Lejweleputswa District Municipality welcomes Census results

The executive mayor of Lejweleputswa District Municipality, Mathabo Leeto, together with the mayors and ward councillors of the different municipalities in the district, welcomed with the results of Census 2011.

The results were handed over to the district municipality by Statistics South Africa on Tuesday.

“This report does not only suffice in its duty to inform municipalities and government about how many people live in the country, but it also serves as a progress report to show how the ruling government has performed since 1996 until 2012,” said Leeto.

“We are happy that there are now factual numbers available to consult in challenges like service delivery that the different municipalities might still be facing. With this report we can clearly see what government has to focus on and what we have achieved in the last 18 years as a democracy,” added Leeto.

She said that these statistics will be used as a guide by municipalities in the region when developing policy and make budget decision but she warned mayors to continue consulting with communities.

There has been a significant difference in the numbers for the Lejweleputswa District Municipality since the first census was taken in 1996. The district consists of five municipalities, namely Masilonyana, Tokologo, Twelopele, Matjhabeng and Nala Municipality.

Acting executive manager of Statistics South Africa, Dr Arul Naidoo, said the body had developed since taking the first census report in 1996.

“With the first report we sold the data to the public, but the information did not go to the necessary individuals. In 2001, the information was available for free, but Statistics South Africa ended up with only a few people being interested in the information, therefore this time we have taken hands with government to show how census can be used and implemented for a better South Africa,” said Naidoo .

According to Naidoo, the number of people living in the Free State is approximately 627 626 people 274 590 of which live in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality.

According to the census, people living in formal household in the district have increased from being 59.8 percent in 1996 to 60.3 percent and 80.1 percent in 2011.
The accessibility to water via taps in household in the districts has also increased from 82.7 percent in 1996 to 90.8 percent in 2011. Furthermore, the availability of electricity to households in the districts also increased from 43.8 percent in 1996 to 90.9 percent in 2011.

The Census 2011 results also showed that the employment rate in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality in 1996 was 26.2 percent, 44.8 percent in 2001 and 36.5 percent in 2011, which show an 8.3 percent drop in employment.

The South African National Census of 2011 is a comprehensive census performed by Statistics South Africa, the latest in a series that is done once every ten years.

The 2011 Census was kicked off from October 10 to 31, 2011, with a two week extension to follow on households that missed the period. The results were made available to the country at the end of October last year.