DA welcomes Premier Alan Winde’s citizen-centered SOPA

16 February 2023

At today’s State of the Province Address, Premier Alan Winde did what President Ramaphosa was unable to do: Premier Winde showed that the DA-led Western Cape Government’s daily business revolves around the people of the province.

By working tirelessly to enable a job-creating economy, making our communities safer and investing in the future by delivering quality education, this government works for you, the people.

The DA applauds efforts by the Western Cape Government for giving people dignity by releasing nearly R89 million in emergency funding to municipalities, making sure that they have the resources to ensure safe drinking water and working sewage infrastructure during rolling blackouts.

The Rapid School Build Programme, launched last year, gives us hope for the future, as education is being made more accessible. This programme aims to deliver 842 new classrooms, with 662 already built in record time.

We are also encouraged by the Premier’s focus on growing the local economy. The Premier stated that their goal is to grow the economy by an average of 3.8% every year until 2035. This will ensure a R1 trillion GDP growth which translates into 600 000 job opportunities.

In terms of the safety of our communities, we know that there is still a lot more work to be done. But we are moving in the right direction and through effective, data-driven programmes like the Law Enforcement Advancement Programme, we are already seeing a significant decrease in crime within our vulnerable communities. These successes strengthen our call for the devolution of the policing competency to capable provinces, such as the Western Cape.

With these, and many other interventions, the DA is extremely proud of what this government, and other DA-local governments have achieved. We are also hopeful that much more will be done to create a better Western Cape for all.

Issued by Tertuis Simmers, DA Provincial Leader, Western Cape, 16 February 2023