Cape Town - Premier Alan Winde, who this week marked the halfway mark of his term of office, has said that while the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact it had on people and the economy remained the worst aspect of his term so far, it has also been a spur to work harder.
“The pandemic has affected my vision of improving safety and creating new jobs in the province. As the provincial government, we had to shift our focus to saving lives and retaining livelihoods in an unprecedented time.
“After speaking to families who have lost loved ones, battling health-care workers during the peaks of waves and many people who have lost their jobs because of the lockdown, I have been distressed by the horrible impact that Covid-19 has had on people’s lives.
“But I remain determined to change this, and I am inspired by the many stories of resilience and hope. It motivates me to do more, so that we can ensure a proper recovery that brings back jobs, saves lives and ensures the dignity and well-being that every person should enjoy,” Winde said.
Reviewing the premier and his provincial executive’s performance so far, the leader of the official opposition, Cameron Dugmore (ANC), said the manner in which the provincial Health Department had managed the provincial response to the pandemic was to be commended.
However, Dugmore took issue with the province’s approach to land matters, and said the premier’s government had absolutely failed to support the key pillar of correcting the original sin of land dispossession in the Western Cape.
“The ownership patterns of the provincial economy remain in the hands of white business, increasing wealth and asset inequality.
“At half term, Winde’s government has demonstrated that they have no political will to deal with inequality and unemployment. They ignore redress and argue that race does not matter,” said Dugmore.
Good party secretary-general Brett Herron also commended the province's management of the health service response to the Covid-19 pandemic, however he said it was a mixed bag.
“Because the deployment of the health protocols and implementation of our response to the pandemic wasn't necessarily the premier's doing. In some cases provincial health’s commendable and diligent response was despite the politicisation of the pandemic by the premier.”
Freedom Front Plus MPL Peter Marais said he was impressed with Winde, and marked him 8 out of 10 for his achievements.
“His attitude towards the views of opposition leaders are the antithesis of the DA. I can best describe him as a gentleman in a politician’s suit.”
Meanwhile, ACDP MPL Ferlon Christians also congratulated Winde on his administration's handling of the pandemic with their weekly briefings of the public and the legislature’s ad hoc committee.
However, he felt the premier and his team had failed when it came to placing learners in schools. He said for the second year running there were learners who still can't get into the system.
“We cannot sit with this problem year in and year out and they still don’t have a solution,” Christians said.