On Tuesday, 26 March 2024, the Provincial Minister of Infrastructure, Tertuis Simmers, tabled the department’s budget for the 2024/25 financial year with the theme Building Tomorrow: Investing in the Progress of the Western Cape.
The R10.2 billion budget will see an increased investment in some of the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure’s key youth development and empowerment programmes. This paints a clear picture of the department’s strategy of creating an enabling environment for the province’s residents to prosper. These programmes include:
The R12.7 million Masakh’Isizwe Bursary programme which provides bursaries to students for full-time studies toward a degree or diploma in the infrastructure sector.
- The Contractor Development programme has been allocated R4,6 million. This will advance the fostering of Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises as they progress from low to higher gradings from the Construction Industry Development Board.
- The department has set aside R7 million for the Artisan Apprenticeship programme in this financial year.
R2,23 billion has been allocated to the Human Settlements Branch with the department having already delivered 43 870 quality housing opportunities over the past 5 years. The Western Cape is the leading province in the country in the delivery of the affordable housing with the First Home Finance programme. The residents of the Western Cape can expect to see an acceleration of delivery this year with R100 million set aside for projects across the province. Over the next 3 years, the department will invest R300 million in this programme.
The Public Works programme will receive a budget allocation of R2,4 billion. An amount of R275,5 million will go towards construction projects. The department contributes towards the building and maintenance facilities to ensure that the residents of this province are provided with high-quality health care and school facilities.
In the R5,18 billion for transport infrastructure, a sum of R1,22 billion has been set aside for the construction of new and replacement projects. This includes the completion of the remaining facilities damaged by the 2023 floods.
Some of the notable projects for the year ahead are expected to generate employment opportunities for 1 676 job seekers, work for 137 local enterprises, and 36 emerging businesses. These projects include:
- Upgrading of Mariners Way.
- Upgrading and maintenance of MR191 (R45 Simondium to Franschhoek and Franschhoek Pass).
- Construction of the new North-west Malmesbury Bypass.
- The upgrade of the R43 Stanford to Gansbaai (TR28 section 2 between Stanford and Gansbaai and MR4017).
- Strengthening of N12 Waboomskraal to Holgaten (between George and Oudtshoorn).
- Periodic maintenance of R63 between the Northern Cape border and Murraysburg.
In his closing remarks, Minister Simmers described the budget as the Western Cape Government’s commitment to creating a prosperous future for the province’s residents. “This budget reflects our unwavering commitment to building bridges of opportunity and prosperity for all residents of the Western Cape. Together, let us strive for a future where no wall divides us, but rather, where infrastructure serves as a pathway to unity and progress.”
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