uMngeni

uMngeni Municipality pursues the creation of an enabling environment for investment opportunities, and the marketing of the municipality to domestic and international investors. A significant percentage of the high-potential agricultural land in the Midlands Meander falls within uMngeni Municipality. This provides an opportunity for agricultural sector growth. The forestry industry will be transformed through the establishment of community private partnerships. Small scale forestry opportunities will be created. The municipality seeks to build on the already successful tourism industry by promoting job creation in tourism, a safe and secure environment, and marketing the area as tourism destination (uMgungundlovu District Municipality IDP 2012/13).read more »

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Endumeni

Situated in the Umzinyathi District Municipality in the north-western part of KwaZulu-Natal, Endumeni Local Municipality is home to a population that is predominantly urban, with only 16,8% living in non-urban areas. The towns of Dundee, Glencoe and Wasbank house most of the urban population of Endumeni. Wasbank is located at the foot of the Indumeni mountain, an inactive volcano.

(Source: www.endumeni.gov.za).

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Mthonjaneni

In 1887, when the British government annexed Zululand, they established several magisterial districts. One district was Mthonjaneni, and the centre of the district was what is known today as Melmoth, named after Sir Melmoth Osborn, the first British Chief Native Commissioner for Zululand. Melmoth was essentially a 'gold rush town'.

At the turn of the century, gold was mined at the Melmoth Gold Fields, five kilometers out of town, but this was a short-term venture. Deserted diggings can still be found in some areas.

(Source: www.melmoth.co.za).

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Ulundi

The Ulundi Local Municipality is located in north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal. It covers anarea ofapproximately 3 250 km².It includes the traditional authorities of Buthelezi, Hlatswayo, Jama, LukwaziNtuli, Mbatha, Mpungose, Ndebele, Ntombele, Usustu, Ximba, and Zondo. Approximately half of the municipal area consists of commercial farms and the area supports a substantial agricultural community.

Ulundi town represents the only urban area in the municipal area, and therefore plays an important role in the provision of social and economic facilities to the total population of Ulundi. This places enormous pressure on the urban area for the delivery of services. A significant number of households in the rural area are headed by females, who are usually more disadvantaged in terms of resources and education.

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Mandeni

Mandeni Local Municipality (formerly eNdondakusuka Local Municipality) is an administrative area in the iLembe District of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Manufacturing, elementary work and plant and machine work are the highest non-farming categories of labour. Mandeni includes substantial areas of commercial agriculture, with the bulk of these areas under sugar-cane. Agriculture is the main employment sector in the area. Tourism industry in Mandeni is also observable at the Tugela Mouth area. The history of the area cannot be divorced from the tourism potential. Great battles have been fought by the Zulus against the British in this area through the involvement of King Cetshwayo. The area was one of the most important agricultural areas of the Kingdom of KwaZulu since the reigns of Kings Malandela, Jama, Senzangakhona, Shaka, Dingane and Mpande. During the reigns of Kings Shaka and Dingane, the eNdondakusuka area formed part of the area regarded as Prince Mpande’s sphere of influence. He had his house kwaMfemfeeGcotsheni in Ndulinde, which is where Prince Shingana was born and buried in 1911.read more »

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Crime statistics

  Crime prevention and ultimate elimination is one of the priority goals of the National Development Plan (NDP). Crime affects all people irrespective of their background, and it is a topic that attracts a lot of media attention. Analysis will show that some groupings are affected by certain types of crime more than others. Crime statistics are essential in order to understand the temporal and spatial dynamics of crime. Such understanding is vital for planning targeted interventions and assessing progress made towards achieving a crime free nation where "people living in South Africa feel safe at home, at school and at work, and they enjoy a community life free of fear. Women walk freely in the streets and children play safely outside". There are two major sources of crime statistics in South Africa, namely the South African Police Service (SAPS) and Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). The other smaller sources such as the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) are by no means insignificant, as they provide statistics for types of crime not adequately covered by the major players, such as domestic violence. While the methodologies used by the SAPS and Stats SA are very different, the two institutions produce crime statistics that complement each other. The SAPS produces administrative data of crime reported to police stations by victims, the public and crime reported as a result of police activity. Stats SA produces crime statistics estimated from household surveys. Crimes reported to the SAPS do not always have the same definitions as crime statistics produced from VOCS. In addition, not all crimes reported by the SAPS are reported by VOCS and vice versa. Working in close collaboration with Stats SA, the South African Police Service has undertaken to align its Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes (CCSP) to the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes (ICCS). Highlights of the 2017/18 Victims of Crime report Aggregate crime levels increased in 2017/18 compared to 2016/17. It is estimated that over 1,5 million incidences of household crime occurred in South Africa in 2017/18, which constitutes an increase of 5% compared to the previous year. Incidences of crime on individuals are estimated to be over 1,6 million, which is an increase of 5% from the previous year. Aggregate household crime levels increased in Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, North West, Gauteng and Mpumalanga. Individual crime levels increased in Free State, North West and Gauteng. North West experienced a drastic increase of 80% in the individual crime level. Perceptions of South Africans on crime in 2017/18 were more skeptical compared to the previous year. About 42% thought property crime increased during the past three years. This is an increase of 6,9% from the previous year. 46% thought violent crime increased during the past three years, an increase of 4,5% over the previous year. Western Cape was the most skeptical about crime trends, as 84% of Western Cape residents thought that crime in South African increased or stayed the same. Mpumalanga was the least skeptical among the nine provinces, where 65% thought that crime increased or stayed the same during the past three years. Crimes that are feared most are those that are most common. An estimated 79% of South Africans felt safe walking alone in their neighbourhoods during the day, which is a decrease of 6,7% from last year. About 32% of South Africans felt safe walking alone in their neighbourhoods at night, constituting an increase of 8% from last year. The highlights for household and individual experiences of crime from the 2016/17 VOCS report are as follows:  read more »

