Many thought that the year 2015 would go down in history as a year second only to 1976 in the way that students took to the streets in a stand against something they did not agree with (through the Fees Must Fall movement). However, in September 2016, a resurgence of the movement was ushered in. Students from various universities across the country are still fighting for free education. Not only have these protests resulted in a lot of violence by students and against students, but they have also prompted the government to start analysing the possibility of free education. Hopefully, both parties will soon reach a sustainable agreement.

On a lighter note, October is Transport Month. This is a campaign that has been running annually since 2005, under a different theme each year. This year, the theme is ‘Together we move South Africa forward’. The month-long programme will showcase transport infrastructure projects, promote the use of public transport and advance the country’s road safety initiatives.

In this month’s issue of Mbalo Brief, our educational article is based on the Education findings, which were derived from the 2016 Community Survey (CS) results and focuses on trends in educational attainment and attendance between Census 1996 and CS 2016. Also have a look at our monthly crossword puzzle and solutions for the September 2016 puzzle.

Also included in this issue are our monthly articles such as Consumer price index, Retail trade sales, Mining: Production and sales and Food and beverages.

Articles published in this issue are based on results of industry surveys conducted for the months ranging from June to August 2016 which were published by Stats SA in August and September 2016.

Download: Mbalo Brief – October 2016

For more details on any of the surveys, visit our website at: www.statssa.gov.za