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Celebrating Mandela Day
24 JULY 2019
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Beware of the borer beetle
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Kalfiefees musical highlights
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#ALLOVEROVERBERG We’ve Got You Covered
New scenic hiking trail opens
YOUR FREE COPY
A cool early morning at the Klein River in Stanford. The photographer, Riaan Jacobs, can be contaced at riaan@riaanmail.co.za to order a print of this stunning photo.
Let’s get to work, says Winde Writer De Waal Steyn
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raft of new interventions to stimulate economic growth, provide affordable and sustainable housing opportunities and improve safety in the province was announced by Western Cape Premier Alan Winde during his maiden State of the Province Address in the provincial legislature last week. “We will build a province in which aspiring residents can find a place of work, or start their own; in which hard-working parents are able to put nutritious food on the table for their
children, and ensure they grow up healthy and strong; that these same children are afforded an education which primes them to take up jobs in the economy of tomorrow, where even the poorest of the poor are able to live dignified lives. A province in which the stubborn spatial tenets of apartheid are vanquished so that no matter where you live, and how you move around, your life feels valued. And above all, a province in which we live free from fear,” he said. Winde said what defines this new
government, other than just better delivery, is its vision. At the heart of this vision is a pact between the government and the people of the Western Cape. “As government, we undertake to provide our citizens with opportunities and, in return, we ask that they take personal responsibility for making the most of them. “We will live and be held accountable to our values as a government and we will continue to build a capable state on this foundation,” he said. The 2019 household survey confirms
that: 98.7% of homes have access to piped water; 87.9% have access to mains energy supply; 93.8% of households have access to improved sanitation; and 77.4% of households have at least one salary earner. A total of 700 000 people were recipients of housing opportunities. “Since the DA was elected in 2009, the province has attracted R100 billion in foreign direct investment. We have generated R1 billion in savings for businesses by reducing ‘red tape’ in the Western Cape. In the
last decade, our tourism industry has boomed, with tourists bringing billions into our economy. In the last decade, we have created more than 500 000 jobs, which is why we have the lowest real unemployment rate in South Africa,” he said. He added that the government is committed to creating more jobs and more economic opportunities, building on the base of the 508 000 jobs that businesses and entrepreneurs have created since 2009. Continues on P 3
