The Democratic Alliance won an outright majority in the Western Cape. This is a unique opportunity to establish whether or not voting for the opposition makes a difference to the quality of life of the people residing in opposition-led provinces.

The South African Institute of Race Relations will track and publish a review of progress in the Western Cape and other provinces until the next general election due in 2014. The Institute will also track changes in the City of Cape Town since the DA took over in 2007. With the DA in charge of the largest municipality in the Western Cape, in terms of population size and contribution to the gross geographic product, changes in Cape Town will be a good indicator of the future of the Western Cape.

Ms Nthamaga Kgafela, municipal outreach officer at the Institute, said that, “The DA cannot claim success in the next elections based on simply stating that the Western Cape out-performed all other provinces.” She added that, “While still experiencing challenges, the Western Cape generally already performs better than any other province. The DA will have to show that since its term in office, there were significant improvements in key indicators; and that these improvements surpassed improvements made by other provinces.”

Ten key indicators will be used to track changes as follows:

 

These indicators were published in the June issue of Fast Facts and Fast Facts for Local Government.

 

Kgafela added that, “While the DA has inherited a province that performed better than national averages in nine out of the ten indicators, it is also inherited problems which cut across provincial boundaries, such as high crime rates, high unemployment figures, and high poverty levels. It still has a wide scope to improve the situation in the Western Cape, which may turn out to be a model that can be used for the other provinces. If it succeeds in the Western Cape, it can make inroads into ANC support in 2014.”

Statement ends: 400 words