Poverty is more than a lack of income. Poverty exists when an individual’s or a household’s access to income, jobs and/or infrastructure is inadequate or sufficiently unequal to prohibit full access to opportunities in society. The condition of poverty is caused by a combination of social, economic, spatial, environmental and political factors (CMC, 1999a). Two other conditions describe and constitute poverty, namely deprivation and vulnerability. Deprivation includes isolation and powerlessness while vulnerability means defenselessness, insecurity and exposure to risk, shocks and stress. Given the cyclical nature of poverty, it is extremely difficult for the poor to extricate themselves from this predicament.

The poor often are the group most vulnerable to environmental degradation and are most at risk in cases of major flooding, fires, earthquakes and other hazards. A number of factors serve to compound and re-enforce the persistence of poverty, namely a lack of access to resources, a lack of access to social amenities and services, limited capacity and training, and a lack of access to economic opportunities (refer to Infrastructure).
Poverty levels

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As in other South African cities, poverty in the CMA is socially and spatially concentrated. The largest concentration of poor households is found in the south-eastern areas of the CMA. The poverty profile shows discrepancies between recently urbanized and more established population groupings. The poor live on the most marginal land often in overcrowded conditions. They lack access to basic services that can have a deleterious effect upon their health. A poverty profile of the CMA compared to the Durban and Johannesburg metropolitan areas shows that the CMA has higher levels of poverty, with 32.2%, 30.4% and 20.3% of their respective populations living below the poverty line of R800 per month per household in 1995 (CMC, 1998).

The tables that follow (Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, and Table 4) indicate the high levels of poverty within the CMA, especially for black households. These tables show the inequities that exist in terms of employment opportunities, access to sanitation, refuse removal and telephones within the CMA population. Information pertaining to income, shelter and energy can be found in Economy: Table 2,    Settlement Patterns: Table 2  and Energy: Table 2  respectively.

 

Table 1

Employment/unemployment in the CMA by race

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Black

Coloured

Indian

White

All races
Unemployed

36

20

9

7

20
Employed (formal work)

64

80

91

93

80
Total

100

100

100

100

100
NOTE: Weighted analysis of the 1995 October Household Survey.    These figures are based on an expanded definition of (un)employment.   The proportion of blacks (36%) in the CMA who are unemployed is higher than the national proportion of 29%.

(Source: Central Statistical Services, 1996, as cited in CMC, 1999a)

 

Table 2

Sanitation in the CMA by race

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Black

Coloured

Indian

White

All races
Flush toilet in dwelling

24

87

96

95

78
Flush toilet on site

33

7

4

4

11
Toilet off site (all types)

30

0

0

1

6
Other toilet on site (chemical and bucket)

9

5

0

0

4
Pit latrine on site

2

1

0

0

1
None

1

0

0

0

1
Total

100

100

100

100

100
NOTE: Weighted analysis of the 1995 October Household Survey

(Source: Central Statistical Services, 1996, as cited in CMC, 1999a)

 

Table 3

Refuse removal in the CMA by race

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Black

Coloured

Indian

White

All races
Removed by local authority

88

94

96

98

94
Communal refuse dump

8

4

4

1

4
Own refuse dump

4

3

0

1

2
None

1

0

0

0

0
Total

100

100

100

100

100
NOTE: Weighted analysis of the 1995 October Household Survey

(Source: Central Statistical Services, 1996, as cited in CMC, 1999a)

 

Table 4

Access to telephones in the CMA by race

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Black

Coloured

Indian

White

All races
Telephone and/or cell phone in dwelling

23

59

91

93

65
Access to neighbour’s telephone

6

22

2

2

12
Communal telephone

37

6

2

1

10
Access to telephone in shop / clinic

16

4

2

0

5
None

18

10

4

4

9
Total

100

100

100

100

100
NOTE: Weighted analysis of the 1995 October Household Survey

(Source: Central Statistical Services, 1996, as cited in CMC, 1999a)

 
Levels of living

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There is great difference in levels of living between residential areas in the CMA. The level of living index, based on 1991 Census data, refers to the composite index of five indicators, namely income, education, unemployment, welfare and over- crowding. Table 5 gives the suburb with the highest and lowest rating of this index for each metropolitan local council. Higher indices indicate poorer living conditions. The levels of living index ranges from high quality living environments in Llandudno (2.4) to poor living environments in Kuilsriver (55.8), Brown’s Farm (51.1) and Khayelitsha (49.0).

 

Table 5

Range of Levels of Living for CMA

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METROPOLITAN LOCAL COUNCIL SUBURB INDEX
Blaauwberg Marconi Beam

48.0
  Melkbosstrand

3.1
City of Cape Town Brown's Farm

51.1
  Pinelands

3.8
City of Tygerberg Khayelitsha

49.0
  Loevenstein

3.3
Helderberg Sir Lowry's Pass

41.0
  Somerset West

5.9
Oostenberg Kuilsrivier

55.8
  Windsor Park

3.7
South Peninsula Lavender Hill

41.0
  Llandudno

2.4
NOTE: Based on 1991 Census data

(Source: CMC, 1997)
The following overcrowding statistics are based on the 1991 Census. The percentage of overcrowding per suburb is based on more than 1.5 persons per habitable room, including the lounge and dining room, but excluding the kitchen. The highest levels of overcrowding were recorded at Brown’s Farm (89%) and Nyanga and Crossroads (80%) indicating high levels of overcrowding. The least crowded suburbs were Bishopscourt (0.73%) and Claremont (1.3%). The suburbs of Lavender Hill, Hout Bay and Langa displayed intermediate levels of overcrowding with 49%, 55% and 66% respectively. Map 1 provides a spatial representation of the overcrowding index in 1991.

 

(Source: CMC, 1999)

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