Cabinet has welcomed South Africa's Census 2022 national results, which show that the country has been developing in the past 29 years.
“The results of the Census 2022 also conclusively demonstrate that South Africa’s development is not by accident, but rather by systematic application of developmental programmes since 1994. Cabinet is therefore encouraged by the progress on various fronts,” Minister in The Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said on Thursday in Pretoria.
Addressing the media on the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, the Minister said Cabinet welcomed the confirmation, through the Census 2022 results, of the strides made since 1994 to make South Africa a better place for all, while acknowledging the need to address the challenges that remain.
“Government is studying the details of the weaknesses reported in the Census 2022 in greater detail and will identify interventions required from the state. Cabinet commended Statistics South Africa, led by Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke, for running South Africa’s first digital census aligned to UN acclaimed methodologies,” the Minister said.
Census 2022 results show that the introduction of no-fee schools, Early Childhood Development and school nutrition programmes have had a positive impact on enrolments and improvements in the outputs of the educational system, specifically functional literacy and secondary school outcomes.
Other important indicators include significant gains shown in the delivery of services such as access to clean water, electricity, sanitation and refuse removal.
“Accordingly, in 2022, 82.4% of households had access to piped water either inside their dwelling or inside their yard. People with access to a flush toilet increased to 70.8% in 2022. Households with access to electricity for lighting increased from 58.1% in 1996 to 94.7% in 2022.
“Census 2022 also reveals the almost doubling of the number of households from approximately 9.1 million in 1996 to 17.8 million in 2022, and the increase in people living in formal dwellings (from 65.1% in 1996 to 88.5% in 2022). Although these improvements are encouraging, they also hold serious implications for service delivery and basic service infrastructure capacity,” Ntshavheni said.
Meanwhile, Cabinet approved the South African 2023 Sustainable Development Goals Country Report and its release by end of September 2023.
“Cabinet confirmed Statistics South Africa as an independent statistics agency and the only sources of official statistics in the country,” she said.
The Sustainable Development Goals are a global call to action to end poverty, protect the earth’s environment and climate, and ensure that people everywhere can enjoy peace and prosperity. – SAnews.gov.za
