EASTERN CAPE - SAIRR STUDY REVEALS AN EC MUNICIPALITY HAS THE POOREST RESIDENTS IN SOUTH AFRICA

The Eastern Cape’s Alfred Nzo district municipality has the poorest residents in the country, while Johannesburg has the richest.

Only 53.1% of those living in the Alfred Nzo region are employed, and 90.2% of people there live on less than R1 600 per month.

In Johannesburg - the local authority with the highest employment rate - 72.7% of people have jobs, while 9.5% of the population has a monthly income of R25 600 or more.

This is according to a study by the SA Institute of Race Relations, comparing the relative standards of living within local authorities in South Africa ahead of the August 3 local government elections.

The study showed people in cities have a more comfortable lifestyle and are more likely to own refrigerators and electricity connections.

Areas with strong traditional leadership influences have higher levels of deprivation, meaning that they are more likely to use bucket toilets and not have access to piped water.

In Cape Town - the only metro where the DA is in charge - 93.4% of people have access to electricity – the highest in the country. In KwaZulu-Natal’s uMkhanyakude district, only 41.3% of people have electricity - the lowest in the country.

Cape Town also scored the highest on toilets – an issue that has led to fierce protests in the metro in the past – with 91.4% of residents having access to flush or chemical toilets. On the other end of the scale, in the Greater Sekhukhune area in Limpopo, only 8.6% of households have access to these.

The proportion of households with access to piped water inside the home or yard is highest in the Central Karoo (Western Cape), at 97.1%, and lowest in the Alfred Nzo district (Eastern Cape), at 16%.

SAIRR deputy head of research,Thuthukani Ndebele said that as a rule the more urban municipalities, and those in the Western Cape and Gauteng, outperformed the more rural municipalities.

The author of the index and accompanying report, Gabriela Mackay, said it showed the benefits of urbanisation in allowing people to improve their living standards.

"South Africa needs more rapid levels of urbanization, matched with the economic growth rate to support vastly increased job creation. The combination of urbanisation and growth offers the best chance of vastly improving the living standards of poor people in South Africa."

VIA - news24.com