As Western Cape premier Alan Winde prepares the finishing touches to his State of the Province Address on Wednesday night, 26 February 2025, political parties will picket outside the NG Church Hall in Beaufort West in a protest to raise awareness around the education crisis in the province.

Listen to this article 6 min Listen to this article 6 min Education and crime -- these are some of the biggest concerns for opposition parties in the Western Cape as Premier Alan Winde delivers his State of the Province Address (Sopa) tonight in Beaufort West.

While the province has the lowest official and expanded unemployment rate at 19,6% and 24,8% respectively, and has the most clean audits, it has been dogged by education and crime challenges.

This will be Winde's first Sopa of his second term, after delivering his opening of the legislature address in July, just after the 2024 elections. During much of that speech, he focused on the provincial budget, infrastructure and job creation.

The Democratic Alliance (DA), the majority party in the province, said it was looking forward to hearing how the province "keeps working for all", said Tertuis Simmers, the DA's Western Cape leader.

Simmers is also in Winde's cabinet as the MEC for Infrastructure, and told Daily Maverick that their apex priority was "helping businesses grow and creating jobs, equipping our citizens to get those jobs".

Simmers added: "We look forward to hearing what the premier will announce to ensure that the...