DURBAN - A RECENT statement issued by Jacob Zuma’s office cites the following successes during his tenure, which started in 2009.
ELECTRICITY
- Percentage of households connected to electricity increased 77.1% in 2002 to 84.2% in 2016.
SANITATION
- Households with access to improved sanitation increased from 62.3% in 2002 to 80.9% in 2016.
BASIC SERVICES and SOCIAL GRANTS
- About 88.8% of households had access to piped water and social assistance grants were paid to more than 17 million people.
HEALTH
- Life expectancy increased from 58.8 years in 2007 to 64.3 in 2015 while the death rate fell from 11.6 to 9.6 over the same period.
EDUCATION
- Two new universities, the Sol Plaatje University in the Northern Cape and the University of Mpumalanga, were established. More than nine million children attended no fee schools, which represents at least 80% of public schools.
- The National Student Financial Aid Scheme increased from R2.4 billion in 2008 to R15bn in 2017. Individuals with tertiary qualifications rose from 9.3% to 14%. In 2017, Zuma announced the government would provide free tertiary education.
BUSINESS
- Zuma’s office also cites radical economic transformation initiatives as a success during his ensure, including last year’s announcement of regulations compelling big contractors to share at least 30% of work with black-owned businesses.