3.10 Social Development
3.10.5 Social Development Indicators
The United National (UN) member countries adopted the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, which are building on the successes of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This sub-section focuses on the development indicators which KZN and Zululand district municipality use to track progress and identify areas which still need attention. The four main development indicators traditionally used are poverty, the Gini coefficient, the Human Development Index (HDI) and functional literacy rates.
Indicators such as health, crime, and access to basic services (electricity, water, and sanitation), and housing statistics are discussed under socio-economic profile above.
3.10.5.1 POVERTY
A poverty line establishes a minimum socially acceptable standard for a predetermined welfare indicator to separate the poor from the non-poor (Stats SA, 2015). Currently, three poverty lines are being used: the food poverty line4 (FPL), lower-bound poverty line (LBPL) and the upper-bound poverty line (UBPL).
FIGURE 33:POVERTY LEVELS IN KZN AND ZULULAND 2018
Source: IHS Markit, 2019
Figure 33 illustrates the poverty rate as separated according to its respective poverty lines (FPL, LBPL, and UBPL). The province had a lower proportion of people living under the food poverty line (36.4 per cent) in 2018 compared to those living under the lower bound poverty line (52 per cent) and the upper bound poverty line (66.7 per cent). The district has a similar trend with 49.6 per cent of the populous living below the FPL, compared to a higher rate of
4 The FPL’s are defined by Stats SA as follows: the “FPL refers to the amount of money that an individual will need to afford the minimum required daily energy intake, the LBPL refers to the food poverty line plus the average amount derived from non-food items of households whose total expenditure is equal to the food poverty line, and the UBPL refers to the food poverty line plus the average amount derived from non-food items of households whose food expenditure is equal to the FPL” (Stats SA: National Poverty Lines, 2018).
0.0%
50.0%
100.0%
150.0%
200.0%
250.0%
36.4% 49.6% 53.8% 50.9% 46.3% 51.9% 48.6%
52.0%
67.4% 71.7% 69.2%
63.5% 70.1% 66.5%
66.7%
81.5% 85.1% 83.6%
77.5%
83.9%
80.8%
Share below the FPL Share below the LPL Share below the UPL
persons living under the LPL (67.4 per cent) and the UBPL (81.5 per cent). The rate of the district is higher than that of the province in respect of all poverty lines. This is mainly due to the fact that Zululand is largely rural and as such access to basic services, as well as job opportunities are somewhat lacking.
With regard to the local municipalities, eDumbe has the highest rate of people living under all three poverty lines (53.8 per cent under the FPL, 71.7 per cent under the LPL, and 85.1 per cent under the UPL). This can mainly be ascribed to the fact that the bulk of the population within this local municipality live in rural areas and lack basic services. Abaqulusi has the lowest number of persons living below the FPL (46.3 per cent), LPL (63.5 per cent) and UPL (77.5 per cent), mainly due to the fact that the main economic hub (Vryheid) of Zululand is based within this local municipality.
3.10.5.2 INCOME INEQUALITY FIGURE 34:GINI COEFFICIENT,1998,2008 AND 2018
Source: IHS Markit, 2019
Income inequality is one of the triple challenges currently facing South Africa; these being high poverty, high inequality, and high unemployment. A conventional statistical measure used worldwide to explore the status quo in terms of income inequality is the Gini coefficient5 which ranges from zero to one. Figure 34 illustrates the Gini coefficients of KZN, Zululand and its local municipalities for the periods 1998, 2008 and 2018. The income inequality of the province remained stable 0.63 per cent over all three years. Although income inequality decreased in Zululand from 0.61 in 1998 to 0.57 in 2018 it remains high.
All of the local municipalities showed a decline in inequality from 2008 to 2018, however, all hovered around the 0.55 per cent mark, with Abaqulusi at 0.6 per cent. This is disturbing, as
5 The Gini coefficient measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of income among people living in a society. Given the interval of this statistic, a coefficient closer to zero indicates low inequality, and a coefficient closer to one indicates high inequality.
