Economic Characteristics

Tourism

The municipality has significant potential for developing a community-based tourism industry due to its unique attractions. The Wild Coast represents an international destination potential provided the infrastructure,  accessibility and safety/security environment are improved.

There is a lot of potential in the tourism, forestry and agriculture industries. The projects that result from the ASGISA programme as driven by the Deputy President of the Republic present an opportunity to stimulate economic growth; the following projects must be noted:

• Umzimvubu catchment project.
• N2 road that will be traversing the municipality.

The Human Development Index and Poverty Gap

The Human Development Index (HDI) is used as an indicator of development. The HDI is calculated by measuring the overall achievement in respect of the three basic dimensions of human development namely longevity (life expectancy), knowledge (literacy) and standard of living (income). If the HDI is less than one then it is concluded that the area is poor. The HDI for Ingquza Hill municipality is 0.41 and this reflects the highest levels of poverty. This trend is also apparent at the district level with all municipalities recording figures below 0.56% (which is the provincial index).

The poverty gap is an indicator of the depth and incidence of poverty, which is calculated by the difference between the income of each poor household and the poverty line. It is common knowledge that income and wealth distribution in South Africa is among the most unequal in the world, more especially the inequality between the former homeland areas and the rest of the country. The poverty gap for the OR Tambo district is 49.6%, which is second in the province to Alfred Nzo’s 52.6%. There are no statistics calculated for Ingquza Hill Municipality but it is believed that the district picture provides an adequate reflection.

Household Statistics

According to the statistics from the Community Survey, there are 48 701 households in the Municipal area, and the average household size is 6 persons per household. Household income levels in the area are generally low. According to Community Survey, less than 1.4% of households earn above R76 000 per annum or R 6333 per month. More than 97% of households in this municipality have to live on an income of less than R800 per month. 63% of households are headed by women and 37% by men.