LETTER: DA’s Growth for Jobs plan outperforms

Ann Bernstein’s article refers (“Poor governance, not bad luck, is behind SA’s jobs catastrophe”, April 12). In the Western Cape we are greatly encouraged in our work to grow jobs and our economy by two key data points.

The most recent RMB/BER business confidence index (BCI) shows that business confidence in the Western Cape is higher than in any other province and higher than SA’s business confidence level. 

With a three point uptick in confidence levels in the Western Cape’s score, between the fourth quarter last year and first quarter of this year, from 37 points to 40 out of 100, this is the third consecutive increase in business confidence in the province and the longest sustained increase in Western Cape business confidence since the second quarter of 2018.   

It is also notable that the Western Cape business confidence far exceeds its provincial counterparts Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, which are at 23 and 18 points, respectively, for the same period. 

When we combine the BCI with the fact that four out of five (78.9%) of all net jobs created over the five years were in this province (based on Stats SA’s most recent quarterly labour force survey), we get a good indication that our economic action plan, Growth for Jobs, which seeks to enable private sector-led growth to achieve a R1-trillion, jobs-rich, diverse, resilient and thriving economy growing at 4%-6% by 2035, is having an impact. 

Additionally, in the 2022/23 financial year, each of the Western Cape government’s 14 departments, and every one of our 11 provincial entities have achieved unqualified audit outcomes from the auditor-general. 

Good governance doesn’t only mean that every rand is accounted for and spent on what it was meant to, it also signals to investors and businesses that they can trust the Western Cape government, and that their businesses are in good hands in this province. 

We have a lot more work to do. But the data is telling us that the policies, plans and actions taken by the Western Cape government to enable the private sector to do what it does best — grow and create jobs — are having a positive impact on businesses and therefore the people in our province. 

Mireille Wenger
Western Cape finance & economic opportunities MEC

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