Western Cape Premier, Helen Zille, has appointed Beverley Schäfer as the new Provincial Minister of Economic Opportunities, Tourism, and Agriculture, replacing Alan Winde, who will take over the Community Safety portfolio until the 2019 election.

“I am both humbled and thrilled to be appointed as Minister for Economic Opportunities, Tourism and Agriculture for the Western Cape Government. I am aware that I have big shoes to fill and am grateful that I have been able to work so closely with Winde for the last four years,” says Schäfer.

“As chairperson of the Standing Committee on Economic Opportunities, Tourism, and Agriculture, Schäfer has fought for the protection of our province’s small-scale fishermen and women, our farm workers, and the tourism and agricultural industries upon which hundreds of thousands of our residents depend for their livelihoods,” says Mark Wiley, MPP and DA Chief Whip, Western Cape Provincial Parliament.

In 2014, Schäfer spearheaded a committee report on the impact of Home Affairs’ immigration regulations on the Western Cape’s tourism industry, which led the province’s call for better visa regulations in the interests of tourism and economic growth, not only for the Western Cape, but for South Africa at large.

Schäfer supports, among others, the promotion of the Western Cape as a leading international tourist and foreign investment destination. “I would like to thank both Minister Alan Winde and Premier Helen Zille for the confidence they have shown in me. It has always been my desire to serve the residents of the Western Cape and I will do so to the best of my ability, in the hope that I can do so with distinction. I wish Minister Winde all the best in his new role.”

Schäfer’s appointment is well deserved and befits her achievements as a relentless campaigner for the development of the Western Cape economy and the creation of jobs for the province, concludes Wiley.