PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - "Judge me by my past and not my promises."

These were the words of Western Cape community safety MEC Alan Winde on a recent trip to Plettenberg Bay about his plans for the province, should he become premier.

The former MEC for economic opportunities explained that in the lead-up to the 2019 elections, many politicians would make promises to sway voters, but that those going to the polls should look at these politicians' track record.

Bold plans for the province
Winde, who was recently named the DA candidate for premiership, has bold plans for the province should he fill Helen Zille's shoes following the elections, including ones that would benefit small holiday destinations like Plettenberg Bay and Knysna.

During an exclusive interview with Knysa-Plett Herald last week, 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," Winde said referring to the Bitou Municipality's planned controversial new tourism bylaw. 

Some of the issues that have irked locals include the establishment of a new tourism board; the composition of the board which leaves the decision-making largely in the hands of the municipality; the registration of tourism businesses with a tourism organisation and subsequent "fees, charges and tariffs" payable. There is also a penalties clause which includes fines or jail time for those who do not comply.

'We can't afford to lose jobs'
Winde added that on a national level, if policies fail, world banks downgrade the countries' ratings. "This leads to the private sector moving their wallets to different places. The same happens on a local level. The nonsense must stop. Tourism must be private-sector led. We can't afford to lose jobs. In these instances, the poorest hurt the hardest."

With regard to his plans 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. "We can brag about what we have accomplished in the Western Cape, but we still have a 20% unemployment rate, so we are planning to put our job creation efforts on steroids." 

One of these measures would include a jobs war room where any obstacles in the way of creating jobs would be removed as well as a continuation of Winde's "red tape to red carpet" initiative.

Health and education focus
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, such as 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 a 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."

Winde 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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