LWAZI PARKHOUSEHOLD ENUMERATION

REPORT

CAPE TOWN, JANUARY 2011

Informal Settlement Network,Lwazi Park Community Leadership and

Community Organisation Resource Centre

PREFACE

The Community Organisation Resource Centre (CORC) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) with main offices in Cape Town but operating in all provinces that supports communities prepared and willing to help themselves. CORC provides support to networks of urban and rural poor communities who mobilize around their own resources and capacities. CORC’s interventions are designed to enable rural and urban communities to learn from one another and to create solidarity and unity in order to be able to broker deals with formal institutions, especially the state.

The Informal Settlement Network (ISN) is an alliance of settlement-level and national-level organizations of informal settlement dwellers, active in all of the country’s major metropolitan municipalities. Since 2009, ISN, often in partnership with local authorities, has been piloting incremental informal settlement upgrades that put organized communities of the urban poor at the centre of such processes.

In 2009 a partnership was established between the City of Cape Town, CORC and the leadership of ISN, to embark on a multiple-site pilot project looking at informal settlement upgrading. In each of the pilot sites, the first step for any development has been identified in the data gathering about population, the site itself, and its existing meagre infrastructure.

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Contents

PREFACE................................................................................................................................................2

Introduction..........................................................................................................................................5

Methodology........................................................................................................................................6

Questionnaire development..............................................................................................................6

The enumeration process..................................................................................................................8

Fieldwork...........................................................................................................................................8

Data management.............................................................................................................................8

Key findings...........................................................................................................................................9

Household details............................................................................................................................10

Education.........................................................................................................................................10

Employment....................................................................................................................................10

Income and expenses......................................................................................................................10

Disaster history................................................................................................................................10

Migration history.............................................................................................................................10

Health and sanitation......................................................................................................................10

Nature of shack................................................................................................................................10

Summary of findings........................................................................................................................10

Appendices – Lwazi park enumeration questionnaire........................................................................10

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List of tables

Table 1: Summary of the contents of the Lwazi Park Enumeration questionnaire................................7Table 2: Settlement profile of Lwazi Park..............................................................................................9Table 3: Number of people living in each structure.............................................................................10Table 4: Employment distribution by type..........................................................................................10Table 5: Total labour force by age.......................................................................................................10Table 6: Number of persons receiving a grant.....................................................................................10Table 7: Breakdown of monthly expenses...........................................................................................10Table 8: Shopping centres utilised (based on number of mentions)...................................................10Table 9: Disaster history while staying in Lwazi Park...........................................................................10Table 10: Numbers of people affected by disasters.............................................................................10Table 11: Disaster frequency by household.........................................................................................10Table 12: Number of rooms per shack.................................................................................................10

List of figures

Figure 1: Population distribution by age category...............................................................................10Figure 2: Household head age distribution..........................................................................................10Figure 3: Gender breakdown of household heads...............................................................................10Figure 4: Education enrolment............................................................................................................10Figure 5: Unemployment as a percentage of the total labour force....................................................10Figure 6: Percentage of households receiving any welfare grant........................................................10Figure 7: Transport used as a percentage of mentions........................................................................10Figure 8: Type of sanitation used by residents....................................................................................10

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INTRODUCTION

In Lwazi Park, an informal settlement in Cape Town, the country-wide problems of inadequate, polluted canals and of inadequate housing has forced a community to relocate. A section of the Lotus River Canal runs along the N2 Freeway very close to where the informal settlement of Lwazi Park is located. The Roads and Storm Water Department was planning to widen the canal where it passes the densely populated informal settlement of Barcelona. When it became clear that 36 families from the neighbouring settlement of Lwazi Park were to be relocated, the City hired consultants to manage the project. The City and the consultants identified an alternative site, not far from the place where the people were living along the canal. Municipal planners produced a very uniform, conventional, layout plan for the shacks that were to be repositioned. However, their plan accommodated 26 shacks only – meaning that if the plan were implemented, 11 families would have nowhere to go.

