More than 14 million people live in the Gauteng City Region, South Africa's economic hub. This represents 25% of the country's population.
Much of the media coverage and public discourse regarding Gauteng is negative. Protests against service delivery are frequent, high crime rates make residents anxious, and the state's economy is under pressure.
These challenges are real and have a significant impact on people's lives. But new research by the Gauteng City Regional Observatory (GCRO) suggests there is a more nuanced story to tell about Gauteng. Data collected for the Observatory's Fifth Quality of Life Survey (2017/18) reveals that the lives of Gauteng residents are improving in many ways.
The overall quality of life in Gauteng is improving. The data-driven quality of life index out of 10 has seen a slow but steady rise since 2011. The study also showed that people were more tolerant and had a much stronger sense of community.
research
GCRO is an independent research organization that generates data and analysis to inform development and decision-making in the Gauteng City Region. This is a partnership between the state government, local authorities, the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Johannesburg.
The survey involved 24,889 adult Gauteng residents, with a minimum of 30 respondents from each of the province's 529 districts.
The latest study collected a wealth of complex data. Respondents answered more than 240 questions, about one-third of which remained unchanged from the previous survey. In this way, we can gain insight into how the state has changed over time, confirming that there have been significant, often positive changes in people's views on quality of life. can do.
Of course, the problem remains. More respondents report having a criminal history, and an increasing proportion do not believe that interracial trust is possible.
The latest data provides an important resource for understanding Gauteng's multifaceted challenges. It is also a way to help governments, policy makers, academics, civil society, and the public come up with creative solutions.
state quality of life
The study measures quality of life, not just material factors such as household income and access to basic services. As with similar major international projects, less material and more subjective factors are also taken into account: opinions and feelings about governance, communities, families and personal well-being.
A total of 58 variables were selected to generate an overall quality of life index. These cover ten dimensions: global life satisfaction, family, community, health, housing, infrastructure, connectivity, work, security and socio-political attitudes.
This index provides a simple but highly multidimensional score out of 10. “0'' indicates the worst quality of life and “10'' indicates the best quality of life.
Gauteng’s Quality of Life Index score has shown continued improvement over the past four surveys. It rose from 6.02 in 2011 to 6.30 in 2017/18. This suggests that the overall quality of life in Gauteng has improved over time.
protests, crime and safety
The proportion of respondents who took part in a protest in the previous year doubled from 4% in 2013/14 to 8% in 2017/18. A quarter of respondents reported that there had been protests in their community in the past year. Of these protests, 90% involved some form of violence. Most of them were related to complaints about service delivery, especially electricity.
A quarter of all respondents were victims of a crime in the past year. This is up from one in five people in 2015/16. Additionally, 44% of respondents felt crime in their area had worsened in the past year, up from 41% in 2015/16.
Despite these negative results, 81% of respondents said they felt safe at home, an encouraging rise from 75% in 2015/16. The proportion of respondents who felt crime was the biggest problem in their community decreased from 37% in 2015/16 to 32% in 2017/18.
economic concerns
Meanwhile, the country's economic challenges and growing inequality also affected Gauteng residents. Satisfaction with the government's efforts to grow the economy fell from an already low 23% in 2015/16 to 19% (2017/18).
Almost one in four respondents live in a household where someone, whether an adult or a child, skipped a meal in the past year because they didn't have the money to buy food. This is a significant increase from previous years, and the state's poorest residents are disproportionately feeling the effects.
Satisfaction with the government itself and basic services such as water, sanitation and energy has increased since 2015/16. However, satisfaction with key social services was declining. For example, 65% of those who used public health services in 2015/16 were satisfied with the service they received. This dropped to 57% in 2017/18.
Regarding public education, 9% of respondents with children attending school said there was no public school in their area. Among respondents who had a local public school, 75% said they were satisfied with their school.
social cohesion and tolerance
A positive trend is that respondents have significantly more trust in their community. Tolerance is widespread, with the proportion of respondents who think violence against gays and lesbians is acceptable, falling from 14% in 2015/16 to 6%.
The proportion who think all foreigners should be sent home fell from 23% to 17%. This is especially encouraging given the state's history of xenophobic violence.
However, the proportion of respondents who think black and white people never trust each other increased from 58% (2015/16) to 64% (2017/8).
room for improvement
Inequality is one area that needs consideration. The lives of the more advantaged members of society appear to be improving most rapidly. White people and people with high incomes have the highest quality of life, and their quality of life appears to be improving most rapidly.
Multi-sectoral collaboration is required to address this and other issues and ensure we can provide a good life for everyone who calls Gauteng home.