By Helmo Preuss
Although the Limpopo province is a poor and rural province compared with the rich and urbanised Gauteng, some of the survey results of the third quarter 2011 general household survey (GHS) conducted by Statistics SA (Stats SA) would in fact say that Limpopo was far better off than Gauteng.
For example, Gauteng has the highest percentage of households living in what is politely termed informal dwellings at 20.4%, whereas in Limpopo, the percentage is only 4.5%, while the national percentage is 12.1%.
Limpopo residents, despite their poverty, also have better access to cellular phones with 88.1% of households having a cell phone compared with only 73.7% in Gauteng and 75.5% nationally.
Limpopo residents also have better access to public bus services at 8.6% compared with 5.8% in Gauteng.
Limpopo residents were those who said food access was adequate at 86.8% compared with 81.5% in Gauteng and 78.8% nationally. This was in part because 52.7% of Limpopo households were engaged in agriculture, either on farms or with backyard plots, compared with only 5.9% in Gauteng and 23.0% nationally.