In early-January the Informal Settlement Network (ISN) started to engage Lwazi Park to support them in the relocation issue. They helped the community to map and measure their land and their shacks. They helped them to survey every family and get useful information like the size of the households and how long they have been living along the canal. Then they drew in an architect from the Community Organisation Resource Centre, who helped the people of Lwazi Park design their relocation area – using exactly the same space assigned by the city but also designing the proposed new settlement according to their everyday needs and priorities. So, instead of a simple grid layout, they came up with a layout that takes into account the contour of the land and the existing walkways and pathways that the people already use. They created small open spaces for women to gather and children to play. They provided for different plot sizes because different families have different needs. And finally they suggested that the toilets to be provided by the city be moved into the centre of the proposed new square so that they can become a gathering point for the people and can be protected from vandalism. Two weeks after the initial engagement of ISN and CORC, City officials came to Lwazi Park to evaluate the results of the community's enumeration process. The major milestone was the acknowledgement that a participatory approach was needed in deciding on a layout.

This report will provide a brief background to the enumeration process followed for the Lwazi Park informal settlement, a brief history of the relocation and planning negotiations as well as summary findings from the data collected. The aim of the report is to provide community members of Lwazi Park with the tools to help them participate in the proposed relocation process which was motivated by the pending channel upgrading by the City of Cape Town. The report also aims at allowing the community to report on the facts of their current living conditions and be able to engage local government constructively with regards to what their real and most pressing needs are.

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METHODOLOGY

Since this was a “mini-enumeration” exercise, only two community members volunteered themselves to collect all the data with support from two ISN members from outside Lwazi Park. The entire data collection process took 2 nights. Other community members also took part in other aspects of the exercise like measuring and mapping of the settlement. The community leadership was part of the whole exercise, which proved helpful in creating the “enumeration roadmap”. A great deal of work was done during the preparation of the enumeration with the aim of helping people understand the main functions and objectives behind the project.

Questionnaire development

The questionnaire was developed from the previous enumeration exercises conducted in other settlements around the country in 2010: Sheffield Road and TT Section. This was amalgamated with the demographic section of the questionnaire used by the City of Cape Town. The Lwazi Park community was given the opportunity to make improvements on the questionnaire to ensure that more relevant and comprehensive information about their specific area would be collected. Below is a summary of the contents of the questionnaire. A copy of the questionnaire can be found in the appendix.

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Table 1: Summary of the contents of the Lwazi Park Enumeration questionnaire

DOMAIN OF ENUMERATION ITEMS INCLUDED IN THE QUESTIONNAIRE

Household details

Identity number and gender of household head His/her age Names and National Identity numbers of all

people in the house Number of families occupying the structure Number of young people in the house Number of people attending school Number of adults staying in the house Number of aged persons in the house

Employment, income and expenses

Number of people employed in the house hold Type of employment Grants received Monthly basic expenses Transport and costs Shopping options

Nature of house Type of house Area of house Number of rooms

Disaster & relocation history Disasters experienced by the household

Migration history Period lived in the community Place of residence before Lwazi Park Period lived in Cape Town

Health & sanitation Type of toilet available to the household Number of people using the toilet Collection of waste from common bins Access to health services

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The enumeration process

The enumeration team consisted of three teams: Mapping team, Numbering team and the Data Collection team. All the shacks were numbered according to the arrangement that the first shack from Klipfontein Road would be number one. This unique number was painted on the front of the shack so that each one could be clearly identified.

Prior to the data collection exercise, the Community Task Team, CORC fieldworker and ISN members conducted a preparatory workshop. This was to equip the volunteers with the necessary technical skills needed for conducting the enumeration. The enumerators were instructed to collect information from people in their structures, which were measured and numbered by the numbering team. In the SDI enumeration methodology, enumerators are instructed to collect information only through face-to-face interviews, preferably with household heads. For this reason, the three teams included at least some experienced members from ISN. The inclusion of these members in each team, with their experience in conducting community led enumerations, increased the level of accuracy in the survey. At the same time the inclusion of locals meant that the survey was not seen as an external intrusion, but rather as a tool to serve the informal settlement upgrading initiative.

