The province stretches from the dry north-western coast to the heavily forested Garden Route regions of the southern Cape via the rugged mountains of the Cederberg, the rolling winelands of the Boland and the Overberg, the fertile valleys of the Klein Karoo and the wide plains of the Great Karoo. The province and the region are most commonly associated with Table Mountain, which watches over the City of Cape Town and forms a national park of its own.

The major contributors to the Western Cape’s gross domestic product (GDP) are finance, insurance, real estate and business services (32.5%); manufacturing (16.9%); wholesale and retail, catering and accommodation (14.6%); transport and communication (10%). (Bureau for Economic Research, Stellenbosch University, 2009.)

The province is well served with infrastructure. Three ports at Saldanha, Cape Town and Mossel Bay serve different markets and Cape Town International Airport and George Airport see to air travel needs. The Cape Town International Convention Centre is the province’s leading facility in the events and conference sector, an area of substantial growth for the province.

The high-growth sectors in the Western Cape are finance and insurance (where Cape Town is the headquarters for several national concerns), construction, communication, furniture and transport equipment, including boatbuilding.

Other sectors that are doing well are film, contact centres, design and software in the ICT sector, and various marine sectors, including the servicing of the African oil and gas exploration industry. There is renewed interest in the mining sector because of finds of rare earths and Saldanha on the West Coast is the focus of investments in several fields.

Plans are under way for the creation of an Industrial Development Zone at Saldanha, with a feasibility study for a minerals-processing plant being among the most ambitious of schemes for the proposed zone. The province’s export bouquet is dominated by the food value chain (agriculture, fishing and food and beverages) with outstanding fruit and wine contributing to the province’s international reputation.

The Western Cape outperformed other South African provinces for a number of years but recent rises in global mineral prices have improved the statistics for the country’s inland areas. At the same time, the Western Cape’s export profile has exposed the province to international trends. This resulted in a 1.4% contraction in the provincial economy in 2009, after averaging a positive growth rate between 2005 and 2009 of 4.3%. A recovery to 2.4% was experienced in 2010. Economic growth is expected to average 4.2% for the five years from 2011 to 2015, according to the provincial government’s Provincial Economic Review and Outlook (Pero).

Services
According to a Statistics SA non-financial census of South African municipalities, the municipal authorities of the Western Cape are the best at delivering services to their citizens. The survey, published in the 2009/10 South Africa Survey, a publication of the SA Institute of Race Relations, showed that in Western Cape municipalities:
• 82% of indigent households receive free basic water
• 69% of households receive free sanitation
• 52% of households receive free solid-waste services
• 46% of households receive free basic electricity

In all but the last category, the Western Cape is well ahead of the national average. Another survey, organised by the National Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the Business Trust and the University of Stellenbosch, found that the Western Cape performed the best in terms of delivering basic services between 2000 and 2007. At municipal level, there are Integrated Development Plans. Various levels of government are expected to cooperate in planning and the Western Cape has a Provincial Spatial Development Framework.

The Provincial Government of the Western Cape’s hospital building programme is aimed at delivering infrastructure. This includes the rebuilding of the huge regional hospital at Tygerberg. With 45km of corridors and 82 entrances, a grossly inefficient layout and creaking facilities, a CSIR study concluded that rebuilding the hospital was the best option. As this will cost at least R2-billion, the private-public option is being explored with several companies reportedly expressing an interest in getting involved. The plan is to have a new hospital built by 2016.

New hospitals for Khayelitsha and Mitchell’s Plain (both 230-bed facilities costing R400- million) are due to be completed by December 2012 and the Mossel Bay Hospital is also going to be rebuilt. A new operating wing of the Red Cross Children’s Hospital was opened in 2009 (R125-million) and Paarl Hospital’s emergency centre received a R18.2-million revamp in 2010.

Regions
The boundaries of the district municipalities of the Western Cape’s coincide with the region’s tourism areas.

City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality
Cape Town is the engine of the regional economy, with most of the Western Cape’s industry located within the metropolitan area of Cape Town. It is a culturally diverse and dynamic metropolis set among beautiful beaches and winelands with a backdrop of the iconic Table Mountain.

The largest sector in the city’s economy is the financial and business services industry. The city has a population of 3.2 million and contributes 76% of the regional gross domestic product. The City of Cape Town is home to the nation’s parliament and is the site of two World Heritage Sites: the Cape Floral Region (including Table Mountain) and Robben Island.

