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Township & trading hubs go solar

As a part of the Western Cape Government’s drive to support Small, Medium and Micro-Enterprises (SMMEs) as the engines of job creation in the province, Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger, formally handed over an alternative energy system, including solar PV, inverters, and batteries for storage, at the D’almeida trading hub in Mossel Bay.

One of the biggest constraints SMMEs face is a lack of a stable and reliable supply of electricity that they need to stay open for business when Eskom turns the power off. Which is why The Alternative Energy Support Programme (AESP) has funded Solar PV systems at twelve township and trading hubs in seven municipalities across the Western Cape, including:

  1. Mossel Bay
  2. Oudtshoorn
  3. Laingsburg
  4. Cape Agulhas
  5. Theewaterskloof
  6. Drakenstein
  7. Stellenbosch

“In the 2023/24 financial year, we have allocated a total of R12.million to install Solar PV backup systems at township and trading hubs where small businesses operate, assisting at least 50 businesses to stay open, and keep trading during Eskom power cuts, sustaining more than 100 jobs,” said Minister Wenger.

Speaking at the handover, Minister Wenger said, “Perfectly situated in a busy public transport interchange and hosting 12 vibrant SMMEs and supporting 22 jobs, the D’almeida trading hub in Mossel Bay now has the power to stay open for business when the power is off. This trading hub is one of three supported in Mossel Bay through the Alternative Energy Support Programme.”

“I am so proud of the work being done through the Western Cape Government’s Alternative Energy Support Programme (AESP) to help keep SMMEs across the province and mainly in informal and township trading hubs stay open for business, sustaining jobs,” she continued.

“We are more determined than ever to make it as easy as possible for SMMEs to get set up and expand, creating many more jobs in the province. Ensuring that our small businesses have the power they need to stay open is one of the many ways the WCG is enabling their growth. As the drivers of job creation, we are committed to enabling the private sector – big, small, formal and informal businesses – to grow and thrive. This determination is at the very heart of this government’s economic action plan, ‘Growth For Jobs’, which aims to enable a R1 trillion, jobs-rich, diverse, resilient and thriving provincial economy that is growing by between 4% and 6% by 2035,” conclude Minister Wenger.

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