The Impact of Neoliberal Policies on Workers in the Western Cape

Benson Ngqentsu

In his State of the Province Address, Western Cape Premier Mr. Allan Winde introduced “doing more with less” as the guiding philosophy of the 7th administration. This sentiment was later echoed by the MEC for Finance, Ms. Diedre Baartman. However, this neoliberal doctrine has gone largely unchallenged by the provincial and national media. Their silence is not surprising; it only reaffirms Karl Marx’s insight that in a class-divided society, the dominant ideas are those of the ruling class.

In the Western Cape, neoliberalism, as a stage of capitalist development, remains the prevailing doctrine. And, as with all capitalist systems, it is a deeply embedded ruling system that is entrenched in our political and administrative structures.

Contrary to the ideology of “doing more with less,” the bureaucracy of the Western Cape government is in crisis. Workers are overburdened, service delivery is compromised, and the state's very capacity is being eroded. The fixation with a leaner state has hollowed out departments, most notably the Department of Mobility.

A striking example of this systemic failure is the chronic vacancy rate within the Department of Mobility, which stands at an alarming 32.8%, the highest of any province in the country. Compounding the problem further, these vacancies are concentrated in senior, skilled production, and supervisory roles, with 75% of vacancies falling in this category. This picture was painted by the Western Cape Department of Mobility before the Standing Committee for Public Accounts on Friday, 8 August 2025.

The report of the Department to SCOPA further reported that despite the Western Cape’s sizable economy, its Mobility Department operates with far fewer directorates compared to provinces of similar or larger economic stature. For instance, Gauteng has four Deputy Director-Generals (DDGs), KwaZulu-Natal has three, while the Western Cape has none. According to a briefing by the Mobility officials, the department’s actual vacancy rate is 30.2%, which is second only to Gauteng. This is indicative not of efficiency, but of administrative atrophy.

The officials from the department, in their own words, further told the Standing Committee that:

“This requires teams to perform additional functions for which there should ordinarily be dedicated capacity (for example, freight) or seek external specialised skills.”

In other words, the Department of Mobility in the Western Cape has been designed not to perform. Staff are stretched beyond capacity, key functions are either neglected or outsourced, and the burden continues to fall on already overstretched dedicated public servants.

Sadly, it is evident that the consequence of the DA’s downsizing of the department remains a compromise of service to our people. Communities that depend on reliable mobility infrastructure are shortchanged, and public servants are pushed to the brink, all in the name of an ideology that prioritises austerity over human need.

This is, in essence, a plea to Premier Winde to abandon the neoliberal doctrine of ‘doing more with less.’ It is not only unsustainable, but harmful to the professional public service, to the people of the Western Cape, and an antithesis of any envisaged developmental state.

Further, for Premier Winde to listen to this clarion call, organised labour in the Western Cape Mobility Department, in particular, Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) and the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) must step up and lead a Broad Popular Front against the chronic crisis of vacancies in the Mobility Department. The filling of the vacancies should be used as an opportunity to drive our progressive transformation agenda, and the department must be made to meet equity targets. Workers must rise and confront neoliberalism or risk perishing!!

Finally, now is the time for a people-centred, pro-public investment approach. One that recognises that efficient governance is not achieved by shrinking the state, but by strengthening it with capable personnel, adequate resources, and a commitment to social justice as a tenet for a developmental state.

* Benson Ngqentsu, ANC Spokesperson for Mobility in the Western Cape Provincial Legislature and Provincial Secretary, South African Communist Party.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.