The state of the WCape economy

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Speaker, we stand today at the halfway point in the term of this government. In the short time that we have governed this Province, we have devised and begun to implement a 12 point strategy to deliver an open, opportunity society for all in the Western Cape.

The objectives outlined in our draft strategic plan and upon which we determined our policies were not picked at random. Rather, they were devised after a thorough investigation of the most pressing challenges that we face today, with poverty being the most critical of these.

As we look back on the achievements of the past years, we remain mindful of the challenges that lie before us.

South Africa today is comprised of over 50 million people. Of the total population, just 3,3 million people earn between R50 000 and R500 000 a year, and only 150 000 earn over R500 000 a year. These few earners, and the contributions that they make to tax, are far outweighed by the 4 million unemployed persons and 10 million discouraged job seekers that are not able to contribute to the South Africa that our first democratic president, Nelson Mandela, dreamt of. Instead, a large percentage of our population are dependent on the national economy.

There are two distinct schools of thought on how we should address the deepening poverty in our country. The first, held by the ANC government, talks of nationalisation, expanding our social welfare system, redistributing assets and land, and increasing government’s staff base to absorb the unemployed, whether fit for the purpose or not. In this view, South Africa’s economic pie is fixed, and all that remains for us to do is divvy it up. The result is poverty displacement short term alleviation for the lucky few who are swept up in the net and remain dependent on it for the rest of their lives. The remainder are abandoned with little or no recourse to help themselves.

via Politicsweb – The state of the WCape economy – Alan Winde – PARTY.

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