Premier Alan Winde notes the views expressed by the Muslim Judicial Council and Cape Town Ulama Board on the lighting up of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament building in LBGTQIA+ colours to mark Pride Month.
The Premier stressed, “We as the Western Cape Government take our values from the country's constitution which is rooted in respect for all cultures and our rich diversity as well as the rights of all South Africans." The Premier added, "I respectfully disagree with their comments, though."
He went on, “In my recent State of the Province Address (SOPA) I spoke of our deep respect for all our citizens, regardless of their cultural background or beliefs. We are a caring and responsive government and will always show our support for all sectors of society, including our LBGTQIA+ & Muslim communities. I will always fight for minorities and majorities. Their beliefs all have a place under South Africa’s constitution.”
The Premier concluded, “I am obsessed with responding to the issues that are of deepest concern to our residents and in my SOPA I spoke about our key priorities and more:
- Energy: providing more than R1 billion over the next 3 years to protect basic services such as water, schools and clinics from rolling blackouts;
- Crime: investing in more Law Enforcement Advancement Programme (LEAP) officers and extending the LEAP programme beyond Cape Town to other municipalities;)
- Jobs: the goal is for the Western Cape to grow the provincial economy by between 4 and 6% by 2035. The goal is to fuel and stimulate economic growth to achieve a R1 trillion provincial GDP target by 2035. This would require an annual average growth of 3.8% until 2035, translating into 600 000 new jobs.
- Education: we are building more schools and appointing more teachers.
I know from my engagement with our residents that these are the critical issues that they want to see action taken on and I am committed to responding.”
Media enquiries:
Regan Thaw
Media Liaison Officer
Office of the Premier
Cell: 083 627 7246
Email: Regan.Thaw@westerncape.gov.za
