Quality of life in Gauteng at all-time low: survey

The quality of life in Gauteng has been declining since 2020, reaching it's lowest this year.

The Gauteng City-Regional Observatory (GCRO) released its seventh Quality of Life Survey on Tuesday. The index measures seven areas of wellbeing: health, safety, life satisfaction, socioeconomic status, services, government satisfaction and participation.  

“The survey also shows poverty rates have improved from their peak during the Covid-19 pandemic [and] remain above pre-Covid-19 levels,” the report said. “A quarter of households (23%) are living below the ‘lower bound poverty line’, which is an income of R1,058 per person per month in 2023 prices. During Covid-19 it spiked to a third (33%) of all households.

“However, the recovery is partial because the proportion of people in poverty remains higher than during the pre-pandemic survey done in 2017/2018 (18%).”

Most respondents said it was more difficult for people “like them” to get employment than it was five years ago.

“A quarter of respondents said an adult in their household had skipped a meal in the past year because there was not enough money to pay for food. Two-thirds of households used public health facilities and satisfaction with these facilities was 57% compared with 98% for those using private healthcare services.

“About 15%, up from 14% and 12% in previous surveys, are at high risk of depression. Just over a fifth of households (21%) reported having been victims of crime.

“Over four consecutive surveys there has been a significant increase in the percentage of households reporting that they feel unsafe walking in the areas at night,” the survey found.

GCRO executive director Rashid Seedat said the results show a negative outlook on the quality of life in Gauteng.

“Despite our hopes, the new data tells us we’re not doing well. The last Quality of Life Survey, QoL 6, was done in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic and showed society in deep distress. The pattern has not shifted fundamentally, as households in Gauteng remain under severe pressure and face multiple stressors.

“The reason development outcomes in the province have been compromised is Gauteng, like many places in the world, has had to manage a succession of shocks and crises. The Covid-19 pandemic arrived in a society already struggling with low economic growth, acute unemployment levels and weakened governance capacity.”

According to Seedat, Gauteng households face a polycrisis of poverty and unemployment, disruptions to basic services, insecurity as a result of crime and violence, poor physical and mental health outcomes, difficulties with daily mobility and extreme environmental events.

“Perhaps unsurprisingly, the survey found satisfaction with all spheres of government has been severely affected,” Seedat said.

It was also found that racialised inequality continues to be experienced by African and coloured people, with lower income groups having less access to medical aid, adults and children skipping meals and greater difficulty saving money.

Presenting the survey findings, director of research strategy Graeme Grotz said, regarding health, the results from the previous report were static with no significant improvement or decline.

“One of the interesting things about the dimension is it reflects well on the difference between people who use public healthcare facilities and those who use private ones. Over the years we have seen a gradual increase in the percentage of respondents using public health facilities, up about 62% to 66%. There is more pressure on the public sector.

“Correspondingly, a slight decline in the percentage saying they use private healthcare facilities, there may be a cost element to that. There is also a slight increase in the percentage saying they use both.

“The satisfaction with public health was about 66% in the 2015/2016 survey (it has dropped), We believe this may be an as an impact of Life Esidimeni. The satisfaction on private healthcare is 90%,” said Grotz.

He added there were also defined differences in access to medical aid, with black people mostly using public healthcare and less so white people, who have better access.

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