Western Cape’s push for growth and job creation gives SA a boost
The province has the lowest unemployment rate as construction and tourism experience boom, write Michael Spicer and Tim Harris
Last week will surely be remembered as a stormy time. While a major cold front moved with pace towards SA, delivering torrential rainfall and destructive fires in the Cape, another devastating "economic storm’ hit our country after Statistics SA revealed that our economy had officially entered recession. The confluence of recent factors, set out clearly by S&P Global Ratings, Fitch and Moody’s over the past two weeks, had accelerated the contraction of the economy and increased unemployment. As members of the board of Wesgro — Cape Town and the Western Cape’s official tourism, trade and investment agency — we were confronted by a different reality when hearing the news. While the national economy is sick, there is growing evidence to suggest that the Cape economy is performing relatively well. The province’s growth over the past five years now matches that of Gauteng, SA’s economic powerhouse, and remains above the national average. The Western Cape maintains the lowest unemployment...
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