Western Cape Premier Alan Winde says his province will be the first in the country to beat loadshedding and is already making progress in achieving this goal.
Delivering his State of the Province address in Genadendal on Wednesday, Winde said: “At the end of last year, we launched our Municipal Energy Resilience Project, which will assist municipalities in taking the necessary steps to generate, procure and sell their own power.
“We have also committed R20 million per year over a two-year period to roll out this project.”
He said an assessment process has already started with all municipalities to determine their readiness and to select those that can be the initial drivers of new energy opportunities.
As part of the Western Cape’s commitment to fight hunger, the Department of Agriculture will continue with its successful ‘One Home, One Garden’ Campaign, with a target of creating 1800 additional food gardens in hotspots in the Western Cape.
This is in addition to the over 5000 rolled out in the last year, said Winde.
With regards to the key issue of safety, Winde said: “To provide opportunities for young people in our communities, 1000 young people will be recruited and deployed as violence prevention facilitators in selected communities across the province.”
He said the programme will be launched by Community Safety Minister Albert Fritz in April and the youngsters will receive a monthly stipend and training opportunities.
He said this month, six brand new shelters will be handed over to already selected NGOs to provide safe spaces for women and children impacted by gender-based violence.
“To strengthen our after-hours response to GBV, we have appointed an additional 30 social workers who will assist women in hotspot areas in the evening and on weekends.”