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Gender Statistics

South Africa has a history of exclusion and discrimination on all kinds of grounds, such as race and gender. For this reason we have developed one of the most inclusive constitutions in the world, with a Bill of Rights that specifically refers to equal treatment for all regardless of race, age, disability status, socio-economic status and gender (Section 9). Legislation – such as the Employment Equity Act of 1998 – has facilitated access to formal employment for women, where employers are legally required to work towards more equitable representation based on gender, race and disability. Our National Development Plan 2030 envisions an inclusive society and economy, free from unequal opportunities through capacity building, redress and increased interaction. Through a combination of legislation, monitoring and accountability, significant progress has been made in this regard, especially in the public sector. For example, the percentage of women in senior management positions in the public service increased from 13% in 1998 to 42% in 2017. Gender and gender statistics are not just about women. Whereas the term sex refers to a biological male/female classification, the word gender connotes more than that. It encapsulates social and cultural differences, and also includes how an individual views him-/herself. The term “gender role” relates to society’s concept of how men and women are expected to act. Gender stereotypes form the basis of sexism, or the prejudiced beliefs that value males over females or vice versa. Gender inequality refers to the unequal treatment and/or perceptions of inequality of men in relation to women or vice versa. Even though there are instances where discrimination occurs against men, more often than not women are at a disadvantage. This is manifested in, for example, preferential access to work and/or certain jobs for men, unequal pay for equal work, bullying, domination and violence against women, selective abortion of female children, and preferential household expenditure on boys’ education. While great strides have been made towards equality for women, there still remains great challenges; there is a need for continued measurement and policy and programmatic interventions. In addition to monitoring progress with regard to the situation of men and women, an understanding of gender gaps in the following key areas will move the agenda of leaving no one behind forward: Market participation – Equal representation of both sexes in the labour force is important; gender equality allows for an increase in the number of women participating in the work force, which expands the labour force and can contribute towards increased economic productivity and growth. Resource equity – Indicators of men’s and women’s asset ownership and control are important measures used to monitor gender equality. This is achieved when people are able to access and enjoy the same rewards, resources and opportunities regardless of whether they are male or female. Women’s ownership of and control over resources is one of the key elements of empowerment. Governance – Gender equality in positions of decision-making, as well as political representation, are important not only from an empowerment perspective, but also to ensure that issues affecting women are considered during policy formulation, planning and programme/project implementation. Stats SA publishes a wide range of statistics in various reports and publications, highlighting the challenges experienced by women and men in South Africa as measured through household surveys and censuses conducted by Stats SA, as well as other sources.read more »

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Agricultural Statistics

The history of agricultural statistics in South Africa goes back as far back as the beginning of the 20th century. With the exception of the World Wars and great depression years, an agricultural census was conducted on annual basis in the first half of the 20th century. As agriculture’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) decreased over the years, so did the frequency of conducting agricultural censuses. Post 1994, agricultural censuses have been conducted on a five yearly basis, with annual surveys being conducted in between the census years. Until now, agricultural censuses and surveys have largely concentrated on commercial agriculture leaving out small-scale and subsistence agriculture. In 2009, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) conducted an audit of agricultural statistics in the country. One of the findings was that the country lacked information on smallholder and subsistence agriculture. The current list of farmers being used to conduct surveys was mainly confined to commercial agriculture. A decision was taken that three questions related to agriculture would be included in the Population Census 2011 (Census 2011) questionnaire. The main objective was to identify all households involved in agriculture in the country, so that a complete frame of all individuals and entities involved in agriculture (both subsistence and commercial) could be generated. This will allow for a comprehensive agricultural census to be conducted.read more »

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Poverty

Poverty is a key development challenge in social, economic and political terms; not only in South Africa but throughout the developing world. In post-apartheid South Africa, fighting the legacy of poverty and under-development has always been a central theme of Government. This was cemented in the Reconstruction and Development Plan (RDP) of 1994 and reiterated in the National Development Plan (NDP) published in 2011.

The guiding objectives of the NDP is the elimination of poverty and the reduction in inequality and all the elements of the plan must demonstrate their effect on these two objectives. The Living Conditions Survey (LCS) and the Income and Expenditure Survey (IES) conducted by Stats SA are the two primary contributors toward profiling and monitoring poverty and inequality over time.

These two surveys are fundamental components to the survey programme of any statistical agency. They are the leading tools for the measurement of absolute poverty and inequality and they are an extremely important building block for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to stay current with the changing spending and consumption patterns of the country.

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Household Service Delivery Statistics

The dawn of democracy in 1994 created a new dispensation in which access to basic services such as housing, water and sanitation was recognized as a fundamental human right. South Africa inherited high levels of poverty and it continues to be confronted with unequal and often inadequate access to resources, infrastructure and social services. The Bill of Rights enshrined the right to basic services and commanded that the state must take reasonable measures to achieve the progressive realisation of these rights. Faced by inadequate information about the state of development in South Africa, Statistics South Africa (then called the Central Statistical Service) launched the October Household Survey (OHS) programme in 1993. The survey was discontinued in 1999 and subsequently replaced by the General Household Survey (GHS) which was instituted in 2002 in order to determine the level of development in the country and the performance of programs and projects on a regular basis. The GHS continues to evolve and key questions are continuously added and/or modified in consultation with key stakeholders to maintain the relevance and quality of data. In addition to measuring access to key services, the level of satisfaction with, as well as perceived quality of selected services provided by Government are also measured.read more »

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