The official opening of the second session of the Seventh Western Cape Provincial Parliament and the 2025 State of the Province Address (SOPA) will take place on Wednesday, 26 February 2025, at the NG Church Hall in Beaufort West, Central Karoo.
Speaker Daylin Mitchell announced this, highlighting the continued effort to bring governance closer to the people of the province.
The SOPA debate and the Premier’s reply will follow on Thursday, 27 February at the same venue.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde welcomed the announcement.
“In keeping with our commitment to bringing the Western Cape Government (WCG) and the Provincial Parliament closer to residents, this event will be held in the Central Karoo.
“As a resident-obsessed government, we must take our government ‘on the road’ and communicate openly about our work and priorities.”
Over the past several years the WCG have taken this event to Mitchells Plain in the Cape Metro, Genadendal in the Overberg, Velddrif in the West Coast and, last year, Paarl in the Cape Winelands.
Winde emphasized that the 2025 SOPA will provide an opportunity to reflect on progress made over the past year, including a reduction in unemployment and crime, while addressing ongoing challenges such as job creation, safety, energy, water resilience, and climate change.
““We capped off 2024 on an encouraging note with the province’s unemployment rate dropping to below 20% for the first time in a decade.
“Along with many of our municipalities, we are also making steady progress in shoring up our energy security.
“Our crime-fighting efforts are also paying off, which were reflected in the last set of crime statistics revealing an 8.7% decrease in murder. But, at the same time, we acknowledge that we have a long road ahead of us still in tackling these pressing issues.”
ANC member and leader of the opposition in the Legislature Khalid Sayed, said he has noted that the SOPA will be hosted in the Central Karoo.
“This is a trend that has been coming along, for the past few years, during the sixth administration in particular,” Sayed said.
In terms of accessibility, Sayed said they hope that maximum effort has been made, to ensure that the residents of the Central Karoo have an opportunity to attend.
“We will be making sure and pushing from our side that this happens.
“This must not be dominated by guests coming from outside. Seating should be prioritised for residents from the Central Karoo, so that they can listen to the premier and the debate.
“We are hoping that various issues and challenges affecting the Central Karoo, issues such as learner transport, healthcare, housing, water, electricity, crime, and economic development, will be addressed
“Those issues that affect the community will also form part of our response to the Premier’s SOPA. In fact we are looking forward to the oversight week we will be having before the SOPA in the Central Karoo.”
The ANC further emphasized the need for accessibility and transparency.
Speaker Mitchell committed to setting up livestreaming venues across the province to reach as many residents as possible.
“I have written to the mayors of the municipalities in the Western Cape requesting them to make venues available for members of the public to view the livestreams of the proceedings on both days. I will communicate further details regarding the exact arrangements in due course.”