The number of consumer units receiving basic services from municipalities and service providers has increased from 2012 to 2013. The largest increase in the provision of services was 6.2% in sewerage and sanitation.
This was followed by a 5.1% increase in solid waste management, 3.3% in water, and 2.3% in electricity. This is according to a non-financial census of municipalities, conducted annually by Statistics South Africa. The purpose of the census is to measure selected aspects of service delivery of municipalities. The results provide information that serves as a framework for policymakers and other stakeholders for planning and monitoring. Bucket toilet update Over the period 2012 to 2013, the Eastern Cape, North West and KwaZulu-Natal reported increases in the use of the bucket toilet system. Decreases in the use of the bucket toilet system were reported in Gauteng, Western Cape, Northern Cape and Free State, while Limpopo reported no use of the bucket toilet system. Water According to 2013 estimates, 11.8 million consumer units were receiving water from municipalities in South Africa, of which 5.3 million (44.7%) consumer units were receiving free basic water. The Western Cape showed the highest proportion of consumer units that benefited from the free basic water policy (77.3%), followed by Mpumalanga (56.3%) and the Eastern Cape (44.7%).The province with the lowest proportion of consumer units that benefited from the free basic water policy was the Northern Cape (31.9%), followed by the Free State (37.1%) and Gauteng (37.7%).
Sewage and sanitation Out of 10 million consumer units receiving sewerage and sanitation, 3.1 million received sewerage and sanitation as a free basic service from municipalities and service providers. Approximately 2.5 million consumer units received free basic solid waste management services from a total of 8.4 million consumer units. Differences in free basic services between 2012 and 2013 are partly the result of changes in the targeting mechanisms used by municipalities to provide such services, namely technical, geographical, broad-based, self-based, consumption-based, property value, and plot size. Electricity Out of 10 million consumer units receiving electricity, 2.5 million consumer units were receiving free basic electricity.
