Alan Winde announced as DA premier candidate for Western Cape

The DA’s Alan Winde was announced as the Western Cape’s premier candidate in a media briefing held earlier today by the province’s ruling party.

Speaking to the media and members of the party, DA leader Mmusi Maimane said the party’s new leadership candidates would have to work harder moving forward as they would not only be competing against their ANC counterparts but other DA leaders in new territories for the DA.

“I want to say that Alan has the confidence of his colleagues, the provincial leadership and ultimately, the federal executive,” said Maimane.

Dubbed “the jobs premier” by the party, Winde has an impressive track record and is an avid supporter of the idea of internships.

He will be joining Dan Plato, who had previously served as mayor and will be returning for a second term to take over from Patricia De Lille.

Winde said after the announcement that he was humbled by being chosen and would work to allow the people of the province to have the best opportunities to realise their own hopes and dreams.

Winde has served as a member of the Western Cape provincial legislature since 1999. He currently serves as the provincial minister of economic opportunities.

At the announcement Maimane said: “The DA governments in the Western Cape, and in Cape Town, stand head and shoulders above the rest in just about every delivery area. From job creation to clean audits, from education to healthcare, from land reform to infrastructure development and maintenance. The gains made in the past decade by these governments have set a benchmark that no others have come close to reaching.

“It is easy to forget that a mere decade ago the Western Cape was in a terrible state. It was a province in decline. When the DA took over from the ANC in 2009, we found a province suffocated by corruption and mismanagement. In the ANC’s last year in office, not a single government department received a clean audit. Matric results were down, business confidence was low, and the health service was deteriorating.

“Within a year under the DA, seven departments had received clean audits, and since then the gap between the Western Cape and the rest has steadily widened. In the last financial year, this provincial government achieved 80% clean audits. The next best province, Gauteng, was barely on the same lap, at 52%.

“Unemployment is down. Investment is up. This is the place to start a business. Life expectancy for men is up from 59 to 66 years, and for women from 64 to 72 years. Services work. We’ve invested in public transport, built infrastructure, improved our schools, grown the economy, and we’ve managed to do it through a global financial crisis and a millennium drought.

“The Western Cape now stands tall among the provinces. Most importantly, the economic boom here has given hundreds of thousands of people the dignity of work.”

He said he had no doubt Winde would be equal to the task of building on the successes of the past 10 years.

“Alan has vast experience at every level of politics. He started out in politics as a councillor in the Outeniqua Rural Council and the South Cape District Council. He was elected to the Western Cape Provincial Legislature in 1999, serving as Western Cape Provincial Finance Chairman and Executive Committee Member with the Democratic Party.

“He served as the Chief Whip of the Official Opposition in the Western Cape legislature, and as DA Spokesperson on Environment and Planning.”

Alan became Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism in May 2009, shortly after the DA won the Western Cape – a position he still holds today, although the ministry now goes by the name of Economic Opportunities, reflecting our focus on jobs and economic inclusion in the province.

He said Winde had led their job creation effort over the past terms, “and many of his ideas and policies have led to the economic growth we have seen here”.

“No other person is more responsible for the economic growth and job creation that we’ve seen in this province, than Alan. His track record is simple: 640 000 new jobs under his watch, benefiting every community, and particularly the unemployed and the poor. He is also passionate about internships, particularly for young people who need work experience to get their foot on the jobs ladder. With a track record like this, the fact is that when Alan is elected, he is going to be the ‘jobs Premier’.”

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