Poverty Eradication Master Plan
It is government’s mission to ensure that communities living under conditions of poverty are helped to rise above their current condition. “Poverty is a human rights issue and government has a mandate to do everything possible to ensure that communities that are faced with poverty are given a chance to better their lives. The municipality has developed a Ward Upliftment Policy which addresses poverty reduction and it is implemented. Each ward has been budgeted for an amount of R1 000 000.00 to implement this plan for 2022/23.
Health
Jozini is served by two (2) hospitals namely; Mosvold hospital which is located in Ingwavuma and Bethesda hospital located at Ubombo. Jozini also has 1 Community Health Centre which is located at Msiyane.
Jozini has eighteen (18) clinics which are located in areas of great densities. There are also two gateway clinics and 6 mobile clinics (with 91 mobile points, but 23 of these have no shelter), but the communities are not satisfied with this service.
Access to health services is still unreasonable since many people are forced to travel more than 10km to make use of the facilities. This service is one of the priority needs. There is an application of some form of planning standards which suggests that a population of 50 000 people needs to be provided with a hospital while 6000 people needs to be provided with a clinic. This therefore suggests that the area is supposed to be serviced by 3 /4 hospitals and 31 clinics which suggest a backlog of 2 hospitals and 14 clinics. It must be noted that these standards tend to be difficult to comprehend in a rural context especially in an area such as Jozini which is characterized by the sparsely populated settlement.
The minimal/lack of access to portable water and electricity limits the level and quality of health care in the area. Additional constraints affecting quality healthcare is the shortage of doctors in the region, specialists in particular. In addition, out of all the districts in KwaZulu- Natal the rate of HIV/AIDS is estimated to be the highest in Umkhanyakude District Municipality (which includes Jozini Municipality). A cause of concern is that no exact figures could be provided on a local or district level. Associated with HIV/AIDs is the high number of tuberculosis patients. The high prevalence rate not only decreases life expectancy, it has significant impacts on the productivity of the population. The impact of HIV/AIDS in Jozini Municipality is aggravated by the high level of poverty in the area, making it difficult for people to escape the poverty trap.
Education
In terms of the Department of Education stats, there are 168 schools under Jozini municipality. According to the public participation meetings that have been conducted, many schools need additional classrooms and the upgrading of facilities. Due to their location, some schools do not even have access to basic infrastructure services including access roads. Accommodation for teachers in all areas is also a big problem. Educators are forced to travel far and during the rainy season, many of the schools are inaccessible.
Lack of schooling or low levels of education will affect the level of income received in the community and is also a reflection of the standard of living. According to the Business Trust (2207), low education also affects the ability of local residents to actively participate in development programmes.
Research indicates that the economic benefits of educating girls are similar to that of educating boys, but the social benefits favour female education over male education. Education of females increases the level of health and nutrition thus increasing overall health and productivity. Income earned by females increase their bargaining power in households and a greater proportion of women’s income on child goods compared to that of men. Economic theory suggests that education improves the level and quality of human capital, in turn increasing the productivity of individuals, but increasing the output generated per worker. Education facilitates long term growth and is often described as a tool to escape the poverty trap.
Female education also raises the labour force participation, which significantly raises the productivity and output of the economy.
KEY ISSUES
- A need for additional classrooms;
- A need for cottages/ accommodation for teachers;
- A need for the upgrading of school facilities;
- A need for basic infrastructure for schools, including fencing;
- A shortage of pre-school facilities.
Based purely on the distance factor it is clear that the area is well provided for with regards to both primary and secondary facilities. There are three areas however where concentrations of households are further than 5km from a primary and six areas where concentration of households are further than 5km from a secondary school.
Education Level
Education is one of the fundamental factors of development. The municipality cannot achieve sustainable economic development without the availability and investment in human capital. Education improves the quality of people’s lives and leads to broad social benefits to individuals and society. It raises people’s productivity and creativity and promotes entrepreneurship and technological advances. In addition, it plays a very crucial role in securing economic and social progress and improving income distribution. The proceeding section presents the education level of Jozini municipal area.
Functional literacy level
Functional literacy refers to the capacity of a person to engage in all those activities in which literacy is required for effective function of his or her group and community and also for enabling him or her to continue to use reading, writing and calculation for his or her own and the community’s development 2 . Whereas, functional illiteracy consists of reading and writing skills that are inadequate “to manage daily living and employment tasks that require reading skills beyond a basic level. When looking at the literacy level in the district we see that Mtubatuba Municipality has the highest population (86 623) that is functionally literate and Jozini is second with 82 014 people that are functionally literate. This means that Mtubatuba has more educated people than Jozini. These two municipalities have all experienced steady growth in the literacy level, which is good for economic growth and development.
