‘Silver lining’ of progress in SA – IRR

SOUTH AFRICA has made progress in terms of the economy, the world of work, living standards and service delivery, education, health and crime.

So says a report by the South Africa Institute of Race Relations (IRR).

The institute released its report titled “State of the Nation: Silver Linings,” highlighting the progress of the country since 1994.

The report showed GDP growth rose steadily to average levels in excess of 5% between 2004 and 2007. The rate of inflation also fell after 1994.

The number of black people with jobs more than doubled between 1994 and 2015. The numbers of black professional employees and of black African management employees both increased by almost 200% since 2000.

Despite unemployment, the labour market participation rate increased in 1995, with the number of people dependent on those who work decreasing, disproving that the country experienced two decades of jobless growth.

Living standards and service delivery showed that for every family that moved into a shack since 1996, 10 families have moved into a formal house.

The report shows that just over a thousand households received access to clean water every day since 1996, with households with access to sanitation increasing by 151.2%.

On average over 1 000 additional households have been connected to the electricity grid every day since 1996.

The institute reports that the number of black African candidates passing matric increased from 259 in 1955 to 369 903 in 2015.

The university-going population that is black African increased from just under 20% in 1986 to over 70% in 2014, university enrolment increasing four-fold over the past 30 years.

As for health services, the number of public sector professional nurses, doctors and specialists increased since 2000, with the stillbirth rate falling since 2002, while the number of new HIV infections has halved since 1999.

The murder rate has also almost halved since 1994/95.

The institute notes: “The country has come a long way.”