During his State of the Province Address delivered yesterday in Velddrif, Winde said unemployment in the Western Cape has increased by more than 130 000 from the first quarter of 2020 to the third quarter of 2021. The percentage of households with adults presently, who go hungry has also increased from more than 11%in 2019, to 17% last year.

Winde also announced that he will set up an extended jobs cabinet that will take responsibility for coordinating the response to the joblessness pandemic. This special cabinet will consist of members of the new Infrastructure and Mobility departments, as well as the Departments of Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture, as well as the Provincial Treasury. Winde says the unemployment rate is of great concern.