Chapter 3: THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT

Authors: Bryan Tladi(1), Titus Baloyi(2) and Eldon Van Boom(3)

1.Bohlweki Environmental (Pty) Ltd., Midrand, Johannesburg
2.Bembani Sustainability Training, Midrand, Johannesburg
3.North West Dept. Agriculture, Conservation and Environment, Mafikeng


CONTENTS
  1. Introduction
  2. Demographics
  3. Education
  4. Employment
  5. Health
  6. Safety and Security
  7. Welfare
  8. Quality of Life
  9. Conclusions
    10.
References

Maps:

District and local municipalities of the North West Province (Map 18)
Medical facilities in the North West Province (Map 19)

3.1 Introduction

This chapter deals with information regarding the social environment of the North West Province, and presents it in relation to what is happening throughout South Africa. The chapter sets about to create a better understanding of the North West Province demographics and other social factors such as health, education and welfare aspects. It further tries to address the issues of crime and unemployment, which all have a bearing on the quality of life of the North West Province.

Administratively, the North West Province is divided into four district municipalities, namely: Bojanala, Central, Southern and Bophirima, which are comprised of 21 local municipalities. The Province also shares a number of cross border municipalities with neighbouring provinces (Map 18).

The United Nations Convention on the Combating of Desertification (UNCCD) in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa defines land degradation as the:

"reduction or loss of the biological or economic productivity and complexity of rainfed cropland, irrigated cropland, or range, pasture, forest and woodlands in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, resulting from land uses or from a process or combination of processes, including processes arising from human activities and habitation patterns such as:

3.2 Demographics

The South African population is estimated at about 40,6 million people (Statistics South Africa, 1998).
The North West Province is regarded as the sixth largest populated province with 3,4 million residents or constitutes 8,3% of the population (Figure 3.2.1), and has an annual growth rate of 3.1% (Statistics South Africa, 1998).


Figure 3.2.1: Population of South Africa by province (Source: Statistics SA 1998).


South Africa has a fairly evenly distributed urban to non-urban population, only 53,7% of its population is estimated to live within an urban environment. However, only 34,9% of people in the North West Province are urban dwellers with most of the population (65,1%) living in the rural areas. There is increased migration to the cities, mainly due to a declining agricultural sector and growth in urban unemployment. Furthermore, declining precious metals prices and other factors, leading to possible retrenchments in the mining industry, exacerbate this situation.

The North West Province is inhabited by 91,2% or 3,1 million African people, while there are only 6,6% whites, 1,4% coloureds and 0,3% Indians. In South Africa the African population constitutes the majority population (total of about 76,7%) in all provinces except in the Western and Northern Cape, where coloureds form the majority (Figure 3.2.2).



Figure 3.2.2: Population of South Africa by province and race (Source: Statistics SA 1998).

Some 50,8% of the people in the North West Province are female. This is consistent with national figures, where there is a larger proportion of females (average of 51,9%) to males (Figure 3.2.3).

According to the 1996 Census (Statistics South Africa 1998) the age distribution of the South African population is starting to diverge from the pyramid structure that is typical of developing countries (Figure 3.2.4). Industrialised countries are usually characterised by a shrinking younger population (shorter base) with a high proportion of older population. This is mainly due to couples in these countries preferring to have fewer children and improvements in medical technology extending the lifetime of the elderly. Developing countries, on the other hand, are characterised by a large base, indicative of a high birth rate or a high young population with a smaller elderly population.



Figure 3.2.3: Population of South Africa by province and gender (Source: Statistics SA 1998).

In 1998 it was reported that 4,6% of the population was aged 65 or older, while 33,9% of the population was younger than 14 years in the North West Province (Figure 3.2.4). The more economically active group is between the ages of 16 and 64 years and constitutes 60,7%. As



Figure 3.2.4: Age distribution by gender in the North West Province (Source: Statistics SA 1998, Census in brief).

in the rest of South Africa, the pattern of age distribution in the North West Province varies with population groups. The white population in the North West Province exhibits a typical industrialised society with fewer children and more elderly citizens, whereas the African population has a larger base and a relatively small percentage of elderly persons.

3.3 Education

In South Africa, access to educational facilities or opportunities varies across all provinces. Data suggest that the North West Province compares favourably to the rest of South Africa. However, although the proportion of the population 20 years and older that attended school in the lower or primary education levels are higher than the national average it lags behind the national average at the secondary and tertiary educational level.

The North West Province has a total of 2434 schools (HSRC 1996). The literacy rate of about 70% (DBSA 1998), is well below the national average of 82,8%. This low figure can be ascribed to the elderly and women living in the rural areas of the North West Province. However, in 1993 the pupils to teacher ratios were only 24 pupils per teacher, much better than the national average of 31:1 (DBSA 1998). To reduce the illiteracy problem amongst adults, Adult Basic Education has been implemented in the North West Province and over 445 centres throughout the province offer the service (A re Ageng 2001). Figure 3.3.1 outlines the educational profile of adults in South Africa against those of the North West Province.