The city shares with Cairo the title of most-visited African destination; the Soccer World Cup boosted this status to such an extent that British Airways put on an extra daily flight to the city from London.

The Port of Cape Town is ideally situated at the crossroads of some of the world’s most important trade routes, making the transport, maritime and logistics sectors very important. Bunkering and ship repair and the boat repair and boatbuilding industries are on the rise. The port plays a major role in exporting the province’s fruit, wine and other agricultural products to international markets.

West Coast District Municipality
Towns: Saldanha, Malmesbury, Clanwilliam, Vredenburg, Moorreesburg.
The economy of this region is quite diverse: manufacturing in Saldanha, Atlantis and Malmesbury, agriculture and forestry centred on inland towns like Moorreesburg (wheat) and Cederberg (forestry), citrus farming (Citrusdal), cement making in Riebeeck West and Piketberg, and marine activity and fishing all along the coast. The rooibos tea sector is a feature of Clanwilliam’s economy while shoe manufacturers are also present. The remote mission station of Wupperthal is famous for its veldskoens (a type of shoe). Mining is becoming an increasingly important sector, with titanium, zirconium, phosphate and limestone being among the most-important finds.

A feasibility study has given a positive answer on the issue of transforming Saldanha into an Industrial Development Zone.

Cape Winelands District Municipality
Towns: Stellenbosch, Paarl, Worcester, Robertson, Wellington, Franschhoek.
Nearly 70% of South Africa’s wine comes from this area. A good percentage of this wine is exported and the wine estates themselves attract tourists with wine-tasting and restaurants. Tourism in the Winelands has matured beyond day-trips from Cape Town to incorporate wellness spas, adventure tourism and even game farms boasting the Big Five. Worcester has a casino and new regional shopping complex. Manufacturing is concentrated on processing grapes and fruit into wine, juice, brandy, dried and tinned fruit products. Dairy manufacturer Parmalat has an award-winning cheese-making facility in Bonnievale. Robertson is known for roses and thoroughbred horses.

Overberg District Municipality
Towns: Caledon, Bredasdorp, Hermanus, Swellendam, Cape Agulhas.
The Overberg contains the southernmost tip of Africa (Cape Agulhas), the oldest mission station in South Africa (Genadendal), a large casino resort (in Caledon) and some of the best whale viewing in the world (Whale Coast). It also hosts some high-quality fruit farms in the Ceres Valley and rural villages such as Barrydale and Greyton that are popular with tourists.

Agriculture is the principal economic activity of the region, with wheat, dairy, deciduous fruit and onions being among the main products. Barley, hops and flower cultivation are growing sectors.

Eden District Municipality
Towns: George, Oudtshoorn, Knysna, Mossel Bay, Plettenberg Bay.
The area is known as the Cape Garden Route and Klein Karoo for tourism purposes – and tourism is a major economic activity for the region (making up 15% of gross geographical product). Community services, financial, property and business services, manufacturing and agriculture are the other main services. Mossel Bay is home to South Africa’s main gas-processing plant while George is a node of manufacturing, trade and administration and education. Golfers are well catered for in George, as they are all along the Garden Route. Knysna and Plettenberg Bay are favourite tourist destinations.

Central Karoo District Municipality
Towns: Beaufort West, Laingsburg, Prince Albert.
The largest district in the province has the smallest population, a reflection of the semi-desert conditions that prevail in the area named ‘thirstland’ by its original inhabitants. Sheep farming predominates in the region.

Beaufort West is strategically positioned on the N1 highway, which links Cape Town with the interior of South Africa. The nearby Karoo National Park is a national asset which aims to reclaim the original flora of the Karoo. Prince Albert is a quaint town situated in the shadow of the Swartberg Mountain. Dramatic portals link the Karoo to the Klein Karoo: the Swartberg Pass (connecting Oudtshoorn to Prince Albert), Seweweekspoort and Meiringspoort.

INVESTMENT FACTS
• According to First National Bank’s property study published in 2010, the Western Cape has the best inward-migration rate and the lowest outward migration in South Africa.
• Wesgro reported in March 2010 that R820-million in investments had been attracted to the province in the preceding financial year. More than R9-billion had been invested through the agency’s endeavours between 2004/05 and 2008/09.
• More than R1-billion in developments were completed in the City of Cape Town in the year to February 2010. (Cape Town Partnership.)
• In the first six months of 2011, the Table Bay District office of the City of Cape Town approved 801 building plans with an estimated value of R511-million for the City Bowl, Atlantic Seaboard and surrounding areas.