CHAPTER FOUR: LED IN SOUTH AFRICA
Map 3: Spatial Development Framework INK Area 2005
6.4 KWAMASHU PROFILE
6.4.8 Profile Implications on Poverty and Development in KwaMashu
From the above discussion it emerges that KwaMashu together with INK have low levels of development and high incidence of poverty. Development and poverty are not only assessed using money metric measures but non metric measures such as low level of education and poor access to water. There are a variety of factors which impede development in KwaMashu (See table 10 below). The obstacles have prompted the national and local government to put in places development strategies such as the INK Area Based Management Program (INK ABM) to try and address development challenges. These include supporting SME‘s so that their businesses to grow, with the ultimate aim or reducing poverty in KwaMashu. This is examined in detail in the next chapter.
Table 10: Obstacles to development in KwaMashu
Source: DPLG 2007; Godehart 2006 Obstacles to Development
Inadequate and poorly maintained infrastructure High levels of poverty and unemployment Spatial disintegration
Low level of human development Weak industrial and manufacturing sector High levels of crime
High rate of natural increase HIV and AIDS
Low GDP
Poverty manifest itself in various forms in KwaMashu namely low income, lack of basic human capabilities, lack of basic needs and social exclusion. These factors interact and reinforce each to continually trap residents in poverty. For example the lack of education impacts on the employability and potential income of the residents. Thus there needs to be a mixture of poverty alleviation efforts. These efforts are informed by a profile of indicators on poverty in KwaMashu. A poverty profile with indicators, its significance and its extent in KwaMashu is summarised below.
Table 11: Poverty profile KwaMashu Indicator Significance National
Average Kwa-Mashu level Unemployment
/employment
It determines income, type of
jobs and no of dependents 27.80% 58%
Poverty line Cut of between poor and non
poor _ _
Income/Wage level
Reflects productivity of the workforce and its comparison in terms of education skills and experience
_
54.8 % of the households earn between R801 to 3200 per month
Gross domestic production
level of economic production
in an are 3.70% 1.25%
Access to water
Its associated with better health and time saving. It has implications for women and children and it‘s a defector measure of tenure security
68.40% 20%
Acces to Flsuh Toilet _ 86%
Access to Refuse Removal
Its associated with better health and it shows levels of service delivery of local government
60% 96.24%
Electricity
It impacts on energy use ,service delivery and it is a defacto measure of tenure security
80.2 84.16%
Level of education
Impacts heavily on employability, income and mobility of population
_
4.75% with higher than grade 12, 0.3% with a bachelors and above, 37.11% with some secondary education
Literacy rate shows level of education 88% 48%
Income/Momeney metric measuresBasic needs and human capabilities
From the above table poverty is multidimensional: it is not only based on income alone but includes basic needs and human capabilities. With regard to income indicators, there is a high level of unemployment in KwaMashu. The unemployment level is significantly higher than the national average points out to the lack of an economic base and industrial base to absorb the unemployed.
Furthermore the majority of the employed earn a meagre income given the fact that 54.8 % of the households earn between R 801 to R 3200 per month which further compromises the standard of living and quality of life of the residents in KwaMashu. Thus there is needed to grow the economy of KwaMashu. For instance promoting SME‘s and attracting and retaining investment in the area.
The literacy levels in KwaMashu are significantly lower at 48% compared to the national average of 88%. This is likely to have an impact on the success of poverty alleviation programs such skills development which can make sure that if people escape from poverty they will not fall into poverty again, meaning that programs can become sustainable in the long run. Furthermore the level of education is low given the fact that only 37% of the population has some secondary education with only 0.3% of the population having a bachelor‘s degree or above. Such low levels of education attainment limit the mobility of residents meaning the majority can only be employed in unskilled, low paying casual jobs. With regards to (Sen‘s 1999) human capabilities, residents of KwaMashu have low levels of capabilities meaning that they are unable to make many choices about their lives.
KwaMashu has significantly better access to services and infrastructure than the national average.
Nevertheless KwaMashu still lags far behind the national average with regards its 20% access to water. This low level of access to water has repercussion for hygiene which adversely affects health and ultimately economic production meaning level of production is curtailed. It also has important implications for women since they would spend much time in fetching water whose time could be used in entrepreneurial activities. KwaMashu has 86% of the population having access to flush toilet. KwaMashu is also well serviced in terms of refuse removal with 96% of the households having access. In essence it can be argued that the residents live in a healthy environmental given the high score in sanitation and refuse removal since if these are low it leads to health hazards, Such high scores are also hard factors which enable business to operate smoothly. In terms of
access to electricity approximately 84 % of the population has access to electricity. Such a high score is important for business operation since most business run on electrical energy.
In summary it is clear that KwaMashu has high levels of poverty in income and or money metric terms. Human poverty is also high given the low level of education, low literacy rate. However with regard basic needs KwaMashu is relatively well serviced in terms of electricity, sanitation and refusal removal. Nevertheless there still needs further improvement with regards the low level access to water. This is further reinforced in the discussion that follows which discusses the city development index for KwaMashu.