Pretoria – The results of the latest Non-financial Census of Municipalities 2016 released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) show that the number of consumer units receiving services from municipalities increased between 2015 and 2016.
“The highest percentage increase from 2015 to 2016 in the provision of services was recorded in the provision of sewerage and sanitation (2.9%), followed by electricity (2.5%), solid waste management (2.4%) and water (2.3%),” said Statistician General Pali Lehohla on Wednesday.
The provision of water increased by 2.3% nationally.
“The highest provincial increase for the provision of water were recorded in Mpumalanga with 7% and North West with 4.6%, while the lowest increase was recorded in Limpopo with 0.6%.
“The highest provincial increase for the provision of electricity were recorded in Mpumalanga with 4.6% and KwaZulu-Natal with 4.1%, while Western Cape recorded the lowest increase of 0.8%,” Lehohla said.
The highest provincial increase for the provision of sewerage and sanitation were recorded in the Eastern Cape with 7.2% and Limpopo with 6.5%, whereas the lowest increase was recorded in North West with 1.2%.
For solid waste management (refuse removal), Lehohla said the highest provincial increase was recorded in the Eastern Cape with 11.8%, and Mpumalanga recorded the second highest increase at 4.9%, while Gauteng recorded the lowest increase at 0.3%.
Indigent households
There were 3.6 million households in 2016, as identified by municipalities. Of this, 2.7 million (75.2%) households benefited from the indigent support system for water, while 2 million (56.2%) benefited from free basic electricity provided by municipalities.
The report also revealed that 2 million (56.5%) indigent households benefited from the indigent support system for sewerage and sanitation, while 2.5 million (68.6%) households benefited from the indigent support for solid waste removal.
Employment
Municipalities employed 269 021 people in 2016, up from 268 840 the previous year. The numbers are inclusive of councillors and mayors but exclusive of vacancies.
Lehohla said there were about 21 969 people occupying posts at management level, including mayoral and councillor positions, in all South African municipalities, but this excluding vacancies. He said most of the posts, of about 14 063, were filled by men while women occupied the remaining 7 937 posts.
He also said there was an increase in the number of funded vacant posts from 41 383 in 2015 to 45 096 in 2016, including mayoral and councillor position.
“The highest number of unfilled posts in the technical areas were recorded in the environmental protection services, with 26.1%, followed by road transport departments with about 22.3% and waste water management with about 19.9%.
“Health and waste management departments both reflected the lowest number of vacancies with 10.9%,” he said. - SAnews.gov.za
