Population by Age, Race & Gender
Some 47 percent of the population in Great Kei Municipality is male and 53 percent female. This highlights the fact that some men have left the area to work in areas of economic opportunity. This illustrates that the female population (54%) within the rural area is slightly higher than that of the male population. However, this is considered to be a favourable distribution demonstrating a relatively high level of males remaining in the rural areas especially within the economically active age group.
Male/Female Ratio
There GKM currently has an estimated population of just 44 469 that make an approximate total of 11 363 households. Over 81 percent of the population of Great Kei lives in rural areas, villages and on farms. The population is spread amongst 6 wards with between 4 430 people (835 households) and 10052 people (1 897 households) resident in each ward. This provides an average of 6 686 people per ward. The average household consists of 4.8 people.
Female and Male
32 It has been noted that half the population (46 percent) of Great Kei are children between the ages of 0 to 19 years. Some 21 percent of the population are youths (between 20 – 34 years), 25 percent middle aged (35 to 65 years) with 8 percent over 65 years of age (elderly). However, information supplied by Local Municipalities MDB Information, 2001, demonstrate a disproportionate (low) number of children under the age of 4 years old. Given that 74,81% of the population is under the age of 15 years (MDB Information, 2001) this data requires further investigation, concerning the possible high incidences of child mortality; Only 21% of the population fall within the 20 to 34 year age group. This may be ascribed to the fact that (1) many of the economically active have left the municipality for further education, training and work; or (2) a distortion of the population pyramid through the possible impact of HIV/AIDS within this age group. In addition to the above, the high number of economically active (43% of the total population) has implications for the kinds of job opportunities and facilities that will be required in future.
Population Density
The service centers of Komga and Kei Mouth as well as the coastal settlements of Morgans Bay, Haga Haga and Cintsa can be described as urban areas falling within the national definition of “an urban area administered by a local authority or municipality”. The population density within urban areas is estimated at 185 people/km. This can be attributed to the diverse economic activity and higher level of social and physical infrastructure services to be found within the enters. Urban centers within the area display a growth rate of around 1,5% per annum compared to a negative growth rate of –1,9% for the entire Great Kei Municipal area. This is believed to be the result of the steady exodus of families from farming areas and adjacent rural settlements, causing a population increase within local urban centers. Recent studies in South Africa have found that resettlement to nearby small towns remains an attractive option to dislocated rural families and individuals (particularly women), as opposed to moving to larger urban environments such as Buffalo City, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town (DBSA 2001).
Monthly household income profile
The main challenge facing the organisation is the fact that almost the entire population of households can be regarded as indigents with access to either no income or incomes of less than R1500 per month and would therefore not be able to afford housing or other services and rely on state subsidies. The majority of this category is households who depend on state pensions and grants. The situation depicted in the figure below indicates that there are high levels of poverty in the municipal areas. Given that only 2% of the entire household population can be expected to pay for services, it is unlikely that Great Kei municipality may implement service delivery strategies that rely on residential cross subsidization. In order for the majority of local households to access basic services, the municipality will have to subsidize their consumption and this may prolong efforts to reduce existing backlogs.