Residents are urged to complete the questionnaires from Stats SA field workers conducting the 2022 Census. Picture: Bongani Mbatha/African News Agency (ANA) Archives
Cape Town – Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said if only 70% of residents were counted during the 2022 census, it could be catastrophic to funding for important sectors in the province.
Winde said the province could lose funding equivalent to 1 615 doctors or 5 981 nurses and approximately 9 300 teachers.
This is according to approximate projections by the provincial treasury.
He said if this were to happen, it would severely undermine the quality of health care and education services at a time when the demand for these services was pressing.
“In money terms, we stand to lose R9.7 billion, or over 16% of our provincial equitable share, if only 70% of residents get counted.
“This would shave R2.6bn in funding off our health budget and R4.2bn off our education budget, with smaller departments also suffering losses.
“In short, service delivery in the Western Cape will suffer a major blow across the board if residents do not make sure they are counted.
“The implications of what could happen if the undercount persists should be deeply concerning to each and every resident of this province, as it is to me.
“In fact, as of 8am this morning, with just nine days to go until the count closes, Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) is not even within sight of a 70% count. They have counted just 61% of residents to date,” Winde said.
He said although there had been an increase in the number of people counted, the numbers remained too low.
If only 70% of the Western Cape’s population was counted, the available spending per person would be reduced by more than R1 300 per person per year in the provincial equitable share, Winde said.
“If we do not get an accurate census count for our province, we may have fewer resources available to deliver services well into the future, which would impact each and every resident.
“This is a major risk which we must avoid.
“I reiterate my appeal to residents to use the extended census count period in the Western Cape to get counted.
“It’s simple – if we are not fully counted, we will not get our fair share of the country’s budget allocation to deliver critical services like education and health care, for you,” Winde said.
Residents are urged to complete the questionnaire when visited by an official from StatsSA or complete the census questionnaire online at getcounted.statssa.gov.za. Alternatively, contact the census call centre on 0800 110 248 or email census2022@statssa.gov.za for any enquiries.
IOL