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- Access to Primary Schools
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- Access to Secondary Schools
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- Social Facilities
Community Development (Vulnerable Groups)
The Special Programmes and Social Development Units are responsible for the co- ordination of the mainstreaming of issues of Historically Designated Individuals to the agenda of the municipality in general. This includes ensuring service delivery impacts in a manner that enhances the capacity of these groups to be part of the society as opposed to being a subject that is at the periphery.
As a way of mainstreaming the designated groups, SPU and SDU have the responsibility of establishing structures that are meant to be the voice of these groups in influencing the municipality to ensure that these groups participate at all levels of setting the agenda for service delivery.
Development of the People with Disabilities
Jozini Municipality takes an initiative in accommodating and supporting people with disability. A number of activities are conducted within the area. The municipality tries to employ people living with disabilities, facilitate collaboration between Government and the Disability Sector to enhance service delivery. The municipality has a Disability Forum and is also represented at the District Disability Forum.
Youth Development
The youth participation is encouraged in Jozini Municipality. Youth development is one of the Jozini municipality top priorities. The municipality is also planning to have a youth desk.
Development of the Elderly
The Municipality has a relatively high population of Older Persons. The poorest people live in rural areas where there are no resources. The municipality and Department of Social Development are working hard in eradicating poverty within our communities by coming up with projects through the poverty alleviation programme that people could do in their areas. There is a Senior Citizens Forum which deals with developing the elderly.
Development of Women
In the South African context participation of women and the consideration of their needs is a cardinal principle embedded in all local initiatives. Jozini municipality has a Women’s Forum which deals with capacitating women and issues affecting women these days. The Women’s Forum is the most functional forum in Jozini municipality. The municipality also has a Men’s Forum, where men discuss issues affecting women and how to deal with men who abuse women.
People Affected by Crime, HIV/AIDS, Drugs, etc
HIV/AIDS has had a major impact on both the quality of life of communities and families and on the economy. A number of initiatives have been implemented through the National Department of Health to combat the current epidemic however major challenges still remain. Within Jozini, 15.62% of the population was diagnosed with HIV in 2013, which is marginally higher than the District with 15.48% of the population infected with HIV. The number of HIV and Aids related deaths has increased in both the DM and the LM. In 2013, 64% of the deaths in the Jozini LM were Aids-related and 62% of the deaths in the uMkhanyakude DM were Aids related.
The municipality has the HIV/AIDS Programme which deals mainly with HIV/Aids pandemic that adversely affect socio-economic conditions of people residing in our municipality and outside the jurisdiction of the municipality. It deals with the ways and means in which to deal with the pandemic such that different structures have been established in the municipality to deal with it. This is done under the auspices of the National, Provincial and municipalities policies dealing with HIV/Aids. A variety of structures exist such as Ward Aids Councils and Local Aids Council and these structures report on a monthly basis to inform District (District Aids Council) and Provincial reports (Provincial Aids Council).
The municipality has in consultation with other stakeholders done different activities to advocate and promote awareness in order to combat the spread of the disease. Such activities include Heroes Walk, Prayer Day, and World Aids day.
HIV rate at Jozini Municipality are estimated to 17% of the total population.
Special Programmes and Plans
The Municipality through the Special Programmes and Social Development Sections, under Community Services department is dealing with issues of all vulnerable groups across the board. People with disabilities are part of such groupings. Below, is the 2022/23 budget for the implantation of these programmes.
Disability Summits
Jozini municipality celebrates disability day by holding a disability Summit each year.
Safety & Security and National Building & Social Cohesion
The Municipality launched its Safety and Security Forum during 2018/19. The forum sits on aquarterly basis and it is functional.
The KZN Department of Sport and Recreation has a clear vision, mission and goals in place in the Sports and Recreation Policy for the province. The mission of the Department is to “promote sport and recreation and ensure mass participation and delivery in the province with a view to enhancing community life through sport and play”. In terms of this mission the goals of the department include:
- To promote participation in sport and recreation.
- To ensure that sport is placed at the forefront of efforts to enhance economic development and reduce levels of crime and disease.
- To ensure gender equity in sport and recreation activities.
- To ensure redress in the provision of sport and recreation facilities.
- To promote indigenous or traditional sport and games.
To give meaning to this vision, the municipality has identified the need to provide sports and recreational facilities in various areas within the municipality. The municipality identified and prioritized areas that require these facilities as part of the IDP. However, minimal progress has been made; the Department has thus far funded the construction of two sports facilities and one recreational facility. In the previous financial years, the municipality constructed and maintained many sportsfields and grounds.
Municipal Safety Plan
Jozini Municipality together with Department of Community Safety and Liaison and other stakeholders have developed a draft Safety and Security Plan. The Safety and Security plan gets reviewed annually and it is approved by Council. This plan is part of the IDP Annexures.
Social Development : SWOT Analysis
