Winde says end is in sight for W Cape load shedding

STAGE 4 load shedding was costing the Western Cape economy around R43 million a day, Premier Alan Winde declared as he delivered his State of the Province Address (Sopa) in Paarl yesterday.

He said the province was estimated to have lost between R48.6 billion and R61.2bn in real GDP since load shedding first started more than 15 years ago.

“The Western Cape is well on its way to becoming the first load shedding-free province in the country.

“Just under R7bn in total is being spent over the next three years to make the Western Cape energy-resilient.

“This amount is made up of just over R1bn from the province, R3.9bn from the City of Cape Town, and R1.9bn being spent by other municipalities across the province to enable the private sector and households to find solutions,” said Winde.

In 2022, the real GDP loss to the Western Cape was estimated at R8.2bn.

Winde said budget cuts imposed by the National Treasury impacted on service delivery.

“As we enter a new year, we unfortunately add another crisis to our list: the catastrophic national fiscal crisis.

“Our country has been pushed to the edge of a cliff once again.

“The national government’s mismanagement of our finances will have a significant impact on our residents, especially the most vulnerable.”

He said that his government declared an inter-governmental dispute as a last resort.

“This was not an easy decision to make. However, it is necessary to challenge the national government’s unconscionable and irrational move to force provinces to fund its deficit.

“We have a responsibility to our residents to ensure that they continue to get quality services, and so we will fight tooth and nail to get the R1.1bn owed to us,” said Winde.

Winde also spoke about the Western Cape Provincial Powers Bill, saying the most powerful way to help residents was for a capable provincial government to carry out functions.

“We are desperate to fix Cape Town’s Central Line and get trains back on track.

“We want to attract private investors to the Port of Cape Town so that it can again be an efficient logistics hub that helps create jobs and fuels our economic growth, and we want our citizens in communities like Nyanga, Delft and Mitchells Plain to be safe and prosperous,” said Winde.