Water supply in some parts of South Africa is under severe strain. This is mainly due to the heatwave that swept through many parts of the country coupled with an increased demand in water mainly due to the heat. Two of South Africa’s cities, Johannesburg and Pretoria, recorded their hottest day ever on the 10th   read more »

With South Africa in the grip of drought, the role of local municipalities to provide clean water, maintain infrastructure, and reduce wastage has become more important than ever. Recent data on staff vacancies show which municipalities are struggling to fill funded posts in their water management departments. Municipalities in Free State seem to be struggling   read more »

Challenges and opportunities in advancing human endeavor through SDGs: Guarding against the tyranny of technology and numerology Pali Lehohla Statistician-General South Africa 5th OECD World Forum on Statistics, Knowledge and Policy Guadalajara Mexico 13-15 October 2015 The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) present the last opportunity for the universe to mend its ways and advance human   read more »

05 November 2015 MEDIA INVITE The Importance of data in decision-making Statistician General Pali Lehohla will brief the media on the importance of data in decision making and will be joined by the President of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS)/ President of the International Association for Official Statistics (IAOS) and Mr Ola Rosling,   read more »

With the announcement of a zero fee increase for higher education institutions next year, the focus is now on where the money will be sourced to finance the expected shortfall. Recent data provide an indication of which universities are most dependent on tuition fees, and as a result might be most vulnerable to a shortfall.   read more »

Stats SA’s Financial statistics of higher education institutions report provides an overview of university finances. Two key facts emerged from the report when it was released recently. Salaries take up half the pie South Africa’s 25 higher education institutions1 spent a total of R55,6 billion in the 2014 financial year, 50% (R27,5 billion) of which   read more »

28 October 2015 Media advisory  Please note that the media briefing scheduled for today (28 October 2015) at 10H00 to release monograph reports on Mortality in South Africa, Fertility in South Africa and Population Dynamics of South Africa has been postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. A future date, time and venue will be communicated at   read more »

27 October 2015 Media Release The results for the third quarter Quarterly labour force survey (QLFS) shows that the working-age population was 36,1 million – 15,8 million employed, 5,4 million unemployed and 14,9 million not economically active. The not economically active population decreased by 200 000 and the economically active population increased 359 000 quarter-to-quarter.   read more »

By Pali Lehohla “Better data, better lives”, is the commitment from official statistics organisations across the world as part of celebrating World Statistics Day, October 20 2015.  Guided by the Fundamental Priniciples of Official Statistics and the call from United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon that “statistics are critical for evidence-based decision making across all   read more »