By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Hours before Western Cape Premier Alan Winde was expected to deliver his sixth State of the Province Address (SOPA) on Monday evening, he was greeted by angry residents from the greater Drakenstein area.
Angry residents, flanked by pro-Palestine supporters, converged on the streets, their voices rising in unison against the backdrop of discontent.
Their demands were clear: better services, genuine spatial integration, and a tangible shift in land ownership dynamics.
At the heart of the protests were accusations directed at Winde and his administration’s handling of critical issues such as the Tafelberg school court case and investment in crime prevention measures.
Opposition parties, notably the GOOD Party and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), have been vocal critics, pointing to these instances as emblematic of a broader failure to address the ongoing inequality plaguing the province.
Despite the protests, Winde has defended the Pronvicial Powers Bill, saying it will allow the provincial government to deliver services where national government has failed.
Winde, was delivering the State of the Province Address (Sopa) in Paarl on Monday.
“We are in the process of putting the Powers Bill through this very legislature to do exactly that, to put systems in place when services are not delivered to our citizens that this parliament ends up in a process alongside this government in making sure through the NCOP, the National Assembly and even if we have to get to the Constitutional Court, we will force change and make sure that where services, from national government are failing the citizens of this province we will do what is necessary to make sure you, the citizen, gets those services, “said Winde.
He said some members of the provincial legislature were against the bill, but they would not drop it and they would ensure it goes through all the required processes.
The ANC in the province and at national level slammed the DA of trying to take over national functions of certain departments.
The DA has for the last few years been calling for the devolution of policing powers.
It said if Minister of Police Bheki Cele can give them more powers they will be able reduce crime levels.
But national government said there was one police service.
Winde reiterated in the Sopa on Monday that the bill was the way to go to address the shortcomings of the national government.
He also said nearly two-thirds of jobs created in the country over the previous financial year were in the Western Cape. He says this is against the backdrop of accelerated economic growth initiatives.
Winde further highlighted that their main focus is energy and fighting crime.
“Right now my cubic focus is safety and energy, if we fix those two things you then enable the economy even further, that it is already enabled, so it will always be safety. I suppose the jobs are the second thing. I am trying to get us energy efficient in the province, 5700 megawatts are what we need, we only use 4000 at peak, so we are investing in energy for the future. We need to end load shedding but that is because of the economy.”
Winde also expanded on various other key issues including major economic drivers such as tourism.
Lambasting the national government for the crises at its ports, Winde said while the province is the largest agriculture exporter in the country, without functioning ports it will continue to hamper further growth.
Meanwhile the official opposition in the Western Cape provincial government, the ANC, says Winde’s address was flat and failed to speak to any practical realities facing the people of the province.
The ANC also slammed the Premier for expressing deep concern and sadness for all children in mortal peril in the Middle East, but not mentioning Palestine by name.
Read the Summary of SOPA 2024 Here:Western Province SOPA 2024.