While generally pleased with the findings of the Quality of Life Survey released last week, Gauteng Premier, Nomvula Mokonyane, said the survey was important for more reasons than indicating that the quality of life had improved for Gauteng residents.
The Survey, conducted through the Gauteng City Region Observatory in collaboration with the universities of Johannesburg and Witwatersrand, showed that at least 20% of respondents said they have to share their sanitation facilities. It has also noted that most of these challenges were specific to certain municipalities.“This is of major concern to us,” the Premier of the most populous province in South Africa said.
“But residents can rest assured that as a progressive government we had already began to take steps to ensure that access to sanitation is provided for the majority of our people,” Mokonyane added.
One of the most comprehensive solutions to the sanitation pressures facing Gauteng, with its 11-million people, is the R1.6 billion Sedibeng Sewer Scheme, to be built in the Emfuleni Local Municipality.
“Funding for the scheme has already being sought and necessary announcement will be made in due course,” she said.
Mokonyane added that the findings of the Survey showed what the GPG knew already about development and infrastructural challenges facing many of its communities.
“The Survey has really just confirmed what we knew. It has armed us with much more tangible facts for when we make critical decisions about planning and developing our Globally-Competitive City-Region,” the Premier said.
“Because the survey is also conducted in collaboration with local governments in Gauteng, it allows us to analyse many findings at ward level. Questions covered a variety of issues ranging from values and attitudes, transport, demographics, migration and decent work to many other critical areas,” said Mokonyane.
The findings of the Survey show that Gauteng’s residents have access to proper sanitation, with 80% of respondents having their own RDP-level private sanitation.
“This should be commended,” she said.
It must be noted that the survey findings also pointed out that people who said they shared sanitation facilities did not primarily come from informal settlements. These were people mainly from traditional dwellings such as rural parts of the province.
“There are also a number of respondents from communal living places such as hostels and communal places like student’s compounds. It is also worth noting that about 14% of the respondents who said they shared sanitation facilities were white indicating that these were different families sharing a place. Only 7% of respondents from informal settlements said they shared a toilet with neighbours while 8% of backyard shack-dwellers also shared a toilet,” the Premier added.
The survey revealed many other additional details on Gauteng’s service delivery achievements and the full survey will be launched officially in July.
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