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A unique report that shows the spatial extent of needy communities and service provision in KwaZulu-Natal has just been released by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). The report, Service need and provision within KwaZulu-Natal, presents a format which for the first time collates spatial and database information generated within a Geographic Information System (GIS). Reports for each of the other eight provinces will be made available by the end of the year. Dr Rolf Stumpf, President of the HSRC, says through these research projects the HSRC is contributing significantly to providing information needed by decision makers to improve the standard of living of all South Africans and to address the backlog of access to services and infrastructure. The HSRC decided to use GIS as a tool in achieving its goals for these projects because it is very easy to use and has the ability to overlay and relate several layers of information, conduct mathematical modeling of data sets, develop spatial scenarios, visualise certain development situations, and construct spatial decision support systems. "One of its major benefits besides being an indispensable decision-making tool, is that GIS provides an exciting and very relevant way of viewing information. The value of spatial analysis is that it yields information that is not apparent from tabular data. In addition, with advances in computer technology and software, it allows for the storage, management, manipulation, analysis and output of large spatial data sets," says Mr Craig Schwabe, head of the HSRC?s GIS Unit. The service need and provision project started approximately two years ago as a pilot project in KwaZulu-Natal. A need was identified among decision makers and planners within the province for a comprehensive data set that would provide information not only on where people with different socio-economic profiles lived, but also on the access that communities had to different types of services and infrastructure. These included the provision of water, sanitation, electricity, housing, education, health, roads, telecommunications, postal services, police services and even retirement facilities. The focus of the GIS Unit was on gathering spatial information needed in the reconstruction and development process. Information in the report is based on census data, the Eskom-Nelf database and information provided by the various service providers. To provide comprehensive information for the whole of South Africa, the GIS Unit has been working with HSRC researchers to develop supporting information needed to improve the quality of life of all South Africans. This includes, inter alia, the development of a national school location database, a national crime database and health information systems. The Service need and provision within KwaZulu-Natal report does not only display information in the form of maps and tabular data, but also provides comments by experts on the various services and social issues discussed in the report. Other interesting information contained in the report includes the following: The extreme inequality in the distribution of income in the province is clearly illustrated by the neighbouring districts of Vryheid and Nqutu where the former has a mean household income almost eight times higher than that of the latter. In Msinga there are 36 dependants for every person employed, compared to the 1,2 in Durban. The farming district of Ubombo has the lowest dependency ratio, namely 0,3 for every person employed. The natural increase of the largely rural population is very high. Natural growth rates in excess of almost 3% have been the norm in these areas over the past decades and they lead to a doubling of the population every 20 to 25 years. Less than 40% of the rural population of Ingwavuma, Ubombo, Ngotshe, Babanango, Kranskop, Msinga and Weenen is functionally literate. Telephone penetration in the remote, rural areas is extremely low, and telephone services are usually available in less that 1% of households. The rural areas of Zululand and Northern Natal have only 25% (1 400 km) of the province?s blacktop road network, while virtually the same percentage of this network can be found in the Pietermaritzburg/Durban corridor alone. In many other areas of KwaZulu-Natal people do not even have direct access to a formal road infrastructure (which is viewed by many people as a basic need). Compared with other "poor" regions in the country, the KwaZulu-Natal region appears to be relatively well-off in respect of population with access to waterborne sewerage. Access to sanitation facilities however remains poor.
"This document will demonstrate to government and provincial authorities the value of developing and maintaining spatially referenced data bases for all regions in South Africa so that the necessary information regarding the provision of basic services will be readily available and easily accessible to all those involved in planning," the HSRC says. In addition to regularly updating and publishing reports on the need for and provision of services in the nine provinces, the GIS Unit will also distribute this information on CD with easy-to-use maps and information-viewing software.
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