Volume II - The Northern Cape Provincial Spatial Development ...

Northern Cape PSDF
Volume 2
December 2011
A study 19 conducted in Pixley ka Seme and Namaqua districts in 2005, found that 79% of the
respondents find seasonal employment within the province. Another 21% migrate out of the
province, mainly to the Western Cape, although a few find work in the Eastern Cape and the Free
State. Most of the respondents indicated that they do not migrate too far from their permanent
residence and the average distance and the average distance travelled to work is 109 kilometres.
Seven percent of the respondents indicated that their immediate family travels with them to their
place of work.
Migration is in many ways a response to structural disequilibria between and with sectors of the
economy and much pressure for migration is created by the deepening and widening inequality in
income and opportunities within the country and between South Africa and its neighbours.
Migration patterns and trends have far reaching impacts on the social, economic and
environmental conditions in the areas of origin and destination and the process is hence often,
mistakenly, described as a problem. However, it should be understood that migration is often a
central component of households’ livelihood strategies, and that it not only offers hope for the
future, but that it could play a vital role in redressing past inequities.
E.2 SOCIO‐ECONOMIC STATUS
The HDI (Human Development Index) provides an alternative method to measure the relative
socio‐economic development of an area and is seen as a measure of people’s ability to live a long
and healthy live, to communicate, to participate in the community and have sufficient means to be
able to afford a decent living 20 .
Table E.11: Human Development Index for the Northern Cape and District Municipalities (Source:
Global Insight, 2009 as cited in the PGDS).
Region White African Coloured TOTAL
Northern Cape 0.87 0.44 0.54 0.55
John Taolo Gaetsewe 0.89 0.41 0.54 0.46
Namaqua 0.88 0.47 0.57 0.63
Pixley ka Seme 0.85 0.42 0.46 0.52
Siyanda 0.87 0.43 0.53 0.57
Frances Baard 0.87 0.47 0.59 0.57
Over the past 8 years there has been little to no variance in the HDI figures for the Northern Cape,
indicating no increase or decrease in the overall standard of living. This trend is unlikely to change
in the foreseeable future, mainly due to the marginal economic base of the poorer areas, and the
19 Setplan, 2006. as cited in the Pixley ka Seme SDF (June 2007).
20 The Human Development Index (HDI) was developed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) based
on the philosophy that the goal of development was to ensure that individuals live long, informed and
comfortable lives. The HDI consists of three components:
• Longevity, which is measured by life expectancy at birth.
• Educational attainment, which is measured by two education variables, namely adult literacy and combined
gross primary, secondary and tertiary enrolment ratio.
• Income, which is measured by gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.
Performance in each dimension is expressed as a value between 0 and 1, and the HDI index gives an
internationally accepted measure of the wellness (quality of life) of the population of the area under
consideration. An HDI of 0.8 or more is considered to represent high development, whilst an HDI of below 0.5 is
considered to represent low development.
Office of the Premier &
83
Dennis Moss Partnership
Department of Rural Development & Land Reform