Figure 3.3.1: Adult educational profiles for the North West Province and South Africa (Source: A re Ageng 2001).

Data obtained from the October 1995 Household Survey, suggest that there is stark contrast in the educational attainment between the African and White population groups 20 years and older in the North West Province. It was estimated that up to half of the African population did not complete their primary education, compared to 2% of all the Whites in this province.

3.4 Employment

The economically active population is that part of the population that is able to work, who are aged 15 years and older (usually up to 65 years) and includes those who are employed and unemployed. Table 3.4.1 shows the North West Province labour force utilisation and quality as in 1996.

Table 3.4.1: North West labour force utilisation and quality, 1996 (Source DBSA 1998).

Indicator North West South Africa NW Ranked
Labour force ('000) 1 189 13 979 5
Labour participation Rate (%) 58.4 57.3 5
Employment per R1 million GGP 48.5 29.6 1
Labour Absorption Capacity (%) 62.2 66.2 6
Unemployment Rate (%) 37.8 33.8 4
Proportion of labour without formal schooling 18.1 13.3 3
Proportion of labour force with matric and post-matric qualifications (%) 20.0 25.3 8


The North West Province is characterised by high unemployment rates, and inequality in terms of access to resources and poverty. Currently 60,7% of the population of the North West Province is regarded as economically active. However, it only has a potential labour force of about 1,2 million people, of which 62,3% are employed. The mining industry is the largest sector in the economy, which employs about 39% of all those with jobs in the North West Province (North West Province 2001). Most people in the North West Province follow an elementary occupation, employing about 27,7% or just more than two hundred thousand, which is a job characterised by low skills levels.

Poverty affects 62% of the Province's population, the second highest provincial figure for South Africa. The Province has an unemployment rate of 37.7%, the fourth highest in South Africa. Figure 3.4.1 indicates the unemployment-poverty distribution analysis in South Africa. The farming sector provides opportunities for employment for the rural communities, but the income derived from this sector is very low. There is also very little upward mobility in this sector due to the education levels attracted to the employment. Further linkages can be found in relation to food security and unemployment. The higher the level of unemployment, the more food insecure the population becomes. This has a spiraling effect in terms of other social elements such as health and crime.

There is a need to create more quality employment that can lead to sustainable livelihoods for those more affected by poverty. Approximately 33.9% of the unemployed are found in the urban areas whilst 66.1% are in the rural areas. Male / female unemployment distribution in the Province indicate that in 1996, 187 000 males (41,6%) were unemployed compared to 262 000 females (58,4%).



Figure 3.4.1: Unemployment-poverty distribution analysis in South Africa for 1996 (Source: DBSA, 1998).


3.5 Health

The public sector caters for the health-care requirements of most households in the North West Province (Map 19), with the majority of African households making use of public healthcare facilities. The White population tends to use private sector health-care facilities (74%). Throughout South Africa, a similar percentage of African households (81%) use public health care facilities, whilst a slightly higher percentage of White households (80%) use private health care facilities (Orkin 1998a). Africans who reside in a non-urban environment are more likely to make use of public facilities than urban Africans, and both are more likely to seek medical attention at a public clinic rather than a public hospital.

The Department of Health in the North West keeps records of noticeable diseases such as malaria, measles, tuberculosis and hepatitis A and B. The incident rate per 100 000 for all of these diseases is below the national average for South Africa (Table 3.5.1). The 1994 national HIV survey among antenatal attendees indicated that 6.7% of pregnant women in the North West Province were HIV positive. In 2000 almost 23% of women tested were HIV-positive. Figure 3.5.1 outlines HIV positive status of antenatal women throughout South Africa. The rapid increase in the prevalence of HIV amongst the North West Province population will place increasing pressure on health services.

Table 3.5.1: Diseases incidence rate in South Africa and the North West Province - incidences per 100 000 of the population (Source: Department of Health, 2000).

Notifiable diseases North West South Africa
Cases Incidence rate (%) Cases Incidence rate (%)
Malaria 194 5.57 25 975 61.66
Measles 25 0.72 1 055 2.50
Tetanus 1 0.03 16 0.04
Tuberculosis 5 594 160.70 86 960 206.40
Typhoid 0 0.00 415 0.99
Viral Hepatitis A 12 0.34 785 1.86
Viral Hepatitis B 10 0.29 550 1.31




Figure 3.5.1: HIV prevalence by province among antenatal attendees in South Africa in 2000 (Source: Dept. Health, 2000).

