WCape’s ambitious plan to grow economy to R1 trillion welcomed – DA – POLITICS

During yesterday’s appearance of the Department of Economic Development and Tourism before the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism, an overview of the Department’s plans for economic growth in the Western Cape was presented. The committee was informed of the Western Cape’s ambitious goal to grow its GDP by an average of 3% annually over the next 12 years, aiming to reach R1 trillion by 2035. Although the growth is expected to be gradual initially, it is anticipated to accelerate significantly as we approach 2035.

This growth will be driven by creating a competitive business environment that fosters opportunities for business development and expansion. The ultimate goal of these efforts is to address the unemployment crisis in the Western Cape, where 891,000 individuals, representing 27% of the labour force, are currently without work.

The Standing Committee was presented with several key enablers identified by the department as crucial for job creation. These include water security and resilience, energy resilience, market expansion through both exports and the domestic market, technological innovation, infrastructure development, and fostering a connected economy through investment growth.

The presentation also highlighted critical insights into the province’s water management challenges. The Western Cape is currently losing approximately 26% of its water through leakages, which is considerably lower than the national average of 50%. In terms of research and development (R&D), while the global average spending on R&D is 2.3% of GDP, South Africa’s average is 0.6%, with the Western Cape standing at 1.6%, placing it within the middle-income bracket.