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Date : 09/04/2003
Source: Western Cape Provincial Government
Title: Van Schalkwyk: Congress of the Western Cape Local Government Organisation


EXTRACT FROM SPEECH BY THE WESTERN CAPE PREMIER, MARTHINUS VAN SCHALKWYK, OFFICIALLY OPENING THE ANNUAL CONGRESS OF THE WESTERN CAPE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ORGANISATION (WECLOGO), Hartenbos, 9 April 2003

In order to build our World Class Province which Cares, the Western Cape Provincial Government has embraced the concept of iKapa eliHlumayo - the growing and developing Cape - as the cornerstone of our approach to governance and to meeting the challenges of development over the course of the next ten and twenty years. A critical component of this vision for growth is the success of the partnerships between provincial, local and national government.

For iKapa eliHlumayo to succeed, it is particularly important for us to identify the challenges which make growth and development unsustainable - and then to find ways of addressing these issues together. One of the most pressing of these challenges is the force of migration to the Western Cape.

In addition to normal population growth, the Western Cape gains an estimated 48 000 new residents through migration every year - representing an increase in our population of more than 1% annually, with the majority of new residents arriving from the Northern and Eastern Cape. The recent results of our first Western Cape Migration study have shown that the main reasons for this migration to the Western Cape are the perception of better job opportunities, more accessible and effective infrastructure, and the better quality of life available in our province.

This migration to the Western Cape, combined with the trend of more rural families moving to our towns in search of better employment, is likely to result in the consolidation of a city in the southern Cape over the next decade, and the eventual development of a new metro. As the towns in this region continue to expand to cater for the influx of new residents, provincial and local government must start now to find answers to questions such as how best can issues like health, sanitation and water supply be coordinated in anticipation of a new city? What will be the requirements in terms of the electrical distribution grid? In light of the importance to the region of tourism as a growth industry and the need to balance environmental concerns with development, what planning and spatial development needs to take place to ensure suitable land availability for settlement? How will agriculture be affected? What will be the public transport needs? Will the road system be able to cater for the increased traffic demands?

Although the formation of the new city may be a decade or more in the future, it is important for us to already begin committing energies and seed finances to ensure that the process of urban development is both orderly and planned. What is clear is that the Eden District Municipality will need to play an increasingly prominent coordination role in addressing these issues.

Whilst the migration to the Western Cape is a sign of the success of our efforts to improve delivery, it also poses a number of significant challenges for provincial and local government. It is clear that the provision of housing and other basic infrastructure, as well as town and regional planning, is going to need to extend well beyond the existing backlogs, especially in the eastern parts of the province and some parts of the West Coast. In effect, the inflow of migrants will mean that the Western Cape will need an estimated 12000 new houses, about 12 new primary and 6 new secondary schools, and another 2 to 3 new clinics every year - in addition to the normal growth demanded by our existing population.

With a firm understanding of the scope of the issue, and the political will to build the province successfully, challenges of this nature will be met. The key to addressing them lies in developing even closer cooperation between the different spheres of government - particularly in the provision of infrastructure.

As a result of the excellent cooperation between municipalities and our provincial team, the Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme (CMIP) was last year able to allocate the full R143 million budgeted for improving local infrastructure. For the 2003/4 financial year this allocation has grown by 37% to R183,7 million. These funds will be used to begin addressing these infrastructure challenges. It is also apparent that as migration patterns continue to swell our population in the province, and the demands on our social services like health, education and housing grow, there will need to be a corresponding increase in the equitable share allocated by National Government to the Western Cape.

Enquiries: Riaan Aucamp, Cell: 083-778-9923
Issued by the Office of the Premier, Western Cape Provincial Government, 9 April 2003

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