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20 1.40 1.60 1.80 2.00
0.63 0.61 0.59 0.58 0.63 0.58 0.61
0.63 0.58 0.56 0.59 0.61
0.55 0.57
0.63
0.57 0.55 0.55 0.60
0.53 0.54
1998 2008 2018
it implies extremely high inequality, and is an indication that policies need to be put in place in order to reduce this challenge.
3.10.5.3 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
In 2018, with an average Human Development Index6 (HDI) of 0.52 (at local municipality level), it is apparent from Figure 35 that the Zululand district inclines towards the medium. It stands at 0.54 below the provincial average of 0.61, indicating that the rate of human development in Zululand is progressing at a slower pace relative to KZN as a whole. At a local municipality level, Abaqulusi had the highest HDI at 0.55, whilst Nongoma had the lowest at 0.49.
FIGURE 35:SHOWS THE HDI FOR THE PROVINCE, THE DISTRICT, AND ITS MUNICIPALITIES IN 1998,2008 AND 2018
Source: IHS Markit, 2019
3.10.5.4 LITERACY RATE
Literacy is defined as the ability to read and write with understanding, a short simple sentence about one’s daily life. The literacy rate in KZN has increased substantially between the periods 1998 to 2018, from 64.3 per cent in the former year to 82.2 per cent in the latter. This reflects the outcomes of all strategic measures aimed at ensuring that people are able to read and write; this includes the elderly and the provision of support to disadvantaged communities in terms of school needs for children. The district and all local municipalities show a similar achievement. Figure 36 shows the literacy rate in KZN, Zululand and its local municipalities in 1998, 2008, and 2018.
6 The Human Development Index (HDI) focuses on assessing and ranking the development of countries in achieving long and healthy lives, 0.00
0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20 1.40 1.60
0.48 0.38 0.36 0.38 0.42
0.33 0.37
0.49
0.40 0.38 0.41 0.43
0.37 0.40
0.61
0.52 0.50 0.52 0.55
0.49 0.51
1998 2008 2018
FIGURE 36:LITERACY RATE IN KZN AND ZULULAND,1998,2008 AND 2018
Source: IHS Markit, 2019
3.10.5.5 MORTALITY RATE
TABLE 41:NUMBER OF DEATHS BY AGE AND DISTRICT
Source: StatSa, 2016
A presentation of deaths by age is depicted graphically on figure 36 Zululand district has high levels of infant mortality (11,16 %) for those less than 12 months old compared with its neighbouring districts in the province. It also has a death rate in age group 1 to 14 years and fares second to uThungulu in the age groups 15 to 44 years 45 to 64 years and those above
0.0%
50.0%
100.0%
150.0%
200.0%
250.0%
64.3% 52.7% 49.8% 50.6% 58.2% 50.2% 51.8%
75.2%
66.0% 64.0% 65.3% 69.1%
63.9% 65.7%
82.2%
76.7% 75.0% 77.7% 79.0%
74.9% 75.7%
1998 2008 2018
11,16
9,77
7,40
6,41 6,82
6,84
5,00 5,52 5,85
5,16 7,07
5,68
4,67 4,73 5,33
5,66 5,92
4,66
3,78 4,34
5,28
8,09 8,40
8,05
7,24
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
less than 12 moths 1–14 15–44 45–64 65+
Percentage
Age group
Zululand Amajuba uMzinyathi uMkhanyakude uThungulu
65 years of age. These statistics are of great concern as they reflect a situation where the health of the population is under threat and this tends to cut across other sectors with adverse impacts on the population in the district.
The Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was the leading cause of death in Zululand in 2016 making up 9,4 % of deaths in the district as shown on figure 37. Tuberculosis and heart disease followed HIV with 8,4 % and 6,4 % respectively. The scourge of HIV is a complex one which ARVs have proved effective in lowering mortality but have not been effective in lowering infection, transmission and spread of the pandemic.
FIGURE 37:TEN UNDERLYING CAUSES OF DEATH IN THE ZULULANDDISTRICT
Source: Stats SA, 2016