MEC for Finance and Economic Opportunities David Maynier has outlined the Western’s Cape Budget for 2022/2023

Maynier says that over the medium term, the provincial government has a budget of just over R229 billion. He says the province is “now in a position to allocate an additional R10.1 billion over the medium term in the Western Cape and this includes:

• allocating an additional R6.2 billion over the medium term to education;

• allocating an additional R2.4 billion over the medium term to healthcare;

• allocating an additional R136 million over the medium term to social development; and

• allocating an additional R2.6 billion over the medium term to infrastructure in the Western Cape.

The Covid-19 pandemic remains a reality and Maynier said the provincial government must make allowances for a Fifth Wave of infections. He added they also need to make budgetary decisions today for any future health needs:

• allocated R777 million for the health platform, which will be spent on the fight against Covid-19

• allocated R198 million for the rollout of vaccinations, which will be spent on rolling out of vaccinations

• allocated R17 million for communication, which will be spent on our efforts to improve vaccine uptake

• allocated R200 million to a contingency reserve, which will ensure that we remain flexible in our fight against Covid-19 in the Western Cape

Allocating a budget for safety and security was also key and Maynier said the province would:

• spend R1.1 billion over the medium term to support more than 1000 law enforcement officers to fight crime, especially violent crime, in crime hotspots;

• spend R43 million over the medium term to support violence prevention and the fight against the causes of crime; and

• spend R18 million over the medium term to support area-based teams to fight crime, and the causes of crime, in crime hotspots across the Western Cape.