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.
Kgaugelo Masweneng
www.timeslive.co.za
