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)
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
