Premier

A draft of the Western Cape Recovery Plan was presented to the Standing Committee on Premier and Constitutional Matters on 24 November 2020. The Western Cape Recovery Plan will be finalised in February and will be accompanied by an Implementation Plan.

The process of developing the Western Cape Recovery Plan started in June, with priorities being identified as jobs, safety and well-being, with the “jobs” pillar focusing primarily on economic recovery in the Western Cape.  There has been extensive consultation with municipalities through the Premier’s Coordinating Forum, Minister’s Forum with Mayors (Minmay), and other local government engagements. The Priorities have served before Cabinet and have been approved and formed the basis for the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement, Adjusted Estimates, and preliminary budgets for the 2021 Medium Term Expenditure Framework.

Parallel to these processes, immediate job creation deliverables have been identified to address the immediate crises. This has achieved the following:

• Within the private sector, this has created or sustained over 7 493 job opportunities through various interventions aimed at supporting businesses. Over R1.3 billion worth of investment value was recruited into the region and over 3 000 companies have been provided with relief support.
• Within the public sector there were a total of 1 080 provincial projects that provided 27 000 work opportunities. Of this total, an estimated 6 531 Provincial Full Time Equivalents work opportunities have been provided. To achieve this, existing projects have been fast-tracked through the reprioritisation of departmental budgets, to create jobs.
• In the wine tourism sector, support has been provided to1333 workers through monthly stipends.
• Funding of R145.740 million has been made available in the 2^nd Adjusted Budget to support small businesses by accelerating infrastructure maintenance, including school facilities.
• Between August and November 2020, 2849 Early Childhood Centres were assisted with PPE to assist these centres to reopen.
• 110 000 copies of home learning resources have been distributed to learners to assist them to learn despite not being at school.
• An additional 1499 beds for the homeless have been funded as at November 2020, with an additional 1000 planned in the coming months.
• The innovative Red Dot Light service has safely and reliably transported healthcare workers between home and work, with a cumulative 135 200 passengers transported in November. 
• 347 000 meals were provided as at November 2020, and 4.4 million meals have been provided through school feeding scheme.
• 423 young people have been provided with their first work opportunities, and an additional R4 million in this financial year has been allocated to increase that number. This will provide opportunities for unemployed matriculants in ECD and schools by helping to build a culture of literacy and numeracy, while simultaneously providing the young people with personal and professional development.

A detailed progress report on these immediate job creation priorities will be provided in January 2021.