'Cape Town is Western Cape's money-spinner' - Brown

By Nadia Samie
18 November 2006

Western Cape Finance MEC Lynne Brown’s medium term budget policy statement and socio-economic profiling of local government reveals that more than 75% of the Western Cape’s economy is contributed by the Cape Town Metropolitan area.

According to Brown, the city’s major strengths lie in its infrastructure and the diversification of its economy. The key sectors in terms of their contribution to the provinces growth were finance and business 84,4 %, transport and communication 81,5% electricity and water 78,1% and manufacturing 75%.

The policy statement identifies spatial planning, traffic congestion, weak debt collection, aageing bulk infrastructure and slow capital expenditure and operational efficiency as constraints to the city’s growth. The huge sum of unspent budgeted expenditures, particularly basic services needs to be addressed, the profiling found.

The utilisation of social infrastructure — schools, healthcare facilities and police stations -- within the city indicate some extent of overburden, with a heavy workload in areas such as health and education.