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The DA government in the Western Cape has been working for four years to get national government to take small-scale fishing communities, and the fishing harbours they live around, more seriously.

We have called on many Ministers, written many letters, and attended many meetings. We’ve done everything we can to co-operate with national government and get them to fulfil their constitutional responsibilities in fishing communities. Time and time again, we’ve been promised that progress is just around the corner – that the next meeting, or the next, would be the one. But it never is.

Instead, national government has continuously blocked our efforts, and has prevented us from playing the role that the Constitution gives to local government in managing the fishing harbours.

We have a plan that would allow our fishing harbours to become hot spots of job creation and economic development. Our plan would free up our fishing communities to become prosperous and job-creating.  

The 12 fishing harbours in the Western Cape, and the dozens dotted around South Africa’s coastline, could generate new jobs and opportunities for the people who live in these communities.

At 23%, the Western Cape’s unemployment rate is the lowest in the country. But it could be even lower if our 12 small harbours were properly managed by a government that takes fishing communities seriously.  

Decisions are made in offices in Pretoria, but those people have never even visited these fishing communities. They take years and years to implement basic decisions, if at all. I have been writing to the Minister of Public Works for more than three years. But when I actually get a reply, the Minister never does what he says he will do. I am sure Minister Thulas Nxesi has never been to this harbour. I doubt he has any idea how important it is for the jobs of this community.  Maybe he has had more important things to do – like building Nkandla!

National government has no coherent policy or strategy for small harbours. It does not feature on the government’s radar. The fact is that President Zuma’s government lacks the political will to invest in our fishing communities in the Western Cape – or for that matter any small harbours along South Africa’s long coastline.

The Constitution gives the power to administrate our small harbours to both the national and local spheres of government.  

However, the national government has failed to fulfil its obligations. As the premier, I have spent four years fighting to get the three most relevant line ministers, as well as their predecessors, including Tina Joemat-Petterson, Thulas Nxesi, Geoff Doidge and Gwen Mahlangu Nkabinde to pay attention to this matter.  Eventually I turned to Pravin Gordhan for the Treasury to assist.  He is the ONLY person in national government who seem to understand that job creation is important.  But even he cannot get his colleagues to pay attention to fishing harbours.

But now even the Treasury has given up because of the complete non-co-operation of Minister Joemat Petterrson and Minister Nxesi.  So there is no other option but to go the route of a formal inter-governmental dispute.  That is a major step and involves certain statutory process which will end up in court proceedings.  This is just another example of how the national government blocks service delivery for years, which then requires costly court procedures to resolve.  It is a disgrace and it is keeping poor people in poverty.

I have done so to ensure that we have the right legislative framework in place, so that local government can play a leading role in getting these harbours to work for the communities that depend on them; to maintain the infrastructure; and to provide adequate funding.

But the government’s response has been indifference. Our local fishing communities have suffered from this neglect and lost income.    

The DA government commissioned a study in 2012 to examine how the potential of our harbours could be unleashed. We proposed a number of measures to turn the local fishing industry around.

The first step is to empower, and listen to the local community where the harbour is located. Each community should be consulted about the management and branding of its harbour. This cannot be done by remote control from Pretoria – this must be done by the level of government which is closest to the people.

Planning and strategy should be integrated into the broader economic planning processes at the local and provincial levels. A one-size-fits-all approach will not work. Each community needs its own tailored plan and revenue generating strategy.

Hout Bay is not the same as Hermanus. One is famous for fresh snoek and thousands of seals. The other is a world famous whale watching destination. Government must not treat the two as the same thing. We need a government that stands together with the local community to develop each fishing harbour in a unique and relevant way.

And there are a number of other ways to unlock our harbour’s economic opportunities. The Western Cape has some of the best local fishermen in the world – going back many generations. Together with local craftsmen, tourist attractions, restaurants, and markets – every fishing community in the Western Cape could be reinvigorated.  

Our manifesto in this election is about standing Together for Change, Together for Jobs. It is our plan to build a growing economy where everyone can receive a fair chance.

Fishing communities like this are not getting a fair chance at the moment. They have been used for too long as pawns in the ANC’s political games. The ANC talks about a better life for fishing communities, but it has done nothing to deliver it.

That is why we are here today. There is a lot that can be done with the right leadership, innovative thinking, and the most precious commodity of all: political will. The DA is ready to ensure that our 12 fishing harbour communities can operate at full potential. We need the national government to play its part.

We’ve given them long enough now. From now on, it’s time to get tough on national government. If they won’t do the job that the Constitution gives them to do, then we’ll do it.

And we’ll start to take the steps that the law allows us to take when we’ve tried everything, and given them all the chances they need.

Vote DA on 7 May so that we can carry on the fight for communities like this, and so that we can take over the running and management of fishing harbours. We will turn them into the centres of job creation that they can be, and should be.

Together for Change, Together for Jobs