Premier Alan Winde chaired a regular meeting of the Western Cape Government (WCG) Cabinet on Wednesday, 6 December 2023.
The cabinet noted the latest status report on municipalities
in the Western Cape and it is deeply concerned over the mismanagement of
certain municipalities and the impact this is having on service delivery. The
WCG is stepping in to work with these local governments and has implemented
measures to support them. There have been significant challenges at Knysna,
Beaufort West, Kannaland, Matzikama and Theewaterskloof municipalities in
particular.
Premier Winde said that it is unacceptable that some
municipalities have descended into a state of complete dysfunction. Department
of Local Government will continue to support municipalities towards ensuring a
water and energy resilient province that aims to mitigate the effects of load
shedding.
Cabinet also welcomed the launching of a renewable energy
pilot project by the Hessequa Municipality funded by the provincial government,
to reduce and eventually ensure the town of Rivesdale is load shedding-free.
Cabinet had approved the pilot in a previous meeting.
“Good progress is being made to end mass power cuts in the
Western Cape. We still have some way to go, but we are committed to helping
municipalities to address load shedding and to reduce their reliance on Eskom
for their power needs,” said the Premier.
A second berth has been added to the Port of Cape Town
(PoCT) in hopes that it will ease congestion and improve container turnover
time. However, Premier Winde said that there was a lack of planned maintenance
at the PoCT. Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, was invited to a
meeting with the provincial Cabinet, to discuss the situation at the PoCT and
general issues facing the logistics sector.
Done by: Esona Mfazwe
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