P9115 - Non-financial census of municipalities for the year ended 30 June 2021

The number of consumer units receiving services from municipalities increased between 2020 and 2021. For the period under review, solid waste management showed the highest percentage increase (6,7%), followed by sewerage and sanitation (5,2%), then water (3,3 %) and electricity with (1,6%).

The provision of free basic services (FBS) provided to consumer units decreased in all services between the 2020 and 2021 financial years. Differences in the number of consumer units receiving free basic services between 2020 and 2021 were the result of households not renewing their status in 2021 and they were therefore automatically deregistered by their respective municipalities. Furthermore, some households have reached a predefined threshold that made them no longer eligible to receive benefits.

According to 2021 estimates, there were 2,7 million indigent households as identified by municipalities, a decrease of 22,8% from 2020 financial year. Of the 2,7 identified indigents, 2,1 million indigent households benefited from the indigent support system for water, while 1,6 million benefited from indigent support on electricity provided by municipalities. Furthermore, 1,7 million indigent households benefited from the indigent support system on sewerage and sanitation and 1,5 million indigent households benefited from the indigent support system on solid waste management.

Bucket toilets provided by municipalities to households increased by 14 139 (29,9%) consumer units from 47 214 to 61 353 between 2020 and 2021 financial years.

The number of people employed by municipalities decreased by 8,4%, from 315 343 in 2019 to 288 702 in 2021 (inclusive of funded vacancies).