Municipalities spend more money on their employees than on any one of the services provided to their clients/customers. Data from Stats SA’s latest Financial census of municipalities provides interesting insight into the patterns of salary costs across municipalities, as well as over time. Salary patterns across space Employee-related costs took up the largest chunk of   read more »

If you are interested in the extent of service delivery in South Africa, it might be good to know that it can be measured from two different fronts. In most instances, the extent of service delivery is measured from the demand side. Surveys such as the Population Census, Community Survey (CS) and General Household Survey   read more »

These maps show, in a powerful way, the patterns of racial neighbourhood integration and segregation across South Africa’s largest cities. Municipalities have become more racially integrated, according to a chapter in the recently released General Household Survey (GHS) report on housing1. However, the legacy of apartheid still has a hold on the social structure of   read more »

Media Release                                                                                                                                                                    20 April 2016   GHS Series Volume VII: Housing from a human settlement perspective In-depth analysis of General Household Survey (2002-2014) and Census (1996-2011) data   The number of households living in formal dwellings across the country has increased from 76% in 2002 to 80% 2014 which signifies that the   read more »

“Our job is only to hold up the mirror – to tell and show the public what has happened.” Walter Cronkite The Statistician-General for South Africa, Dr Pali Lehohla, today handed over the results of the 2015 KwaZulu-Natal Citizen Satisfaction Survey (CSS) to the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, the honourable Mr Edward Mchunu.  Handing over the   read more »

The bucket toilet system remains a persistent phenomenon in seven of the nine provinces. Interestingly, 35% of consumer units serviced with bucket toilets in South Africa are concentrated in a single municipality: Nelson Mandela Bay in Eastern Cape. Learn more about the bucket system, and economic related statistics, in this edition of Stats Biz.     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 »

Media Release                                                                                                                                                                    07 October 2015 The voice of the ordinary citizens of KZN will be heard through a Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) conducted Citizen Satisfaction Survey (CSS) in KwaZulu-Natal, which will help the Office of the Premier to make informed decisions to improve the lives of the citizen of KZN. The survey is the product of   read more »

Acting as intermediaries, municipalities buy electricity from Eskom in bulk and then re-sell it to various customers (including homes, businesses and government). According to the utility, 42% of the electricity it generated in 2013/14 was sold to redistributors, such as municipalities1. Almost a third of income earned by municipalities (R21,9 billion) in the quarter ended   read more »

The bucket toilet system remains a persistent phenomenon in seven of the nine provinces, despite measures to eradicate it. Where are bucket toilets still in use? And is South Africa succeeding in reducing its usage? Data from Stats SA’s latest Non-financial census of municipalities provides some insight into these questions. Eastern Cape boasts largest decrease   read more »