For the survey component of the exercise, enumerators surveyed every structure in Lwazi Park. After the necessary introductions and explanations, the questions in the questionnaire were generally completed in 10 – 15 minutes. All answers provided by the respondents during the interviews are treated as strictly confidential. It was also made clear that they could refuse to answer certain questions or even the entire interview if they chose to do so. All effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the data collected. There were however households which could not be interviewed due to the unavailability of residents during the enumeration period.

Fieldwork

Interviews were conducted mainly during the night by community volunteers. The enumeration began on 28 January 2011. The process was very participatory with community members holding informal discussions where suggestions and concerns about the initially proposed settlement layout plan were discussed.

Data management

All questionnaires were captured into digital format in the form of an excel spreadsheet. This was done by volunteers and local community members. The dataset was later cleaned and tested for internal consistency. Frequency tables were produced for the purposes of presenting information in tabular and graphical formats.

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KEY FINDINGS

Key results of the enumeration will be discussed in this section and will be primarily presented in the form of graphs and tables. The following table summarises the settlement profile1 established through the enumeration.

Table 2: Settlement profile of Lwazi Park

“Slum” Name Lwazi Park

Age of Settlement More than 17 years

Status at the time of the survey at the date of drafting this report

Settlement in the process of relocation as a result of the channel upgrading project by the city of Cape Town

Structures Informal residential units

Population 37 households housing 99 residents

Not enumerated None

Ownership Cape Town Municipality

No. of Individual Toilet Blocks None

No. of Community toilet blocks 8

Ratio of toilets to total number of people 8 toilets for 99 residents

Most urgent needs Participatory relocation to the new site

1 Settlement Profile format adapted from Ahmad Nagar Settlement Profiling, India (2009)

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Household details

Shacks serve as the only structures in the settlement. There were 37 shacks counted in the settlement of Lwazi Park. For the rest of the findings section, all results discussed will be based on the total of 37 enumerated shacks (unless otherwise indicated). The 37 enumerated shacks in Lwazi Park are home to 99 residents. These residents make up 38 different families.

On average, each shack in the Lwazi Park informal settlement is home to 2.7 persons. When examining the data more closely, it is found that 27% of shacks in the settlement house 4 or more residents (see table 3 below).

Table 3: Number of people living in each structure

Number of people living in structures Frequency Percentage Cumulative

Percent.

1 9 24 242 9 24 493 9 24 734 6 16 895 3 8 976 1 3 100

Total 37 100

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Figure 1: Population distribution by age category

0 to 6 7 to 14 15 to 17 18 to 35 36 to 64 65 and older0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1718

6

32

23

3

Age in years

Perc

enta

ge

From Figure 1 above, it is observed that the majority of residents in Lwazi Park are under the age of 36 years old (73%). This indicates a very young population with 41% of residents under the age of 18 years. Household heads on the other hand reflect a leaning towards 36 years and older (figure 2 below).

Figure 2: Household head age distribution

18-35 36-64 65+ Missing data0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

5046

43

5 5

Age in years

Perc

enta

ge

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It must be noted that the age of household heads was calculated using identity numbers hence the 5% indicated as missing data were those instances where the household head did not supply an identity number.

Figure 3: Gender breakdown of household heads

Male; 46%Female; 54%

The gender breakdown for household heads sees males account for only 46% of all household heads compared to 54% for females. This is slightly different to figures from other informal settlements where male headed households almost always make up at least 50% of the total households.

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Education

From figure 4 it is shown that 36% of all residents in Lwazi Park are enrolled in some form of education. The biggest contributing category in terms of education enrolment is primary school (25%).

