GOOD Statement by Brett Herron,
GOOD Secretary-General & Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament
14 August 2024
The Western Cape Growth for Jobs Strategy, approved by the Provincial Government in July 2023, is yet to show any signs of growth for jobs.
Not only is the strategy not producing the desired results, but the province is actually moving backward in terms of employment for its residents.
The latest unemployment stats show that for the second quarter in a row, the Western Cape lost more jobs than any other province.
In the second quarter of the year the QLFS Stats, released yesterday by StatsSA, show that the Western Cape lost 65,000 jobs. This follows the Western Cape’s poor performance in the first quarter of 2024 when it also shed the most jobs of any province.
The Premier needs to account for the poor performance of the strategy and the loss of jobs for two quarters in a row.
The Western Cape Growth for Jobs strategy is the Western Cape’s economic growth plan – which much like the Safety Plan – is not showing any signs of effectiveness.
In 2019 the Premier promised “a job in every home” and a provincial economic growth rate of 2% per annum.
He has yet to account for the failure to deliver on those promises.
Importantly, if the Growth for Jobs Plan is based on data, as it claims, then he has failed to explain why it promises 4%- 5% economic growth in his 2023 plan when he couldn’t even achieve the 2019 promise of 2% growth.
We really do need a job in every home if we are to alleviate unacceptable and abnormal levels of poverty in our Province, and the people of the Western Cape need a government that is effective in achieving its own targets rather than relying on the announcement of a plan as doing its job.
Media Enquiries:
Janke Tolmay, GOOD Media Manager
Cell: 073 367 1223
Email: janke@forgood.org.za
Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General & Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament
Cell: 082 518 3264
Email: bretth@forgood.org.za