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Jun 25, 2008:
The Cape Winelands council has launched an economic advisory council, the first such creation in the country to help the district turn itself into the "Silicon Valley" of South Africa.
Executive Mayor Clarence Johnson described his vision for the district at the launch ceremony in Stellenbosch on Monday, saying that the council is designed to provide sage economic advice to help the area achieve its economic and developmental objectives, "as the silicon district, focusing on IT, focusing on the manufacturing sector in the area as well as providing services like call centres and so on".
The economic council, under the chairmanship of Bertie van Wyk, a former Old Mutual executive, and with the patronage of Franklin Sonn, former ambassador to the US, "has as its ultimate aim to transform the Cape Winelands into the most compelling place in the country to live and work", says Johnson.
The creation of the economic council was a product of an economic summit held in the district in 2006. – Michael Hamlyn, I-Net Bridge
