Socio-Economic Report - Department of Agriculture and ...

UDM ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
constraints such as death or divorce; societal and cultural norms; personal traits
such as risk taking; information on opportunities; and residential satisfaction.
Due to the higher number of females in the area, focus in female education and
participation in the work force is encouraged, thus raising the status of women in
society. Programmes should also be directed to towards youth development. There
are a large number of youth, and job creation targeted at youth employment is
critical.
VULNERABILITY
The Department of Co-operative Governance has developed a Municipal Spatial
Classification System for local municipalities based on the indicators of functionality,
socio-economic profile and backlog status. Its purpose is to inform a differentiated
approach to municipalities. The four municipal classifications are (Business Trust,
2007):
Class 1: Most vulnerable
Class 2: Second most vulnerable
Class 3: Second highest performing
Class 4: Highest performing
The five local municipalities in the uMkhanyakude District can be classified as
follows in Table 6:
Table 6: Municipal Spatial Classification System (Business Trust, 2007)
Local Municipality
uMhlabuyalingana
Jozini
Big 5 False Bay
Hlabisa
Mtubatuba
Classification
Most vulnerable
Most vulnerable
Most vulnerable
Most vulnerable
Second highest performing
From this table it is evident that four of the five local municipalities in the
uMkhanyakude District fall into the “most vulnerable” category. The “most
vulnerable” local municipalities are thus characterised by a weak economy, with high
unemployment rates, a vast backlog in the provision of basic services, high poverty
rates and high grant dependency rates all of which will be explained below.
Thus the standard of living of people in the area is extremely poor and there is much
need for development and economic stimulation in the area.
Socio-Economic Assessment Page 26