Africa-Press – South-Africa. The City of Cape Town has approved what it calls South Africa’s biggest pro-poor infrastructure investment allocation which will create about 130,000 construction jobs over three years.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said on Friday the city has passed the “Building for jobs” budget for 2024/2025, which includes South Africa’s largest infrastructure investment by a metropolitan municipality.
This will see 75% pro-poor spend directly benefiting lower income households in this financial year, he said.
“Cape Town’s infrastructure spend of R39.5bn over three years is more than all three Gauteng metros combined and forms part of a R120bn 10-year pipeline of planned projects that will catapult Cape Town into the future city we hope it can be, for ourselves and our children,” said Hill-Lewis.
The city estimates its infrastructure investments will yield about 130,000 construction-related jobs alone over three years.“With South Africa’s lowest unemployment rate and well over 300,000 jobs added since the start of this municipal term, Cape Town is already the city where a person is most likely to find a job and we plan to do much more to grow our economy in the years to come to the benefit especially of lower income households.”
He added lower income households will directly benefit from 75%, or R9bn, of the city’s R12bn infrastructure spend in 2024/2025.
“This pro-poor infrastructure spend in 2024/2025 is bigger than the entire infrastructure budget of any other city. It is the factual end of the debate on which city is doing the most for the poor.
“We are taking a big step towards achieving these goals with this building for jobs budget, which targets our investments to Cape Town’s fastest growing and poorest areas, with infrastructure projects that will, over time, unstitch the unjust legacy of our country’s past.”
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