Action to Create Jobs
At a landmark meeting in late 2003 Western Cape leaders (government, business and unions) met with national Finance Minister Trevor Manuel to agree to take action to create at least 200,000 new jobs in the province, expend money and effort in infrastructure development through public works, and attract at least R5bn in new investment. The level of investment in key economic and social infrastructure areas will more than double from 1.1% of gross regional product to 2.5%. They said that these initiatives would even further improve Western Cape's social and economic health; where gross regional product was already 2.9% higher than the national average, where exports grew by 48% 2002-2003 and where more than one million tourists visited the Cape in 2002.
Encouragement of Imported Skills
In a shift of policy the government announced, in March 2005, that South Africa will start 'importing' skilled worked to address its skills shortages. There are at least 500,000 vacancies in these types of positions - in construction and engineering - in every economic sector. For professionals, South Africa in general and the Western Cape in particular offers a familiar modern business environment where English is widely spoken (it is the language of business), where the legal system is understandable and reliable, where housing is of a quality and cheap by world standards, and where schooling and healthcare is excellent.