Figure 4: Education enrolment

Primary

Secondary

Tertiary

Total

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

25

10

1

36

Figure 4. Education enrollment

Percentage

Educ

ation

leve

l

Employment

In table 4 below, we can see that 44 residents of Lwazi Park (44% of 99 residents) are employed in some form or another. Of these 44 employed residents, 36% are in full time employ and 59% are employed on a part time basis. This is different to other informal settlements like Barcelona and Europe, where full time employment is the largest employment type. This suggests that Lwazi Park residents are less likely to have stable incomes.

Table 4: Employment distribution by type

Total employment breakdown Frequency Percent

Self employed 2 5

Part time 26 59

Full time 16 36

Total 44 100

To work out the unemployment rate for the settlement, we need to take into account the definition used by Statistics South Africa. The unemployment rate is always reflected as the percentage of the total economically active population who are not employed. The

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economically active population are those people aged 16 years and older. Due to the constraints of this enumeration, constructing the total number of economically active persons is problematic due to the predefined age cohorts used in the questionnaire.

Table 5: Total labour force by age

Labour Force Frequency

Age 15 to 17 years 6

Age 18 to 35 32

Age 36 to 64 23

Age 65 and older 3Total labour force 64

Table 5 gives as a good estimate of the economically active population in Lwazi Park settlement. This amounts to 64 residents. In figure 5 below we see that the unemployment rate for Lwazi Park is 31%. This is only slightly higher than the official unemployment rate for South Africa (this figure has been hovering in the mid 20’s for the last few years) but it must be noted that due to the small size of the community comparison to other informal settlements becomes problematic.

Figure 5: Unemployment as a percentage of the total labour force

69%

31%

Employed Unemployed

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Income and expenses

The response rate for the income question in the Lwazi Park enumeration was very low with only 2 households giving an indication of any income. This data cannot be used to provide an accurate assessment of the income for residents. The method employed by CORC is to examine the expenses of households which can be used as an estimate for the income of that particular household. Another source of income data which is very important for informal settlement dwellers is that of social welfare grants.

Table 6: Number of persons receiving a grant

Grant typeNumbers of

People Receiving

% out of total

population

Disability 2 2.02

Child Support 28 28.28

Pension 5 5.05

Refugee 0 0

Other 1 1.01

Total 36 36.36Total population 99  

A total of 36% of all residents in Lwazi Park receive some form of social welfare grants (table 6). The child support grant is the biggest contributing category (28.28%) and indicates once again that the settlement has many young children. This settlement overall has a higher percentage of the population receiving welfare grants as compared to other informal settlements but the small size of Lwazi Park needs to be taken into consideration.

Figure 6: Percentage of households receiving any welfare grant

62

38

Yes or re-cord of wel-fare grant

No answer or No re-cord of wel-fare grant

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When looking at all the households in Lwazi Park, 62% receive some form of income through a welfare grant (figure 6). This is linked to the fact that a large percentage of the population are children who would receive some form of welfare grant.

Table 7: Breakdown of monthly expenses

TOTAL EXPENSES Amount Percentageof total

Food R 17 220.00 41

Electricity R 3 110.00 7

Transport R 5 777.00 14

Rent R 0 0

School fees R 8 690.00 21

Clothing R 6 550.00 16

Water R 0 0

Other R 680.00 2

Total R 42 027.00 100

As can be seen from the table above, food and school fees are the biggest monthly expenses for the residents of Lwazi Park. Food expenses accounts for 41% of all monthly expenses. Expenditure on food in other informal settlements such as Europe and Barcelona are also the biggest line expense but Lwazi Park shows a much higher percentage. Overall we can see that the community of Lwazi Park contributes to the economy of Cape Town to the tune of approximately R 42 027 each month. This once again shows that even small informal settlements play a role in the economic life of the city. Another significant expense for the residents of Lwazi Park is transportation costs which account for 14% of all expenditure each month. The average cost for transport per day for households is R16.

