Finance and Economic Opportunities
In respect of the recently launched Western Cape Growth for Jobs Strategy 2035:
- (a) How will the strategy be coordinated with other provincial government depart-ments, (b) what are the specific roles and responsibility of each department and entity and (c) how will the strategy be coordinated with other national government plans, such as the National Development Plan;
- in respect of the statement made in the document that “the Western Cape’s growth trajectory has to break loose from the historical trend of tracking national economy growth rates”, (a) what is the detailed explanation of what is meant by this and (b) how does the Province plan to achieve this?
I am informed of the following:
1 (a)-(c)
The Growth for Jobs(G4J) Strategy was co-developed by all Departments within the Economic Cluster (with the inclusion of the Department of Education) and will be jointly implemented by all Departments within the Economic Cluster. The Department of Economic Development and Tourism fulfils the role of overall coordination of the G4J Strategy.
A number of transversal G4J steering committees have been established. The G4J Strategy’s progress is monitored and steered at Cabinet level. Oversight is provided by a G4J Head of Department Steering Committee (Steercom) which is comprised of Head of Departments from the economic cluster departments. In addition, the Department of Economic Development and Tourism coordinates the G4J Technical Leads Forum, which meets on a fortnightly basis to ensure coordination and that support is provided to all Priority Focus Areas (PFAs). Each Technical lead manages and directs a transversal delivery team made up of projects and people across multiple departments. Project managers in turn execute projects which may also include transversal team members.
Each PFA has a Ministerial Champion, Head of Department Lead and Technical Lead, coordinating and driving delivery within the respective areas, as outlined in Question 10.1 (a & b). The strategy has been deliberately developed to encompass transversal, as well as departmental-specific delivery areas, requiring leads to plan, engage and execute cross-functionally to ensure that efforts and impact is maximised.
The strategy has taken into account the Western Cape’s context and priorities, and aligns with national government plans, where relevant. It aligns with the key goals of the National Development Plan (NDP), inclusive of raising investment rates, in particular those of the private sector at a provincial level, as measured by gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product. Furthermore, the Strategy is in keeping with the aspirations of the National Infrastructure Plan 2050 (NIP 2050) which envisages infrastructure as an enabler for investment and takes guidance from the NDP’s objectives with respect to the Science, Technology, and Innovation system.
2
Historically, the Western Cape’s GDP tracks that of South Africa. To the extent that economic growth continues to fail in South Africa at large, the Western Cape aims to decouple this province’s growth trajectory from that of the rest of the country, by increasing its growth rate to a level higher than that of South Africa. The Strategy recognises that economic growth is a dynamic process. Economically incentivised investment, be it from growing domestic and export demand, supported by government that prioritises and works to create a conducive environment for private sector growth, will drive production and business confidence, leading to increased employment, taking demand to a higher level.
Breakout growth will be achieved through enabling a conducive business environment, supporting growth opportunities, and stimulating market growth. This will be achieved through the 7 Priority Focus Areas which provide the basis for higher growth rates, which are focused on horizontally enabling the private sector, which includes formal, informal, and township-based businesses, addressing key binding constraints, and synergistically contributing towards the overall goal. Each PFA has an Objective Statement, a Goal Statement, a Picture of Success, and a Theory of Change in order to reach the goal of becoming a R1-trillion inclusive economy in real terms and growing at between 4% and 6% per annum, by 2035. Further information on these PFAs and their goals can be found in the Growth for Jobs Strategy document available on the Western Cape Government website.
