Premier

(1)   (a) How many events has his Department hosted since June 2024 and (b) how many individuals have been assisted at each event to date;

The Western Cape Government’s (WCG) First Thursday Open Government events aim to make the WCG more accessible to residents by making the Premier and members of his cabinet available on the first Thursday of every month to resolve enquiries, listen to concerns, or hear suggestions directly from members of the public. In recent years, these meetings have also been attended by the Mayor of Cape Town and the members of his Mayoral Committee (MMCs) during engagements at the usual location of the 7 Wale Street concourse, and by various other municipal stakeholders when events are held further afield and outside of the Cape Town Metro. To the Department’s knowledge, the Western Cape Government is one of the few national or subnational governments in the world to maintain such an initiative on a regular basis.

Upon arrival, residents are referred to the relevant management team which provides information, follows-up on complaints or takes suggestions under advisement. These valuable engagements reflect the Western Cape Government’s commitment to transparency, accessibility and service to residents. In broader terms, First Thursday events are an important part of adhering to our core values (Caring, Competence, Accountability, Integrity, Innovation, and Responsiveness) and serve our overarching vision of building a government that people trust.

1. A total of five (5) First Thursday events were hosted from June to December in 2024. Four (4) of these events were hosted on site at 7 Wale Street, while one (1) was hosted off site in Grassy Park. A total of three (3) events have been hosted from February to June 2025, of which two (2) were hosted on site at 7 Wale Street, and one (1) was hosted off site in Langa.
2. The number of registered attendants (cases registered/raised) over the five events in 2024 was 920 The number of registered attendees (cases registered/raised) over the three (3) events in 2025 was 555.

It should be noted that this figure reflects the number of tickets created by the First Thursday booking management system, and does not necessarily account for large groups of participants, for which only one ticket might be issued. This figure should thus be taken as an absolute minimum figure for attendance.

(2) whether the Department maintains records of the types of enquiries received during these events; if so, (a) what are the top five most common types of enquiries and (b) with which departments are they associated;

Records are kept at registration (case numbers are logged on the central data

      system), in engagements (recorded minutes), and at departments/ministries (via email

during the client contact).

1. Top enquiries are typically:
   • Business proposals;
   • Funding requests;
   • Requests for personal assistance;  
   • Service delivery complaints;
   • Service offerings;
   • Housing list queries;
   • Facilities improvement requests; and
   • Regulatory challenges.
2. Departmental association:

• Business proposals – Premier and Mayor;
• Funding requests – Premier, Mayor, and Economic Dev & Tourism;
• Personal assistance – Premier, Health, Social Development, Education, and Police Oversight & Community Safety;
• Service delivery – Mayor, MMCs, and various WCG departments;
• Service offerings – Premier and Social Development;
• Housing list queries – Infrastructure;
• Facilities improvement – Cultural Affairs & Sports;
• Regulatory challenges – Premier & Red Tape Reduction Unit (DEDAT)

(3)   since the inception of the initiative, how has it improved or evolved in terms of reach, impact and service delivery?

The First Thursday initiative was initiated within the Office of the Premier in 2019 at the commencement of the previous term. Prior to that, the initiative had run for two years within the then-Ministry of Economic Opportunities during my time as Minister of that portfolio.

At inception in 2019, the initiative was implemented as a service offering by the Provincial Government. During 2020, we expanded the initiative by collaborating with local government, in particular expanding our offering to permanently include the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee.

Beginning in 2024, we now maintain a quarterly plan to take these engagements into various communities around the Province. This is in recognition of the fact that many stakeholders who wish to personally engage with our provincial cabinet do not necessarily possess the means to travel to Cape Town. Additionally, similar engagements have now been included into the Western Cape’s Cabinet Outreach programme, once again providing greater opportunity for the Western Cape’s residents to engage with our cabinet without having to travel to Cape Town.

Wherever possible and relevant, First Thursday events often include in-house service desks to immediately deal with common issues raised. These desk are maintained by our departments, as well as various national and provincial government entities and agencies (e.g. SASSA, the Office of the Police Ombudsman, the Public Service Commission). At events hosted at 7 Wale Street and attended by the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee, the City of Cape Town typically maintains a dedicated “Basket of Services” desk to resolve various issues.

As the initiative continues, we plan to improve our digital processes and are in the initial stages of developing an internal data recording and tracking system specifically designed for these events. Said system will centralise client information, client history, cases logged, and case numbers, and will assist in the tracking, monitoring and evaluation of every case. This data will in turn assist us in improving both First Thursday events themselves, and further understanding the service delivery needs of our residents.