DA Media Release: More job creation leads to lower inequality in the Western Cape than the rest of South Africa

By Deidré Baartman, MPP – DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Budget

23 November 2023 – The Western Cape is making great strides in tackling unemployment, and by extension, inequality. Four out of the Western Cape’s six regions, have unemployment rates under 20%, with the Cape Winelands and the Overberg region having rates below 15%. Further, in 2022, the three municipalities that contributed the most to Gross Domestic Product per Region (GDPR) growth were the Cape Metro, George and Drakenstein.

RegionUnemployment Rate (Estimated 2022e)Jobs Gains (Estimate 2022e)GDPR contribution to WCCape Metro28.6%65 911R555.4 BillionCape Winelands14.7%24 944R84.8 BillionGarden Route19.9%13 514R57.3 BillionWest Coast15.4%10 882R38 BillionOverberg14.9%8 999R25.5 BillionCentral Karoo25.6%1 003R3.8 Billion

This was revealed today during the tabling of the Municipal Economic Review and Outlook (MERO) in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament by the Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger.

The practical result of this job creation is that the Western Cape is more equal than South Africa as a whole, with a Gini coefficient, an inequality indicator that represents the distribution of income, of 0.601, which is 2.75% lower than the national figure of 0.618.

The Human Development Index (HDI), a United Nations measure of the level of economic, health and education development, also shows that Cape Town has an HDI of 0.734, which is 10.4% higher than the national HDI – meaning people in Cape Town are better off than the average person in South Africa.

It has become undeniable that people in the Western Cape are better off than in other provinces, and that they are more likely to have employment, access to healthcare, and quality education where the DA governs, even in rural areas.

The statistics do not lie, and they paint a picture of a Western Cape that works for all its residents, through the sound economic policy and clean governance of the DA.