Table 8: Shopping centres utilised (based on number of mentions)

Shopping Centres Frequented Frequency Percent

Gugulethu Shopping Mall 35 92Other 3 8Total 38 100

From table 8 we can see that 92% of mentions were for Gugulethu Shopping Mall.

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Figure 7: Transport used as a percentage of mentions

33%

33%

7%

27%

Private

Taxi

Bus

Train

Residents in Lwazi Park reported that taxis served as their main source of transport. The next most frequently used mode of transport is the train. Average travel time for residents in Lwazi Park to work is approximately 54 minutes. This again suggests that residents work far from where they are living and also explains why transport costs account for 16% of all spending.

Disaster history

Some of the major problems facing informal settlement dwellers in South Africa are related to weather disasters in the form of heavy rain and flooding as well as manmade disasters in the form of runaway shack fires. Due to the informal nature of the Lwazi Park settlement, proper road, drainage and safety mechanisms regarding fire hazards are not in place. This has meant that the residents are exposed to fire and flooding dangers while living in the area.

Table 9: Disaster history while staying in Lwazi Park

Disaster typeNumber of households

affectedPercentage

Fire only 3 100.3

Flooding only 25 86.2

Evictions only 1 3.4

Total 29 100Missing data: 8 households    

Eighty-six percent of all households in Lwazi Park have experienced a flooding disaster. Approximately 79 residents of Lwazi Park have been affected by flooding alone. Fire

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disasters appear to be less frequent with only 10 residents having experienced such a disaster, but this still represents 10% of the households being exposed to the loss incurred and dangers of shack fires.

Table 10: Numbers of people affected by disasters

Disaster type Number of people affected Percentage

Fire only 10 10

Flooding only 68 69

Evictions only 1 1

Total 79 80Total population 99 100 

When asked about what type of flooding occurs, the highest mentions count was for flooding from underground water. Twenty households reported that when flooding occurs, their shacks remain flooded for more than one day.

Table 4: Disaster frequency by household

Disaster Type Number of households affected Frequency of events

Ave no. of events per affected

household

Flooding 25 63 2.52Fire 3 5 1.67Evictions 1 1 1

Table 11 shows that households that experience flooding have on average experienced 2 such events whereas fire has a frequency of about 1.6 events per household that has experienced a fire disaster.

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Migration history

The migration section of the questionnaire had a very low response rate and statistics cannot be produced for this data at this time. Further analysis of the individual level data is required.

Health and sanitation

The residents of Lwazi Park informal settlement have indicated that there are no health services in the area.

With regards to access to sanitation, like most other informal settlements the situation in Lwazi Park is dire. No residents reported using water flush toilets and the overwhelming majority use chamber pots as their toilet (78%). The remaining 22% uses pit latrines (19%) or the bush (3%). It is very clear that sanitation needs to be upgraded in this area as there are very low levels of service delivery currently.

Figure 8: Type of sanitation used by residents

Pit Latrine Pee pot (chamber pot) Bush0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

19

78

3

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Nature of shack

As mentioned at the start of the findings section, shacks are the only structures in the Lwazi Park settlement and serve all the needs of this community. There are 37 shacks serving as residential units and these shacks vary in size and range from 1-room to 4-room structures. Shack measurements were used to help inform the design of the relocation area.

Table 5: Number of rooms per shack

Number of rooms Freq. Percent Cum.

1 13 35.14 35.14

2 17 45.95 81.08

3 5 13.51 94.59

4 2 5.41 100

Total 37 100  

Summary of findings

The Lwazi Park informal settlement is an excellent example of how good communication and relationships built up between CORC, ISN, the City of Cape Town and the informal settlement communities can lead to a cooperative approach to solving the problem of informal settlement upgrading. Lwazi Park is a community with many children and focusing on their needs suggests creating a safe environment within the settlement for mothers and children especially. Unemployment is not as severe as in other settlements but is still high and the majority of residents of Lwazi Park who are employed have only part time employment which is unstable and does not guarantee security for their families in terms of income.

