Programme Director
Speaker of the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature, Ms Newrene Klaaste
Members of the Executive Council
Executive Mayors
Deputy Director General for South African National Statistics Systems, Ms Yandiswa Mpetsheni
Senior Government officials
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen

It gives me great pleasure to receive the Northern Cape Census 2022 report on behalf of the Northern Cape Province. The Census 2022 report that we are receiving today is the fourth Census of our post-Apartheid Democratic dispensation with the other three being conducted in 1996, 2001 and 2011. Impressive about this Census is its uniqueness because it is the first digital Census undertaken in the country.

We welcome the province’s Census 2022 Report which depicts an 18, 3% increase of the population from 1, 1 million in 2011 to 1, 4 million in 2022. This now means that the Province has grown by more than 200,000 people and contributes 2, 2% towards the national population which stands at 62 million.

According to the latest statistics, the Northern Cape Province is the least populated in the country.

The Census 2022 results should prove to be very useful for planning as it will illuminate many of the effects of the COVID pandemic and should inform our journey to 2030 and our long-term plan, namely the Provincial Growth and Development Plan (PGDP) and the Provincial Spatial Development Framework (PDSF). It will also prove to be a useful tool in informing the District Development Model (DDM) One Plan as we move forward to create better lives for our people in all the corners of this beautiful Province.

It is important to note that the Census tells us a lot about our most valued asset namely our people, in other words, population development.

The Census 2022 is also an important tool to assist with understanding the current trajectory in our Province. It also assists in determining the professionalism of the state; of state capacity; and the effectiveness and efficiency of state institutions and systems.

To improve our Service Delivery all spheres of government must adopt an evidence-based approach. Local government needs to engage with statisticians and researchers when planning and developing policies. Statistics, including the qualitative analysis thereof, alone is not enough to inform Provincial Priorities and our plans. We need design thinking and systems design in the area of planning for implementation and evaluation. We need to bridge the gap between knowledge production (researchers) and knowledge consumption (planners).

Programme Director, although we note positive growth patterns in the population, unfortunately, we do not stand to benefit immediately from the national fiscus. For the 2024/25 financial year, the National Treasury still used the 2022 mid-year estimates data in determining these figures and not the latest census data and therefore the real impact of the growth in population in respect of the data census will only be calibrated in the next financial year for the 2025/26 financial year.

Ladies and gentlemen, when we started this Sixth Administration we articulated a vision for our Province as, “Building a Modern, Growing and Successful Province.” We defined a Modern, Growing and Successful Province amongst others; as being at the cutting edge of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and one that prioritises quality education, training and retraining of the youth.  We are therefore greatly pleased that the results show a positive trajectory in several key indicators including education where the total number of population aged 20+ with no schooling declined. Furthermore, it is important to note that 43,3% of children aged 0-4 have access to our Early Childhood Development Programme and are reported to be attending some sort of Educare Centre(ECD) facilities around the  Province. With persons aged 5 - 24 years attending school also show a magnificent increase by 6, 1% from 64, 2% to 70, 3% in 2022. This shows good progress as the Province is changing the narrative when it comes to education and is showing commitment to providing sustained investment in education. We do however still make a plea to parents to enrol their children in an Early Childhood Development Centre before school age to give your child a head start in life.

Worth noting is that households with no access to the internet decreased sharply from 74% in 2011 to 29% in 2022 and this augurs well for our plans to modernise the Province. As we move towards the 5th Industrial Revolution it is said that ‘Data is the new Oil’.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is also pleasing that there has been significant improvement in the provision of basic services, with more than 80% of households reported to have access to electricity in 2022. The proportion of households in the Northern Cape using electricity as the main source of energy for lighting increased from 85% in 2011 to 93% in 2022.

As Government, we are hard at work to ensure that our communities have access to basic services. This includes ensuring that the majority of our communities in the Province have access to clean water and we are hard at work to improve water interruptions. We are aware of challenges about water provision in some of our municipalities but can assure you that together with the Department of Water and Sanitation we have plans in place to deal with these challenges. Notwithstanding

Noteworthy is the fact that 73, 0% of households have access to a flush toilet, which makes it 2% above the national average, an increase from the 66% reported in Census 2011.

In census 2022, there were 82% households with onsite access to piped water (either inside the dwelling or yard), which means that 55% of the households had access to water in their dwelling and 27% of households had access to piped water in their yards.

The majority of households (86%) resided in formal dwellings in 2022.

Increased access to water, electricity, sanitation and decent housing are evident of the fact that there have been definite improvements in the quality of life of our people in the Northern Cape and points towards a government that is truly improving the lives of each and every citizen of this province. These improved service delivery statistics also finds expression in the positive and improved PFMA audit outcomes recently released by the Auditor General during her audit roadshow. There is no doubt that this democratic dispensation is on a positive trajectory in changing the lives of our people.

As we receive this report today, I want to give every citizen of this Province the reassurance that we remain committed as this Provincial Government to steer the Northern Cape towards a Modern, Growing and Successful Province that will continue to improve livelihoods with evidence-based decision-making using official data as the leading pillar to this stance.

As we forge ahead; the lessons from the Census 2022 data will be our guiding light, improving the Government’s performance through coordination, strategic leadership, and integrated planning and monitoring and evaluation. Our agenda is clear; to improve the living conditions of the people in the Northern Cape, improve infrastructure, boost tourism and investments, and break the shackles of poverty, inequality, and inadequate service delivery.

As we dissect this data in the coming months, our government is committed to devising holistic strategies that not only respond to immediate needs but lay the groundwork for long-term sustainable growth.

Allow me also to thank the citizens of this Province for participating in the Census because, without your contributions, this would not have been possible. Our gratitude is also extended to the data collectors and statisticians.

Thank you