Premier calls for bold and decisive SONA 2025 that puts economic growth and more jobs first
Premier Alan Winde calls on President Cyril Ramaphosa to put driving a thriving economy and enabling more jobs first when he delivers his State of the Nation Address this Thursday, 6 February 2025.
“Faced with lingering stagnant economic growth, President Ramaphosa must be bold and unambiguous about putting our economy and job creation on an upward trajectory. It is critical that national government enables the engines of South Africa’s economy - Gauteng and the Western Cape – to hum,” stated Premier Winde.
“Unlocking the vast potential of the country’s logistics sector and driving infrastructure development are key economic levers to creating more jobs. I urge the President to prioritise urgent structural reforms to fix all our ports of entry and the rail network to boost economic growth.”
Building Cape Town International Airport for the future
The Western Cape had a bumper festive season with local and international visitors flocking to the province. “This was best exemplified in the record numbers of international arrivals to Cape Town International Airport (CTIA). 160 537 passengers arrived at the CTIA in December 2024 – the highest in at least 12 years. We know that the CTIA is at capacity and so we must act now to massively grow the airport’s capabilities for the future. Similarly, we must expand and develop George Airport and the private airport in the Cape Winelands. As a long-haul destination, and with tourism being a key driver of our economy, we must make it as seamless as possible for all visitors to land in this province. One job is created for every 30 new tourists to a location, so tourism is a crucial driver for jobs growth,” added Premier Winde.
Make the Port of Cape Town competitive
The Port of Cape Town is a key facilitator for driving economic growth by processing more imports and exports. Getting goods speedily to market particularly for our agriculture sector is critical for economic growth especially beyond the Cape Town metro. It is essential that we drive reforms that ensure that a private operator can boost the output of the port, with concessions that enable rail connectivity to further expand our exports.
“39% of the Western Cape’s agricultural value is reliant on exports and efficient, functioning logistics networks are, therefore, crucial for this sector. The Port of Cape Town is clogged and is not getting our products to market efficiently. Investment into future products that will come online in the next few years is just simply not enough. Introducing competitiveness with clear targets for efficiencies and improved outputs must be a priority,” he stressed.
Investing for future growth and more jobs
“While we are driving economic growth hard, we also need decisive action to better manage South Africa’s non-capital expenditure. This requires fiscal discipline and sustainability, as well as a concerted effort to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio, so that money is spent where our residents need it most in health, education, and other infrastructure investment”.
“The Government of National Unity has provided hope for many South Africans that we can change our path. It is critical that in this SONA, President Ramaphosa talks to how we turn that hope and optimism into delivery for all our residents,” concluded Premier Winde.