Lwazi Park also saw the first attempt made at capturing individual level information for its residents. This was as a result of a redesign of the questionnaire suggested by the City of Cape Town. However this part of the questionnaire appears to have been not fully completed and may indicate specific training is needed for volunteers to complete this section more thoroughly. A future analysis of the information collected will be made while for the purposes of this report individual level data has been excluded.

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APPENDIX – LWAZI PARK ENUMERATION QUESTIONNAIRE

COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION RESOURCE CENTRE (CORC)

GUGULETHU, LWAZI PARK ENUMERATION

This enumeration survey collects information on housing conditions, expenditures (and income if possible), employment and sanitation in your community. Please co-operate with the enumerator to fill in this questionnaire.This form asks for the following:

Basic information about the people who are living in your house Specific information about this house and its occupancy Specific information about sanitation services and health conditions.

Thank you for your co-operation.

Shack/House Number Date _____/_____/______

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NAME OF STRUCTURE OWNER: CONTACT DETAILS: FAMILY 1. (OCCUPANTS OF THE STRUCTURE)SURNAME FIRST NAME FAMILY

RELATIONSHIPAGE GENDER RSA NATIONAL ID / OTHER

DOCUMENT (STATE NATIONALITY)

OCCUPATION PREVIOUS RESIDENCE, TOWN, SUBURB, ETC

PRD IN STRUCTURE

HEAD OF FAMILY

Family 2

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How many people attend school? Crèche Primary school Secondary/High School

Tertiary

2. Employment, Income & Expense2.1 How many people are employed in the house? 1 2 3 4 + 2.2 What type of employment are they involved in? How many How many How many

Self employed Part time/Casual Full Time

If Self employed ( Type) :___________________________________________

If unemployed list skills (If any):___________________________________________

2.3 Do you receive any kind of a welfare grant? Yes No

2.4 What kind of grant do you receive? Disability Child support Pension Refugee

Other

2.5 How many people have any form of income in your house? 1 2 3 4+

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2.6 How much are the main expenses per month? 1. Food 2. Electricity

3. Transport 4. Rent/Maintenance

5. School fees 6. Clothing 7. Water 8. Other items

2.7 What type of transport do you use when going to work? Private Taxi Bus Train

2.8 How far is the place of employment (or where the household head gets the income)? (Hours, Minutes of TRAVEL or WALK)

2.9 How much do you pay per day in transport?

2.9.1 Where do you do your shopping? 1. Gugulethu Shoprite Mall 2. Shoprite Philippi

3. Nyanga Junction Mall 4. Other:

3. Nature of house 3.1 Type of house: Independent Shack Backyard dwelling Mud House Formal Structure

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R R

R R

RR

R

____ Hrs ____ min

R

R

3.2 Use of structure: Residential only Church Pre –school

Spaza Other

3.3 What is the size of your house? MT X MT [e.g. 3.50 mt x 2.95 mt]

3.4 How many rooms does your house have? 1 2 3 4 +

3.6 Do you have a title deed of the land? Yes No

3.7 Who owns the land? State Private

4. Eligibility for Housing Subsidy4.1 Were you ever approved for a housing subsidy? Yes No

4.2 Would you like to state your income level for the purpose of understanding how many households in the community can apply for subsidies?

5. Disaster & Relocation History 5.1 Disaster History (a) Have you ever experienced the following disasters when staying at Lwazi Park settlement? (i) Fire Disaster Yes No how many times?

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. .

R

(ii) Flooding Yes No how many times?

(iii) Evictions Yes No how many times?

6. Sanitation & Health6.1 Which toilet do you use? (i) Pit Toilet How many people use this toilet?

(ii) Water System (Flushed) (iii) Bush

6.2.2 Are there any health facilities in the area Yes No

7. Basic necessities 1 Do you have an electricity Yes No meter in your shelter?

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__

About _______people

__

__

ENUMERATOR: ________________________________

NAME OF RESPONDENT: _________________________

SIGNATURE OF RESPONDENT: ____________________