgency.
First, the United Kingdom must remove South Africa from the ‘red list’.
The decision to keep South Africa on the ‘red list’ seems manifestly unfair, unnecessarily strangling a key source market for tourism in the Western Cape.
Second, President Cyril Ramaphosa must immediately move South Africa to Alert Level 1.
He must go further and, with the appropriate safety measures, give consideration to increasing the capacity of large conferencing venues, allowing spectators at major sporting events and reopening ports for the cruise season.
Third, we must remove the roadblocks to growth in the tourism sector.
This includes:
- Increased connectivity, with Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula’s, urgent review and approval of the application for the Delta Air Lines triangular Atlanta – Johannesburg – Cape Town route; and
- Attracting digital nomads, with the Minister of Home Affairs, Aaron Motsoaledi, introducing a ‘Remote Working Visa’ to allow international visitors to stay longer and work remotely while travelling in South Africa.
Fourth, we must vaccinate as many people as fast as possible so that we can avoid a possible fourth wave and ensure that we have a successful summer season in the Western Cape.
Finally, it is now time for national government to trust provinces, to end the National State of Disaster, and to allow provinces to manage the Covid-19 pandemic with a response that is proportional to the threat.
We need a new differentiated approach that avoids a blunt instrument that kills jobs.
Because every day that we delay costs businesses, costs jobs and costs livelihoods in the Western Cape.
The 2021 Provincial Economic Review and Outlook comes at an extraordinary time in our history in the Western Cape.
We have an opportunity to actually get things done in the Western Cape.
And, our Western Cape Recovery Plan and its three pillars of “Jobs”, “Safety” and “Wellbeing” puts us on a clear path to reopen and recover.
