The Western Cape's economy points to the fore



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Cape Town – The Western Cape attracted 1.1 billion rand from investments three months into the year, creating 549 direct jobs, but experts warned that national volatility could make to reverse the local economy.

Wesgro, the official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency of Cape Town and the Western Cape, has concluded nine investment projects including companies in the technology, financial services sectors , food and beverages, clothing and the green economy. Unemployment declined slightly as it increased in other parts of the country.

Gerhard Papenfus, General Manager of the National Association of Employers of the SA, said that good infrastructure in the Western Cape created a conducive business environment. "While the neighboring Eastern Cape has a much higher unemployment rate, they also have serious infrastructure problems.There is also a problem of corruption in this province, where the services that need to be provided are not not delivered because of corruption, "he said. companies.

"There is so much paperwork and legislation that companies have to comply with, entrepreneurs do not want to be at war with their workers, and social unrest is doing nothing in the country. the table, but not all companies can afford it.Some say it's a human rights issue, but our unemployment rate of 27% should be a matter of human rights. Man, "he said. compared with the first quarter of 2017, with the Western Cape recording the largest increase of 123,000 jobs, followed by Limpopo at 83,000 and KwaZulu-Natal at 62,000.

Over the same period, job losses have recorded in Gauteng (124000), Eastern Cape (45 000) and Mpumalanga (20000).

Wesgro says that the good quarterly results of the Western Cape came in part from his officials traveling to nine international markets, including Malaysia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Hong Kong, China and France to promote investment opportunities. The agency has organized 245 meetings across the province with businesses, financiers and service providers, hosted 25 overseas business delegations and expanded the scope of the team across the province.

Wesgro's chief investment officer, James Milne, said that despite potentially deterrent factors such as drought, the provincial economy had increased.

"What is clear is that Cape Town continues to maintain a strong position both locally and internationally as a world-class business destination on the African continent," he said. -he declares. Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde said the drought had made the growth of the economy difficult.

"Our number one priority is to grow the economy and create jobs, and these investments, along with the 549 jobs that will be created, are proof that the Western Cape is open for business. that the recent official designation of the Atlantis Special Economic Zone will result in new investments in the green sector. "

Dennis George, Secretary General of the Federation of South African Trade Unions, said that leadership issues would affect the whole country. . "We need to be wary of the leadership crisis – it can be the biggest killer of an economy," George said.

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Cap Argus

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