{"id":796723,"date":"2024-10-23T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=796723"},"modified":"2024-10-23T13:03:01","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T11:03:01","slug":"quality-of-life-in-gauteng-tanks-to-new-low","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/796723\/quality-of-life-in-gauteng-tanks-to-new-low\/","title":{"rendered":"Quality of life in Gauteng tanks to new low"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Life for residents of South Africa’s economic hub, Gauteng, is getting harder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was a key finding in the seventh\u00a0Quality of Life Index survey (QoL7)<\/strong><\/a>, which the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) has conducted for the past 15 years to measure the quality of life and satisfaction with the government.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gauteng Province, South Africa’s smallest yet most densely populated province, includes the metros of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Tshwane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once an industrial hub, it is now the country\u2019s commercial and financial capital, contributing nearly 34% of GDP. The population grew from 12.2 million in 2011 to an estimated 16.1 million in 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The QoL7 for 2023\/24 interviewed 13,795 respondents across 529 wards (every ward in Gauteng) to assess progress in seven areas: health, safety, life satisfaction, socio-economic status, services, government satisfaction, and participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The GCRO emphasised that data collection occurred before the national and provincial elections and the formation of the seventh administration, “so the results can\u2019t be taken as views on how well the new administrations are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless, using 33 indicators to provide a comprehensive measure of well-being, the outcomes of the 2023\/24 edition declined to their lowest level yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rashid Seedat, the Executive Director of the GCRO said that \u201cdespite our hopes, the new data tells us that we\u2019re not doing well.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that the situation in Gauteng has not fundamentally changed since COVID, with households still under severe pressure from multiple stressors. The pandemic hit a society already grappling with low economic growth, high unemployment, and weakened governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at some of the findings, Gauteng residents’ satisfaction with the government is at an all-time low, with only 22% at least ‘satisfied’\u2014down from 41% in 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dissatisfaction with all spheres of government increased dramatically from 2009 to 2023\/24, from 25% to 66%, 29% to 63% and 39% to 65% for national, provincial and local government respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around 68% of households now say that they do not trust the current leaders of government compared to 54% in 2020\/21, and all but one of the metro and local municipalities have experienced a precipitous decline in satisfaction, with an aggregate of just 22%<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGauteng households are facing a poly-crisis of poverty and unemployment, disruptions to basic services, insecurity as a result of crime and violence, poor physical and mental health outcomes, difficulties with daily mobility and extreme environmental events,” said Seedat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Perhaps unsurprisingly, the survey found that satisfaction with all spheres of government has been severely affected,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Related to this, Gauteng residents’ satisfaction with basic services has significantly declined from 2013\/14 to 2023\/24, with notable drops in water (84% to 75%), sewerage (78% to 61%), rubbish removal (80% to 64%), energy (78% to 42%), local roads (61% to 37%), and streetlights (59% to 29%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two-thirds of households use public health facilities, with a satisfaction rate of 57%, compared to 98% for private healthcare users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The GCRO regards water provision as a rising risk across the municipalities that make up the province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around 64% of respondents said they are worried about Gauteng running out of water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These concerns are not unfounded. Rand Water recently issued a warning<\/strong><\/a> over an impending water crisis due to a critical imbalance between supply and demand, exacerbated by failing municipal infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n

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This is seen largely as a result of political instability in various municipalities which has resulted in service delivery taking a back seat to party and individual politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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South African municipalities in crisis – one in three councillors don’t have a matric<\/a><\/blockquote>