WESTERN CAPE NEWS - Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Development, David Maynier and premier Alan Winde today addressed the Cape Confidence virtual investment showcase, hosted by Wesgro.
According to a statement by premier Winde:
Earlier today, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, David Maynier and I had the opportunity to address the Cape Confidence virtual investment showcase, hosted by Wesgro. This investment showcase was held in alignment with the official President's Investment Summit.
Attracting new investors into our region is key to creating new jobs.
The province, together with the City of Cape Town and Wesgro have worked hard to make the Western Cape an attractive investment destination, and we continue to work hard to reduce red tape and improve ease of doing business. We have a strong skills base, excellent universities, good infrastructure and an excellent track record of good governance. The work done by Air Access to increase the number of direct international flights into Cape Town, makes us more accessible and creates a gateway into the rest of Africa.
The Western Cape is positioning itself to be a continental leader in the tech industry and a centre for innovation. Cape Town was recently ranked as the top tech eco system in the country in the StartupBlink ecosystem rankings, while the 2020 SA Venture Capital Survey indicates that 50% of the value of investments recorded in 2019, and 53% of all the deals recorded, took place in the Western Cape.
During the lockdown, Wesgro has been supporting two major investments in breaking new ground on data centres in the Western Cape- with an estimated CAPEX impact of over R10 billion over the next five years.
The Western Cape is also recognised as a global leader in green technology and the Atlantis SEZ provides excellent investment opportunities for businesses and manufacturers in this space. We have also committed to supporting municipalities in leveraging the recent directives from the National Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy that allows them to develop their own power generation projects and secure power from Independent Power Producers. This government’s focus on the new, green economy perfectly positions us to take advantage of these developments and sets us on a path to improved energy security.
The agri-processing sector in the Western Cape was one of the few sectors to show growth during this year, and throughout the lockdown period.
This looks set to continue- with Minister of Agriculture Ivan Meyer, announcing today that the province is on track for record winter grain and oil seed crops. Apart from a bumper harvest in 2016, this year's wheat crop is set to be the largest in more than two decades. Barley and canola harvests will exceed any other harvest in the past.
Our recovery plan has focused on jobs as one three pillars of our economy and these sectors have real potential for growth and job creation. We are therefore working hard to build consumer and investment confidence and to show the world that we are open.
Update on the coronavirus
As of 13:00 on 18 November, the Western Cape has 4514 active Covid-19 infections with a total of 121 638 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 112 638 recoveries.
The Western Cape has recorded additional 12 deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the province to 4486 . We send our condolences to their loved ones at this time.
Garden Route District: Cases and (recoveries):
- George: 4742 (3940)
- Mossel Bay: 2825 (2532)
- Knysna: 1941 (1620)
- Oudtshoorn: 1683 (1511)
- Bitou: 926 (709)
- Hessequa: 412 (370)
- Kannaland: 147 (145)
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