Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism

The Western Cape Government is developing its five-year strategic plan for the next term.

It is being drafted in the context of the National Development Plan and will be aligned with NDP outcomes.

In the preceding five-years, our number one strategic goal in the province was creating jobs and increasing economic growth, a goal driven by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism. 

This objective was in accordance with the NDP.

It is important to note that the Western Cape Department is the leading province in terms of following the NDP. On a national level, the plan appears to have been abandoned.

In just one example, the newly implemented visa regulations are in complete contrast to the objectives of the NDP in attracting more investment into the country.

The NDP acknowledges that small businesses are key job creators and explicitly calls for reducing red tape for SMME’s. 

In 2011, the Western Cape Government launched the Red Tape Reduction Unit to assist entrepreneurs and foreign investors to create an enabling environment for business.

This unit is changing the business brand of our region. Red Tape costs our economy R79 billion each year and this is why we have appealed to national government to implement a similar unit.

As we plan our approach to land reform, we are set to become the first province to test the NDP’s  proposals regarding land reform.