While the latest official unemployment rate for the Western Cape is 20.2%, that doesn’t mean that “eight out of 10” people in the province are employed. And it’s misleading to say that the province was responsible for 78.9% of all jobs in South Africa over the past five years.
Is the party delivering on key issues such as unemployment, access to basic services and crime? In this report, Africa Check looks into five claims the DA has made about its performance in the province. An expanded definition of unemployment includes people who are unemployed and want to work, but have a reason for not seeking work – for example, a lack of available jobs in their area.
Data for the fourth quarter of 2023 was not available when the DA published its manifesto. However, the figures did not change much. The official unemployment rate was recorded at 20.3%, while the expanded rate was 25.6%. The absorption rate was 55.0%. The increase in employment in the Western Cape between the fourth quarter of 2019 and 2023 was around 239,000 people. Over the same period, employment in South Africa as a whole increased by around 303,000 people. In percentage terms, the Western Cape accounts for about 78.9% of this total. But statisticians don’t use this method to compare changes in employment, and for very good reasons.
Employment also experienced major shock in 2020 as a result of the Covid pandemic. “In historical terms, the period since 2020 has been anomalous,” Bassier said. The net number of jobs created over the past five years finally turned positive in 2023 but was still very small. From the fourth quarter of 2019 to 2023, employment in the Western Cape increased by 9.5% of its initial value. This was the highest increase of any province, followed by KwaZulu-Natal at 7.2% and Limpopo at 7%.
South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation defines water quality in terms of its “microbiological, physical, and chemical properties”. Neil Griffin, a research officer at Rhodes University’s Institute for Water Research in Makhanda, told Africa Check that the index was based on the South African National Standard Drinking Water Specification . It sets out the minimum standards for water that is safe to consume. While there were other standards, Griffin said, SANS 241 was “probably the best”.
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