BOKAMOSO | A decade of DA delivery in Western Cape shows what is possible under clean, capable government

12 March 2019

Last week, we learnt from StatsSA that SA’s economic growth (0.8%) was below population growth (1.2%) in 2018. So the average South African got poorer for a fifth year in a row. This shows it is not enough to put a new driver into the old ANC bus.

South Africa needs to move beyond liberation movement politics and into a post-liberation era of clean, capable, citizen-centred government that can put a job in every home, eradicate corruption, build a professional police service, secure our borders and deliver better services.

On Saturday the DA launched its Gauteng Manifesto, our plan of action for how we will get Gauteng working. The province has massive potential. The DA has already proved itself in Johannesburg and Tshwane which accounted for 162 000 of the 172 000 new jobs created in Gauteng last year. And DA-led Midvaal, has sustained economic growth of 10% for over a decade, with the lowest unemployment in Gauteng.

We will build on our success in Gauteng by actively supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs through funding, innovation hubs and partnerships. We’ll make it easier to do business by cutting red tape and by revitalizing and expanding industrial parks. We’ll provide space for informal traders, pay suppliers on time, and support the development of new CBDs in Soweto, Tembisa and Mamelodi. And we’ll lobby for police competency to be given to the province, since a more local approach will be far more effective in fighting crime.

There is nothing inherently wrong with Gauteng or with our country. We just need clean, capable government. Over the past ten years of DA government in the Western Cape, the province has pulled far ahead of the other provinces precisely because it’s had clean, capable government.

Outgoing premier Helen Zille is the first to admit there is still much to be done. But the province has progressed despite bad policy at the national level. It now has a professional, capable administration that is well-positioned to accelerate delivery. Below this newsletter I’ve listed some highlights from Helen’s final State of the Province Address, and I’d like to thank her for her incredible contribution.

This impressive progress comes from putting citizens’ interests first and prioritizing the most vulnerable. They show that Western Cape citizens did well to place their trust in the DA.

The DA’s Western Cape Manifesto sets out how we will build on these achievements. We will work to secure the Western Cape’s power supply through Independent Power Producers, because we cannot rely on Eskom to keep the lights on. We will fight for a provincially managed rail service so that bus and train transport can be integrated. And we will fight for policing to be devolved to provinces (those provinces that have the capability), so that we can build a professional provincial police service.

On 8 May, please vote for clean, capable DA government that builds One South Africa for All.

Warm regards,

Mmusi Maimane,

DA Leader 

Highlights from Premier Helen’s Zille’s Western Cape State of the Province Address

• At 23%, the Western Cape has SA’s lowest unemployment rate, a full 14 percentage points below the national average of 37% on the expanded definition. 
• 508 000 new jobs have been created in the WC since the start of the administration’s first term. 
• Employment in the Western Cape grew by 24.8% between 2009 and 2018, well ahead of Gauteng (18.6%) and KZN (8.8%), a result of the WC’s economic strategy – Project Khulisa. 
• We have South Africa’s lowest rural unemployment rate at 15.7%. 
• Success rate of land reform farms is 72%, compared to 10% success rate for SA as a whole. 
• Since 2009, 103 000 people have received title deeds across the Western Cape. We have brought the title deeds backlog down to 25%, compared to 59% nationally. 
• Achieved 83% clean audits this last financial year (2017/18). Gauteng came a distant second with 52%. WC achieved 0% clean audits before we took over in 2009.
• 21 of the 30 clean municipal audits in SA are in the Western Cape. (Compared to 0 in 2009.) 
• Western Cape is consistently the top performing province on key indicators for matric pass rates. Since 2009: 
  • the overall matric pass rate has increased from 75.7% to 81.5% in 2018 
  •  the Bachelor pass rate has increased from 31.9% to 42.3% in 2018. The proportion of Bachelors passes in Quintiles 1 – 3 has more than doubled. 
  • the maths pass rate has increased from 64.9% to 76% in 2018 o the Science pass rate increased from    52.9% to 79.5% in 2018. 
• The SACMEQ 4 report indicated that the Western Cape has an advanced reading score that is double the national average - 72.7% compared to 36.1% nationally. We were also well ahead of the 2nd ranked province, Gauteng, at 54%. 
• Our Retention Rate from Grades 10 - 12 is the highest in the country, at around 63% for the 2018 matric results. No other province managed to achieve a retention rate of over 50%.
• WC consistently achieves the best health outcomes. Life expectancy is the highest in the country, supported by a functional public healthcare system. 
• Since the DA took office in 2009, life expectancy 
  • for men has increased from 59 years to a projected 66 years 
  • for women from 64 years to a projected 72 years. 
• WC has the highest percentage of households living within 30 minutes of their nearest health facility, at          91.5%, according to Stats SA’s General Household Survey 2016. 
• We have built on average 13 schools and 206 new classrooms for every year in office since 2009. This amounts to 132 schools and close to 2,057 classrooms over two terms. 
• WCPG reached its target of full broadband coverage to a total of 1,875 public sites, including over 1,200 schools, over 200 libraries and approximately 400 other public facilities. 
• Over 95% of all kilometres travelled in the Western Cape are on roads in a fair to very good condition – you can literally feel and see the difference when driving into the province. 
• Since 2009, we have delivered 212 967 housing opportunities across the Western Cape. A total of 105 000 housing opportunities are in the pipeline for completion by 2022 as part of our Catalytic projects, which are at various stages of construction, design and planning.
• 22 WC municipalities have in place the necessary systems to accept Rooftop PV power into their grids - and 18 of these municipalities have approved tariffs in place so consumers can be compensated for electricity they feed back into the grid. 
• 2018 Ratings Afrika rated Western Cape municipalities the best in the country, with a combined average rating of 62% compared to the national average of 41%. 
• Municipal IQ found that a total of 8 out of top 10 municipalities in the national Municipal Productivity index are in the Western Cape.

ENDS