Business Case forthe Pongola-Umzimkulu Catchment Management ...

Business Case for the Pongola-Umzimkulu Catchment Management Agency
2.4 Socio-Economic Dynamics
2.4.1 Population
TheWMA has 21% of the country’s population, which is equivalent to 10,6 million people.
Besides small pockets of high density, urban areas, the largest of which is the Ethekwini
Municipality, the WMA has a high rural, low-density population, as indicated in Figure 5,
with54% of the WMA’s population being rural and predominantly women and children. This
poses challenges for social and infrastructure service provision. Furthermore, it is
anticipated that 3,5 million people will migrate into the urban areas by 2030. The WMA also
has a high mortality rate, predominantly due to HIV infections, with the average life
expectancy in the province being 43 years (PGDS, 2011). Global insight poverty indicators
(2005) showed that 5,3 million people (about 50% of the population) lived in poverty with
1,2 million people living on less than $1 per day.
Figure 5: Population distribution across the WMA (KZN Provincial Planning Commission, 2011)
2.4.2 Economic Activity
The WMA has varied economic activity, from manufacturing to agriculture, to mining as
indicated in Figure 6. The northern and southern part of the WMA is largely focused on
heavy industry, agriculture and some mining. The most important industrial complex is the
Richards Bay/Empangeni Complex located on the Mhlatuze River. Major industries include
aluminium smelting, pulp, paper and fertilizer. Coal mining occurs in the area and is
exported via Richards Bay. The second largest industrial complex is the Durban –
Pietermaritzburg complex in the south. Products such as machinery, leather, basic steel and
non-ferrous metals are being produced. Other products include sugar, timber, and oil
refinery processing. The manufacturing sector is the largest economic contributor within the
WMA.
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