Alan Winde failed to meet the challenges of the new decade

20 February 2020

Our province doesn’t have a Premier.  We have a caretaker who has been told to protect the status quo.

Our province faces massive challenges.  Some of them are deeply historical.  Others are emerging.  All are urgent and threaten the prosperity and sustainability of our province and the people who live here.

Having had nearly a year in government I was expecting Winde to deliver a state of the province address that would rise to the occasion demanded by these challenges.

What we heard was more of the same.  Quite literally the same promises made today were made in 2019, but were presented as if they are new.  The level of disrespect for voters is inexcusable.

I was expecting the focus to be on crime and safety and to hear much more about the Safety Plan.

But, even what was presented on the Western Cape Safety Plan was the same as what we heard last year when there was only a “Western Cape Safety Plan Working Document”. 

Winde hasn’t developed his flagship project in any meaningful way.

The speech repeated all of the 2019 promises:

Reaching out to government through “First Thursdays” – even though this only those who can come to you.

The immature promise to release public land, for affordable housing, only if Patricia De Lille, the Minister of Public Works does so first. The DA has been in power here for more than a decade and has not delivered a single affordable inner city housing development. I suggest they get moving - De Lille, in her post for less than 9 months, is well on track to eclipse them. 

A economic war room to grow the economy – last year the economic war room was going to deliver 2.5% growth in the province.  In 2019 the economy grew by only 0.7% with projections for 2020 only a slightly better 1.2%

A ease of doing business index – repeated promise from last year as a tool to ensure it is easy to invest and grow your business here.

Settling the Tafelberg School dispute – despite this promise last year the Province robustly defended its decision to sell the site during the court case in November.

Fixing Public Transport – yet the MyCiTi service from Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain hasn’t operated since May 2019 and the same communities no longer have access to a train service.

Improving investment in education and teachers – yet the Education Department’s teaching budget was cut by R41 million in December.  This would have added nearly 200 teachers.

Winde and his government are hopelessly out of touch.  They lack a vision and a plan that can lead this province through the turbulent times ahead.  Winde’s team are tinkering at the edges while our planet is quite literally burning.

Issued by Brett Herron, Secretary General, GOOD, 20 February 2020