While the latest census data shows a marked improvement in access to housing and basic services in the last decade, almost 30 years since the country's first democratic elections, many people have been left behind and are still living in squalor. 

Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke released the fourth democratic census on population and housing on Tuesday.

In addition to population size and composition, the 2022 census statistics also detailed how many people now have access to housing, water, sanitation, and electricity compared to the previous census' conducted in 1996, 2001, and 2011.

The statistics, based on more than 20-million questionnaires compiled by households, noted increases in households residing in formal dwellings with access to water, sanitation, and electricity.

According to the census data, a total of 17.8-million households were recorded in South Africa in 2022. This includes formal and informal dwellings.

The statistics recorded an increase in the number of households living in formal dwellings, from 65.1% in 1996 to 88.5% in 2022. There has been a 10.9% increase in households residing in formal dwellings since 2011.

Around 29.9% of households live in government-subsidised dwellings, also known as RDPs.

Formal dwellings include houses with brick/concrete structures, apartments, flats, cluster houses, townhouses, semi-detached houses, or any formal dwelling situated in a backyard, such as a room or garden cottage.

Conversely, the proportion of households living in informal dwellings halved from 16.2% in 1996 to 8.1% in 2022.

The report also stated that 3.1% of the population resides in traditional dwellings.

Despite the improvements tabulated in the census, the situation on the ground painted a different picture, where many South Africans are still fighting for basic needs.

In the Khayelitsha informal settlement in the Western Cape, resident Nobom Twaise, 42, has been on the City of Cape Town's housing list since 2008.

"Living in a shack has not been the best living condition. We don't have working toilets and must walk very far if we want to use the toilet. There is little freedom inside a shack because of the limited moving space. It's not the best housing condition, but what else can we do? I don't have anywhere else to go," she said.

In Gauteng, News24 visited the Vusumuzi settlement in Tembisa, where three families have held onto their "Form C" forms, some dating back to 1997, yet they are still waiting for homes.

Ntombizodwa Khumalo applied for Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) housing decades ago, but the 62-year-old woman remains without a home. 

"I am not content and refuse to die in a shack," she told News24.

Hekani Mthunzi, a 66-year-old woman who lives near Khumalo, travels to the Alberton Department of Human Settlements each month to inquire about the progress of her promised house.

"All I want is a safe house with running water for bathing and a toilet," Mthunzi said.

Access to water, sanitation, and electricity

The census 2022 findings reported that 82.4% of households in the country had access to piped water, either inside their dwelling or inside their yard.

Around 59.7% of households had piped water inside of their dwelling compared to 46.3% in 2011.

Meanwhile, the proportion of households that accessed piped water off-site halved from 17.9% in 2011 to 8.9% in 2022.

However, according to the latest data, the number of people with no access to piped water has barely changed in the last decade.

In the 2011 census, 8.8% of households had no access to piped water, while in the latest census, this figure decreased slightly to 8.7%.

The issue of sanitation also formed part of the census, with 70.8% of households reporting that they had a flush toilet in 2022, compared to 60.1% in 2011 and 51.9% in 2001.

Around 12.5% of households still have pit toilets without ventilation, while a shocking 2.1% of households still use bucket toilets, and 1.6% have no facilities to relieve themselves.

There was no change in the proportion of households that use a bucket toilet between 2011 and 2022.

Based on the results of the latest statistics, 94.7% of households use electricity as the main source of energy for lighting in comparison to 84.7% in 2011. Around 64.9% of households use electricity for cooking in 2022.

Access means nothing if there are no services

Professor Alex van den Heever, the chair of Social Security Systems Administration and Management Studies at Wits University's School of Governance, told News24 that the census results indicated progress in access to basic services, including water.

However, access to piped water means little if nothing comes through the pipe, Van den Heever said.

He said access to electricity also meant little if Eskom failed – "as it has done progressively since state capture began to take off in 2008". 

"The failure of public services represents a failure of governance, which, if reversed, could result in significant improvements in living standards – given the general progress in living conditions, from an asset perspective," Van den Heever said.

"While the census suggests important improvements in development, they are not reflected in South Africa's indicators of poverty, unemployment, and income inequality."

There are important information gaps that the census does not show. However, used in conjunction with other indicators, a very useful picture of what is going on can be produced, he said.

Van den Heever spoke about the growing population and how housing, bulk infrastructure, healthcare services, basic education, and police services all need to adjust to these massive changes.

He said in many cases, the planning and mismanagement in the country resulted in poorly planned housing developments unsupported by bulk infrastructure. 

"Consequently, sanitation and water infrastructure fail. So just counting formal housing developments cannot be used as the lone indicator of proper development," he said.

He said access to formal housing numbers showed important progress for respondents but did not appear to accord with the levels of informal housing and homelessness seen in many urban areas.  

"It is quite possible that many of these communities are just not tracked – given the methodology used for the census. It is unclear whether the post-enumeration survey could address such undercounts." 

Ramaphosa says challenges remain

After receiving the census results, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the government was encouraged by the progress in the report.

He noted some of the improvements but also said the report laid bare the challenges that remain.

"Census 2022 will be an invaluable tool in meeting those challenges," said Ramaphosa.

"The results that have been presented here today underscore the urgency with which we must work towards meeting the aspirations of the National Development Plan and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

"Let me conclude by calling on government departments, policymakers, researchers, civil society organisations, and international organisations to use this information abundantly as we collectively strive to improve people's lives.

"We now have the information we need to ensure that, as we build this country, we leave no one behind."