Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Western Cape government is pushing for more funding from the national government after the 2022 Census results recorded a significant increase in the province’s population growth over the last decade.
On Thursday, Premier Alan Winde used his weekly energy Digicon to highlight the population growth and its impact on the province’s budget.
The Census indicates the province’s population grew to 27%, translating to 7.4 million, while Winde said they anticipated an increase to about 8 million by 2030.
“This obviously has a massive impact on budgetary. It has an impact on providing services, and these numbers now enable us to rework where we are in our financial position,” he said.
Christopher Fry, the DA Western Cape spokesperson on premier and constitutional matters, said the Census data supported the notion that the time has come to pay the Western Cape what it is owed.
He said:
“With a fair and equitable allocation of funding based on up-to-date Census data, the Western Cape government will be able to further enhance the exceptional standard of service delivery, economic growth, and job creation that have drawn millions here,” he added.
The Census results came just a month after the provincial government released the Provincial Economic Review and Outlook (PERO) report, which indicated that in recent years, the Western Cape experienced rapid population growth largely driven by net in-migration, attracting people from other regions and countries seeking better opportunities and living conditions.
“Concurrently, the province has witnessed a decline in fertility rates and an increase in the number of elderly individuals, highlighting shifting population dynamics that have direct service delivery implications for health, education, social protection, and municipal services,” the report said.
The PERO also suggested that the provincial population was anticipated to reach 10 million by 2040, growing by an additional 2.7 million people between 2023 and 2040 – 123 000 more people per year – in the Western Cape.
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