Premier Alan Winde on 2022 Census

• Published date: 05 May 2022
• Publication title: South African Official News

The Western Cape could lose funding equivalent to 1615 doctors or 5981 nurses, and over approximately 9300 teachers if only 70% of residents get counted in the 2022 Census. This is according to approximate projections by the Western Cape Provincial Treasury. If this were to happen, it would severely undermine the quality of health care and education services that we provide, at a time when demand for services is ever more pressing.

In money terms, we stand to lose R9.7 billion, or over 16% of our provincial equitable share, if only 70% of residents get counted. This would shave R2.6 billion in funding off our health budget and R4.2 billion off our education budget, with smaller departments also suffering losses. In short, service delivery in the Western Cape will suffer a major blow across the board if residents do not make sure they are counted.

The implications of what could happen if the undercount persists should be deeply concerning to each and every resident of this province, as it is to me. In fact, as of 8 am this morning, with just 9 days to go until the count closes, Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) is not even within sight of a 70% count. They have counted just 61% of residents to date.

While we have seen increases in the number of persons counted, the numbers remain too low. To put it simply, if we only manage to...