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Cape Town - The number one priority for the Western Cape is to grow the economy and create jobs, according to Alan Winde, Western Cape minister of economic opportunities.
He was the guest speaker at a gathering of the SA-German Chamber of Commerce in Cape Town.
"It is about how we go to market and about how the government creates the right environment for business to want to come here or to bring their skills here and to invest," said Winde.
He pointed out that about 540 000 people in the Western Cape cannot find a job.
In his view there are lots of opportunities for the province to develope in agriprocessing, for instance.
"I want to fix land reform. We are sitting in a country 20 years into democracy and 1.8% of the farm land in our province is in black hands - 4% in terms of investments in shares. The question is how to fix this," he said.
"The fight is not about land, but about value change and how we can go to market better and more."
At the same time there is a need to provide better qualified young people with an interest of going into agriculture, to ensure food security in the country.
"We are getting better and smarter and must also look at partnerships for agriprocessing and to understand markets," he said.
Business sector
As for the business sector, Winde said it is important to understand where blockages are which prevent ease of doing business.
"Why is Mauritius ahead of SA in this regard? Mauritius is doing some amazing things by using the right regulations and the right mindset for business," said Winde.
"We need to increase the business brand of our region. Cape Town has become an item on the tourism bucket list and we are getting more conferences here, but we must also make it a bigger business destination."
He said technology must be used to drive innovation in the region.
"It is a competitive world we live in and our business brand and ease of doing business must and can be improved," he said.
"Yet, we cannot create a business environment without electricity. Maybe it is time for municipalities to look at gas partnerships as an option?"
- Fin24
