At the time of going to print everyone in the office was holding their breath over what bombshells the Finance Minister will be dropping this afternoon (21 February) in his Budget speech.
This will be known within the next few hours. What is certain, however, is that things are looking a bit more rosy here in the Western Cape than in the faltering rest of the country.
In his State of the Province speech this week in Paarl, Premier Alan Winde was able to paint a rosier picture, in contrast to the rest of the country.
For example, our province has the lowest unemployment rate in the country and offers more new job opportunities. The provincial government has built more than 25 schools and 1 200 classrooms since 2022, while the matric class of 2023 increased the pass rate to more than 81%.
And very importantly, the Western Cape is well on its way to becoming the first load shedding-free province in the country.
This year’s National Budget Speech will, as with the President’s State of the Nation speech, most probably be filled with empty promises and outright lies.
But then, we are in an election year and for the next three months, leading up to election day on 29 May, we are going to be bombarded by nothing less.
