IMPROVING LIVES THROUGH DATA ECOSYSTEMS

This year marks 30 years since millions of South Africans cast their ballot in the democratic elections of 1994 for the first time in their lives. As the country reflects on 30 years of freedom and democracy, the celebrations will be focusing on the gains that have been made, achievements and milestones as well as reflecting on what could have been done better. In her own words, the acting Director General of Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), Nomonde Mnukwa, said, “As government, we should count the successes and achievements that we have managed to achieve at this point in time. In areas that we have managed to intervene and the interventions were not successful, we now have the experience and innovation to resolve them.”

Not only is the country celebrating the significant milestone, the month of April also marks Freedom Month. On 9 April 2024, Freedom Month was launched at Freedom Park in Pretoria and 30 Years of Freedom logo was unveiled. The year’s celebrations will be held under the theme, “30 Years of Democracy, Partnership and Growth.” Delivering his speech at the launch,
the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Mr Zizi Kodwa said, “As we commemorate this significant milestone, it is imperative that we take a moment to acknowledge the remarkable progress we have made since the dawn of democracy in 1994. Our journey has been marked by monumental achievements, from the dismantling of apartheid to the establishment of a constitutional democracy founded on the principles of equality, justice, and human rights.”

This month, the educational article is based on the report titled Profiling the socio-economic status and living arrangements of men and women in South Africa – Census 2022, (Report No. 03-01-36) published by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on 28 March 2024. The report presents a selection of key findings sourced from the South African population and housing census of 2022 while trends were drawn from previous censuses of 1996, 2001 and 2011. Also, have a look at our monthly crossword puzzle and solutions for the March 2024 puzzle. Articles published in this issue are based on the results of industry surveys conducted for January 2024 and February 2024.

Download Mbalo brief – April 2024