|
According to National Population Unit (DSD,
2000), South Africa's priorities are to meet the basic needs of all
South Africans (in terms of water, sanitation, health services,
education, housing and infrastructure) to redress disparities in
wealth and access to resources, to create employment, to stimulate
and sustain economic growth and to improve the quality of life for
all South Africans. This indicator examines the level of service
provision in the province for sanitation, water, telephones,
housing, refuse facilities
and electrification
services.
 |
| Assessment of
Data |
Pit latrines are the most common type of
sanitation in all four district municipalities, while flush toilets
are also common in Gert Nsibande and Nkangala District Municipality.
Most households in Gert Nsibande, Ehlanzeni and Nkangala District
Municipalities have access to water, either in their dwellings, on
site or via a public tap. Trends in access to water in Mpumalanga
are similar to national trends, with just under 40% of the
population having access to water via a tap inside their dwelling
(DSD, 2000). Formal housing is the most dominant type in Mpumalanga,
while Sekhukhune District Municipality has the highest number of
traditional dwelling households in the province. There has
been an increase in the percentage of households with
electrification in both rural and urban areas over the period 1997
to 2001, with the percentage of households with electricity in urban
areas having steadily increased from 1997 to 2001. The majority of
households in the province make use of their
own dump for refuse disposal, while many households
in the Gert Nsibande, Ehlanzeni and Nkangala District Municipalities
are provided with weekly municipal refuse removal services although a
fairly large number of households indicate that they have
no access to refuse services at all (Sekhukhune District
Municipality having least access). In terms of telecommunications, most households in the province
have access through public telephones, although many non-urban areas now rely
on cellular communications due to the lower cost of implementing
cellular telephone
infrastructure. |
|