3.6 Safety and Security

The October Households Survey conducted in 1995 (Orkin 1998a) estimated that, twelve months prior to the survey, about 5% of all households in the North West Province had been a victim of some sort of crime. Data also suggest that urban households are more likely to experience crime than households in a rural setting. Consequently, residents in the urban environment did not feel very safe, compared to those living in rural areas, although residents tended to feel safer within their neighbourhoods. However, the incidence of farm attacks on workers and farm owners was not taken into account.

3.7 Welfare

According to A re Ageng (2001) there are about 185 welfare institutions in the province, inequitably distributed between different communities in regions. The life expectancy has improved from 58 years to 60 years since 1994 and about 6.5% of the population is physically handicapped, thus requiring an addition of 2000 applicants to the current social grants backlog. No new facilities have been developed since 1994. The report also points out that greater access to welfare services in terms of the RDP framework has increased dramatically, thereby increasing the caseload of social workers. On the other hand, social security grants for the North West Province have increased from R158 million in 1994 to R203 million in 1999, representing a 25,5% increase over the 5-year period. However, this figure does not take into account the effects of inflation. Almost 75% of the total expenditure is dedicated to old age grants. In line with the rest of South Africa, the child support grant that replaced the state maintenance grant in 1998 was implemented to reduce the burden on women who are responsible for the care of children up to the age of seven. Project "Go" has also been implemented in the interest of ensuring the rights of children in residential care.

3.8 Quality of life

Quality of life can be measured through the Human Development Index (HDI), which has been used successfully elsewhere by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). According to Schwabe et al. (2001), HDI measures the overall achievements in a country in three dimensions of human development, namely: The figures for 1996 indicate that North West Province rates third lowest in terms of quality of life compared to other South African provinces (Table 3.8.1).

Table 3.8.1: HDI information for South Africa by provinces. The ratings are given as a score between 0 and 1 (Source: Statistics South Africa 1996).

Province Rating
Gauteng 0.727
Western Cape 0.720
Free State 0.650
Northern Cape 0.648
KwaZulu-Natal 0.626
Mpumalanga 0.623
North West 0.615
Eastern Cape 0.603
Northern Province 0.566
South Africa 0.627

3.9 Conclusion

The North West Province, with approximately 3.4 million people is the sixth most populated province in South Africa. Some 3,1 million people are of African descent (91,2%), while Whites make up 6,6%, Coloureds 1,4% and Asians 0,3%. The male-female ratios are 49,2% and 50,8% respectively. The Province is predominantly rural, with 65,1% living in rural areas and 34,9% in urban areas. This is in contrast to the national trends of 46,3% and 53,7% for rural and urban figures respectively. However, the rate of urbanization is increasing, largely due to the lack of employment opportunities in rural areas. Poverty affects 62% of the population of the North West Province, the second highest provincial figure for South Africa.

There is a high illiteracy rate (30 %) making environmental awareness very difficult to address. This figure is significantly higher than the national average of 17,2% in 1998. The Province has a potential labour force of 1.2 million of which only 62% are employed. The population is considered to be relatively young, with a high percentage of teenagers in the province, meaning that high levels of unemployment and associated social problems can be expected in the future unless there is a concomitant creation of job opportunities.

The incidences of noticeable diseases are lower in the Province than the national averages. Twenty three percent of antenatal females registered as HIV positive in 2000. AIDS and its debilitating health and economic impacts are therefore a highly significant factor in the Province. The welfare facilities are still inequitably distributed in the Province.

Based on the UN Human Development Index, the Province is the 3rd lowest of South Africa's provinces in terms of quality of life.

References


A Re Ageng. 2001. North West Province Annual Report 2 1999-2000. North West Province DACE, Mmabatho, 108pp.
Department of Health. 2000. National HIV and Syphilis Sero-Prevalence Survey of women attending Public Antenatal Clinics in South Africa, 2000. 13pp.
Development Bank of South Africa. 1998. North West: Development Profile 1998. Development Bank of South Africa, Johannesburg.
Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA). 2001. South Africa: Inter - Provincial Comparative Report. DBSA, Midrand.
Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). 1996. School Registry, HSRC, Pretoria.
North West Province. 2001. Environmental Implementation Plan (EIP), 1st Edition. NW DACE, Mmabatho.
Orkin, F.M. 1998a. Living in the North West; selected findings of the 1995 October household survey. Statistics South Africa, Pretoria.
Orkin, F.M. 1998b. Census in Brief: the people of South Africa, population census, 1996. Statistics South Africa, Pretoria.
Schwabe, C, Viljoen, J and O'Donovan, M. 2001. SA Environmental Indicator Project, Special Review: Social Issues. HSRC, Pretoria.


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