The big semigration issue for the Western Cape

[Nat Quinn]

Despite the Western Cape being touted as the semigration hotspot across South Africa, Steve Brookes, CEO of Balwin Properties, says Gauteng remains a key economic hub for the business.

Speaking on the Property Pod, Brookes said semigration, particularly to the Western Cape, should not be overstated.

“Semigration is a fancy word, but there are only so many people who can afford to move and only so many jobs in the Western Cape.”

“So, we’re not going to bet the farm on the Western Cape, but we are doing very well down there.”

He added that the group is looking to expand operations in KwaZulu-Natal but maintained that Gauteng is still an important market for Balwin.

However, Brookes has been quick to criticise the Gauteng government for its failure regarding infrastructure, with a lot of hard work needed to be done by the province’s politicians.

He added that he’d be very happy if all of Gauteng’s infrastructure was on par with Waterfall City – a private sector-led urban development project where its recently-launched Munyaka development is based.

Gauteng vs Western Cape semigration

Although the Western Cape may not offer the same number of jobs as Gauteng, it is still seeing a boom in its population.

Due to the struggling local economy and the lack of job opportunities, urbanisation is growing, with people drawn to the nation’s economic hubs of the Western Cape and Gauteng.

According to data from Lightstone, the population of the Western Cape and Gauteng grew well above the average over the last decade.

Since 2021, Gauteng’s population has grown 31%, whilst the Western Cape has grown by 24% – both comfortably above the average of 17%.

However, the reason people are moving to the two provinces differs.

“The movement of job seekers to Gauteng and Western Cape is well documented – Gauteng is the country’s economic and political hub while Western Cape has a growing reputation as the country’s best run province and is increasingly attractive to semigrants and those who can work remotely,” said Lightstone Property’s Hayley Ivins-Downes.

In addition, another metric that supports the pull of job opportunities per province is the percentage of their economically active age bands relative to their total population – which falls in the 30 to 60 age band.

44.5% of Gauteng’s 16 million residents are part of the most economically productive age group. For the Western Cape, the age ban accounts for 41% of its 7.2 million population. KwaZulu-Natal’s – the third most active biggest economic hub in South Africa – is only 33.5%.

“This suggests the economically stronger provinces have greater numbers in the middle ages, while the economically weaker provinces have proportionately more younger and older people – and less of those in the most productive economic years,” said Ivins-Downes.

 

 

source:The big semigration issue for the Western Cape (businesstech.co.za)

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