The Western Cape will spend almost R150bn to deliver equitable services over the next three years, says Finance MEC Alan Winde.
|||Cape Town - The DA-led Western Cape government will spend just shy of R150 billion to deliver equitable services and drive inclusive growth over the next three years, says Finance and Economic Development MEC Alan Winde.
Delivering his mid-term budget policy in the provincial legislature on Thursday, Winde painted a picture of effective governance and in-depth planning to address unemployment, improve service delivery and economic growth.
He said 70 percent of the province’s budget over the medium term would be used for education and health.
“We have managed to reduce the number of under-performing high schools - that is, schools with a pass rate of less than 50 percent - from 85 in 2009 to 26 in 2012.”
Winde said plans included the provision of daily meals to more pupils, the continued rollout of more textbooks across particular grades, competency tests for aspirant principals and an ambitious programme of new and replacement schools.
“We will also roll out mobile health clinics so that we are able to measure the wellness of our children at key development milestones. This is a South African first.”
The provincial government had set its sights on creating 100 000 jobs using the youth wage subsidy.
“I would like business to commit, by using this programme, to increase their staff establishment by 10 percent. This will generate over 100 000 jobs for unemployed youth.
Winde said unemployment in the province stood at 23.4 percent, which translated into 566 000 unemployed people, most of them young adults.
Through the work and skills programme and the premier’s “pay project”, more than 5 000 unemployed young people had been given the opportunity to enter the job market.
“We will use the lessons learnt in the roll-out of these programmes, in conjunction with the new tax legislation announced on a youth wage subsidy due to start in April 2014, to set up a facilitation unit that will work with the private sector to make it easy for business to access this scheme.”
Winde said the Western Cape continued to draw investment; in the 2012-2013 financial year, 1 783 jobs had been created through investment projects.
“Since coming into power, we have attracted 80 investment projects into our province valued at R30.1bn.
To further strengthen our trade ties with nations across the world, we are in the process of developing an international relations strategy focused on economic diplomacy,” he said.
Winde said the budget would provide for additional expenditure of R341 million, including R69.8m for hospital revitalisation, R19.8m for the repair and replacement of infrastructure damaged by floods, a further R86.3m for regeneration projects, R89.4m for road infrastructure and R54m for property acquisition.
warda.meyer@inl.co.za
Cape Argus