Cape Town - The Western Cape government's work in ensuring excellent service delivery shows in the Census 2011 data, premier Helen Zille said on Monday.
“I am very pleased with the data which shows that the Western Cape is a top performer in the provision of basic services,” Zille said in a statement.
“The Western Cape also has the lowest unemployment rate in the country and the highest number of people with access to education.”
Zille received the census report from statistician-general Pali Lehohla on Monday.
The Census 2011 showed that 99.1 percent of residents in the Western Cape had access to piped water, 91.1 percent had refuse removal, 93.4 percent electricity and 96.9 percent had toilet facilities.
A total of 29.3 percent of the province's working population was unemployed. The province had the lowest unemployment rate in South Africa, said Zille.
The population in the Western Cape had also increased by 29 percent.
“(This) suggest that we will need more resource allocation and stronger focus on informal settlement upgrading to ensure decent basic living conditions for as many people as possible,” she said.
The population growth meant that government, business, civil society, communities and citizens needed to redouble their efforts to “go green”.
“Our society needs to start moving from a lifestyle of conspicuous consumption to one of essential consumption,” said Zille.
“We all need to recycle more, we need to use more public and non-motorised transport and we need to stop water waste that happens through tap and pipe leaks.”
She said there needed to be a shared responsibility in the province to ensure a green economy was built. - Sapa