The lives of all in Western Cape matter

TWO weeks ago, I tabled the Western Cape Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement in the provincial parliament.

When Premier Alan Winde delivered his special address in provincial parliament a month ago, he outlined a recipe for real change in the Western Cape

To guide our work, and to improve people’s lives Premier Alan Winde chose to focus on three “North Stars” – jobs, safety and wellbeing – over the medium term, which are guiding lights of the recovery plan in the Western Cape.

Which is why I announced that we have mobilised an additional combined R1.4 billion support package for jobs, safety and wellbeing in this financial year so that we can bounce back in the Western Cape.

Specifically, on jobs, our support package includes, among other things, an additional R155.9 million to support small businesses by accelerating basic maintenance and repair of infrastructure at schools, an additional R12n to support small businesses, which have been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, and an additional R8.5m to support businesses in the wine industry, which have been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic in the Western Cape.

On safety, our support package includes among other things an additional R36.5m to keep our children safe by accelerating the fencing of schools, an additional R20m to appoint young people as “safety ambassadors” to drive violence prevention interventions, and an additional R15m to improve the collection of data at emergency centres to support evidence-based violence prevention in the Western Cape.

And finally, on wellbeing, our support package includes among other things an additional R4m to appoint young people to support the development of literacy and numeracy at early childhood development centres in the Western Cape.

We have also received welcome national government funding to support jobs, safety and wellbeing in the Western Cape.

This includes, but is not limited to, an additional R814.2m to employ education assistants and general assistants at schools, an additional R53m to supplement the salaries of employees at early childhood development centres, and an additional R51.2m to provide food relief to people who are hungry.

It is important to note that these are additional allocations over-andabove what is already been provided in departmental budgets in this financial year in the Western Cape.

What this means, for example, is that we have mobilised a total of R39m to support small businesses hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic in the Western Cape.

This is made up of R27m in the first adjustments budget, and R12m in the second adjustments budget and which will support about 230 small businesses and save at least 2 000 jobs in the Western Cape.

We have done so because when people have jobs, people have dignity, and when people have dignity, people have hope.

We also stand ready to support frontline departments to respond to the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic in the Western Cape and have made available R227m on the Health Department’s budget, R200m on the Transport and Public Works Department’s budget and R864 through the provincial reserves.

We have to face the fact that the demands on government have never been greater, but that there is significantly less money to do the job, and because of that we will have to make difficult decisions in the Western Cape.

However, we can, and we will do whatever it takes to ensure that every single person, no matter who they are, or where they come from, could live a life of dignity, because the life of every person matters in the Western Cape.

And we can, and we will, do whatever it takes to bounce back in the Western Cape.