The MEC for Finance Ivan Meyer tabled the Western Cape Government’s 2019 Provincial Budget today.

In his address, Meyer says this budget provides opportunities for the youth; supports the creation of a safe and secure Province for the citizen; provides an enabling environment for job creation and skills development; builds and maintains economic and social infrastructure; and applies good governance standards to maximise service delivery and citizen impact.

In aggregate, the 2019 Provincial Budget provides for total expenditure amounting to R67 billion in 2019/20.

Some of the key allocations over the medium term (MTEF) include:

• 75 million towards the promotion of economic development and job creation opportunities.
• R91 million for Rural Development Initiatives
• R1 billion is allocated towards successful land reform.
• 5 million is allocated towards the coordination, facilitation and implementation of skills development initiatives in the Province. These include, apprenticeships, artisan development, skills for the digital economy, and financial and business sector skills.
• 8 million is assigned to the Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone as a key catalytic driver for economic growth within the West Coast District.
• 5 million is allocated towards the Atlantis Special Economic Zone, for the manufacturing of green technologies and related services.
• The Education sector receives R75.2 billion over the medium term.
• billion is allocated over the 2019 MTEF for Health which includes an additional R511 million towards managing the increased service load pressures on the health system.
• 7 million is allocated towards piloting the Sanitary Dignity Project and to provide sanitary products to young women and girls.
• 9 million goes towards enabling the promotion and stimulation of a greener economy and water secure Province.
• 9 million is allocated to Local Government for the appointment of capacity towards the management of the drought crisis.
• R25 million is allocated to address the drought and the exploration of new wellfields in the Central Karoo District area.
• 1 million goes towards the Breede River Environmental Resource Protection Plan, The Berg River Improvement Plan (BRIP) and the Sustainable Water Management Plan (SWMP).
• 4 billion is allocated to Human Settlements. Key projects over the 2019 MTEF include the Better Living Model.
• The Centre for e-Innovation in the Department of the Premier is allocated R3 billion over the 2019 MTEF to enable service delivery through Information Communication Technology and to drive the e-Government agenda.
• 3 billion goes towards the implementation of the Broadband Strategy which includes the contribution towards e-Learning.
• The Provincial Treasury is allocating R1.1 billion to drive good financial governance in the Province.
• A Good Governance Grant of R30 million is introduced in 2019/20 to reward performing municipalities.