A wellbeing economy recognises that the ultimate goal of economic development is enhanced social and ecological wellbeing. South Africa remains the world’s most unequal country with limited success in GDP growth seen over the last decade. The southern African region also faces some of the worst climate change risks, including widespread droughts, flooding and mass migration. The EDP enables partnerships across government and society in support of an economy which enables all citizens to thrive.

Western Cape Safety Programme: Keeping communities safe

The Western Cape Safety Programme uses a public health approach to safety, with a focus on preventing violence by identifying and addressing its underlying causes. The programme merges law enforcement and violence prevention under an integrated programme which is delivered by Area Based Teams (ABTs) established in the most crime affected areas.

Having developed the conceptual framework for the ABT approach, the EDP will continue to develop and support its joint implementation in 2022.

Garden Route Development Partnership: Promoting development in the Garden Route

Previously known as the South Cape Economic Partnership (SCEP), the Garden Route Development Partnership (GRDP) is a platform facilitated by the EDP that brings together key public sector, private sector and civil society role players in the Garden Route District to collaborate meaningfully around key priorities for the region. Specifically, the GRDP supports the implementation of the Garden Route Growth and Development Strategy (and the associated Recovery Plan) developed by the EDP and adopted by the District Council in 2021. The EDP provides backbone support and capacitates partners towards effective collaboration. Lessons learned from the unique GRDP structure will be shared to promote regional collaborative solutions for sustainable socio-economic development.

Supporting the manufacturing sector in Cape Town

The COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns have had a significant impact on the manufacturing sector in the Western Cape. A City-led programme established with the EDP in 2019 to support the manufacturing sector has pivoted towards supporting the establishment of the Cape Town Growth Coalition, launched in August 2022 as part of the City’s updated Inclusive Economic Growth Strategy to enable partnerships with the private sector across different industries.

The EDP is supporting the City’s Enterprise and Investment Unit to design and manage the Food and Beverage Sector Growth Coalition Platform as the initial pilot. The Growth Coalition Platforms entail structured interactions between industry stakeholders to help promote the right conditions for skills development, job creation and industrial development.

Supporting economic recovery and development for Cape Town’s Area South

The City of Cape Town has adopted Area Economic Development (AED) as an approach to promote and encourage participation in local economic development as part of its delivery of urban management services to four service delivery areas. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated economic challenges across all areas, requiring the City to pivot towards supporting economic recovery for businesses and informal traders, among others.

Building on its support to the City in developing an Economic Recovery Plan for AED East (2021-2022), the EDP is supporting AED South in the creation and implementation of a Market Management Partnership model to address challenges experienced at Mitchell’s Plain Town centre, which comprises a large number of informal trading markets. The EDP is engaging with stakeholders to design an overarching governance structure and identify the necessary operating systems and practices to boost local economic growth and development.

Learning and support network for the Social Employment Fund

South Africa’s Social Employment Fund, launched in October 2021 under the Presidential Employment Stimulus and administered by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) aims to create ‘work for the common good’ by optimising partnerships between larger civil society organisations and informal grassroots networks. The Fund aims to create 50,000 new work opportunities in South Africa, including potentially 7000 to 8000 jobs in the Western Cape in the first phase, before scaling up further in subsequent phases.  In collaboration with the IDC and DG Murray Trust, the EDP is convening the Social Employment Network, a learning and support network to support the implementing partners by sharing information, documenting learnings and addressing challenges, while sharing learnings back to government to improve future Fund iterations.