KNYSNA NEWS - While the thought of leading the province is daunting for Western Cape premier-elect Alan Winde, he is not scared of the challenge.

Winde told Knysna-Plett Herald this week that even though he will only be formally elected as premier on 22 May, he has already started preparing for the task after the DA secured the majority of the votes in the Western Cape during the recent national and provincial elections.

Winde has bold plans for the province and said he is now looking at the mechanisms to make his plans a reality, including considering cabinet appointments, budgets and the role of advisers.

Plans for Plett and Knysna
His plans not only include a strategy for the entire province, but also some that would benefit small holiday destinations like Plettenberg Bay and Knysna.

During an earlier interview with Knysna-Plett Herald, Winde said one of his concerns for the area is the state of tourism. "Tourism is the lifeblood of towns like Plettenberg Bay. It is by far the biggest employer in the area and the political mess around the issue is creating uncertainty," he said, referring to Bitou Municipality's planned controversial new tourism bylaw.

Winde said if policy fails at national level, world banks downgrade the country's ratings which subsequently leads to the private sector taking their money elsewhere. He added that the same applies at a local level and therefore tourism should be private sector-led.

On a provincial level, Winde said the three main focus areas would be job creation, education and health. "This is where most of the money goes."

In terms of job creation the province has done well so far under Winde's watch. According to corroborated statistics, 75% of all jobs in South Africa during the first quarter of last year were created in the Western Cape.

Job creation efforts on 'steroids'
He said while this is a feather in the province's cap, he is concerned that there is still 20% unemployment and therefore he plans to place job creation efforts on "steroids". Some of these measures include removing obstacles in job creation and continuing Winde's "red tape to red carpet" initiative.

Winde also plans on building on the momentum created around health and education in the province.

He added that there are several underlying focus areas he is passionate about. One of these is safety and security. "We cannot have a situation where crime hampers, among others, education. We still have learners in schools not attending because they fear for their lives." One of the steps Winde wants to take to address this, is through the provincial police force.

Another key area is public transport. "It is a nightmare at the moment. We need a better-run integrated public transport system where each cog in the wheel is on time, cost-effective and safe."

He also wants to build "resilience". "We need to change the DNA in our thinking in everything we do, including service delivery."

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