Outcomes of regular Western Cape Government Cabinet meeting

Media Release: Outcomes of regular Western Cape Government Cabinet meeting

On Wednesday, 1 November, Premier Alan Winde chaired a meeting of the Western Cape Government (WCG) Cabinet.

Meeting with citrus fruit industry stakeholders

Premier Winde provided Cabinet with details of his visit earlier in the week to Ceres where he and provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger, met with various stakeholders from the citrus fruit industry. During the engagement serious concerns were raised over ongoing inefficiencies at the Port of Cape Town (PoCT).  Given that 42% of their produce (stone and pome fruit) is exported, amounting to more than R17 billion, these inefficiencies are a significant impediment to the industry’s growth and the economy of the region.

The most serious shortcomings at the PoCT are:

• Little to no investment in infrastructure;
• Poor maintenance of existing infrastructure; and
• Loss of specialised skills.

Premier Winde noted, “We have an opportunity to grow exports through the port and create more jobs, yet Transnet cannot seem to get its affairs in order and so critical logistics hubs are suffering from underinvestment. We as the WCG will intensify pressure on national government to prioritise the PoCT.”

Premier Winde also reported to Cabinet on a meeting he and Minister Wenger held with representatives of the Citrus Growers Association (CGA), Wesgro, and a delegation of United States of America (USA) Congressional officials in Simondium this week. The US delegation, among them members of the House Ways and Means and Finance Committees, is attending the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) summit.

The Premier used the opportunity to advocate for South Africa to remain a beneficiary of AGOA, explaining that the Western Cape’s agriculture sector has benefited immensely from the trade preference programme. Exports to the USA are growing thanks in large part to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The Premier and Minister were told the industry's employability potential is vast as it currently employs over 68 300 people nationally.

Over the past 20 years, the USA has consistently been one of the Western Cape’s top 5 export markets, and the second largest over the past 5 years.

Recent Economic Developments

At the Cabinet gathering, Minister Wenger gave a report on recent economic developments, which included:

• The Port of Cape Town container terminal continues to deteriorate due to breakdowns of heavy lifting equipment. It is currently operating below 40% of its own target.
• The Western Cape received 8 awards at the World Tourism Awards, including recognition for Cape Town International Airport as Africa's leading airport for the seventh consecutive year. Cape Town also won awards for being Africa's leading city destination and leading cruise port for 2023.
• Eskom’s generation performance has improved marginally from 27 410MW (May 2023) to 28 883MW (October 2023). Generation capacity was able to breach 30 000MW, which was largely due to the return of units at the Kusile Power Plant. However, the country’s energy situation continues to remain perilous.

The Cabinet meeting occurred on the same day that Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, delivered the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS). The Premier again stressed to his Cabinet that frontline services such as healthcare, education, and social development must be protected as far as possible from budget cuts. “South Africa cannot keep borrowing more money. This will not fix the economy. what will fix the economy is a change in policy and significant investment in infrastructure to underpin and enable the private sector to create jobs and grow the economy” he emphasised.