Profile of Metsweding Area

PROFILE OF THE METSWEDING AREA

1 Economic Profile

Source: Metsweding District Municipality Report

The Metsweding area has a very small economy contributing only 2.5% to the GDP of the Gauteng Province. Very little production occurs in this area.

Agriculture is the main activity, but face the following contraints

ü Drought and scarcity of water throughout the region

ü Lack of financial and supporting services for the intensive and subsistance farmers

ü Lack of suporting services for farmers in the area

ü High input prices of commodoties such as maize

ü No efficient representation of farmer’s interests

ü The threat of HIV/AIDS

Metsweding has a very small maunfacturing base when compared with the rest of the Gauteng Province. Approximately 100 – 150 industrial companies are located in the area including furniture manufacturers, plastic, rubber and chemical manufacturing, publishing and printing as well as food and beverages.

Manufacturing contraints includes:

ü Small industrial base

ü Lack of industrial development incentives

ü Competitice spatial disadvantage (with Johannesburg and Pretoria)

ü Leakage of buying power

ü Many new jobs going to non-local people

The Metsweding tourism sector is regarded as small, but developing.

2 Labour force

Source: Metsweding District Municipality Report

Composition of the labour force in Metwseding is as follows:

Employed: 51%

Not Economically active: 31%

Unemployed (strict): 18%

The education profile of the labour force is as follows:

Level of Education	Percentage
None	20%
Some Primary	16%
Completed Primary	6%
Some Secondary	26%
Grade 12	20%
Higher	12%
Total	100%

3 Socio Economic Profile

Source: Metsweding District Municipality Report

StatsSA recorded that 162 000 people living in the Metsweding District. Population growth is around 3%. HIV Prevalence is around 13%.

Composition of the population in Metwseding is as follows:

Younger than 20 : 20%

20 – 55 : 25%

56 and older : 55%

Income amongst the employed is presented below.

Less than R800 per month : 40%

R 801 – R3000 per month : 36%

R3000 – 6000 per month : 9%

More than R6000 per month : 25%

(R/Euro = 11)

4 Farming communities and informal settlements

The farming communities and informal settlements in the Metsweding District face the following challenges:

ü Poverty abounds

ü High unemployment

ü Lack of transport from farms and informal settlements to economic centres

ü Lack of basic services like sanitation, water and electricity

ü Lack of proper nutrition

ü Large numbers of children have no birth certificates and adults do not have idenfication documents

ü Many orphans and vulnerable children

ü Lack of knowledge and stigmatization of HIV/AIDS

ü Primary caregivers do not have skills to provide psychosocial and emotional support to children.

ü Many children with disabilities

ü Children are not attending school

ü Children attending school cannot read and are not progressing well.

ü No places for children in crisis to go to

ü Low adult literay levels