Eastern Cape Government on Stats SA report on poverty and unemployment

The Eastern Cape Provincial Government calls on stakeholders, including the private sector and civil society, to strengthen partnerships aimed at rolling back the impact of poverty and uplifting the lives of the people of the province. This comes after the recent Statistics South Africa (STATS SA) reports that reveal deepening socio-economic vulnerabilities in the province.

According to the latest Stats SA’s General Household Survey, the Eastern Cape has the second-highest proportion of children dependent on the school nutrition programme, with 89.3% of learners in public schools relying on these meals. Furthermore, the province leads nationally in the number of households dependent on social grants, with 65.6% of households receiving some form of grant support. This is contrasted with only 49% of households deriving income from salaries. Additionally, the report highlights that 48.8% of households in the province are headed by women, the highest in the country, underscoring the burden carried by women in our communities.

These figures come just two weeks after the release of the STATS SA’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey Report, indicating job losses in the province since December 2024.

While these statistics are concerning, the report helps to inform government decision-making, relying on accurate data on the diverse and ever-changing socio-economic environment of our population to help shape tomorrow.

The Eastern Cape Government remains resolute in addressing these challenges through targeted interventions and a commitment to building a resilient, inclusive economy.

Current and Planned Government Interventions Include:

• For the 2025/26 financial year, the Provincial Government has allocated R1.83 billion to the school nutrition programme, ensuring that over 1.5 million children receive nutritious meals at school. Additionally, the revival of food gardens at all Quintile 1–3 schools and clinics, linked to indigent families, aims to strengthen household food security and provide sustainable nutritional support to the vulnerable.
• The Green Revolution Programme: Aimed at capacitating 100,000 households in vegetable, poultry, grain, and climate-smart food production to ensure food self-sufficiency and income generation.
• Implementation of a Rapid Response Plan (RRP), targeting malnutrition through mobile service delivery in remote rural communities, integrated with data tracking and support systems.
• Skills Development and Employment: Over 70,000 youth were employed through the Basic Education Employment Initiative in 2024/25. Skills development partnerships are ongoing with MerSeta and other sectors to provide training in ICT, renewable energy, logistics, and agriculture.
• Social Support Systems: Social relief programmes such as food parcels and community nutrition centres continue to assist thousands of vulnerable families. Child grants currently support approximately 2 million children in the province. The total contribution of social grants in the province stands at R34.8 billion per annum.

Overall, the indicators being tracked and reported on confirm that there is a relationship between the extent of joblessness in the province and the socio-economic conditions of communities. However, the fact that 89.3% of learners in public schools rely on school nutrition is testament that government’s package of social interventions to address the pressing challenge of poverty, including social grants and school nutrition as a safety net for the poor and vulnerable, continues to reduce the impact of poverty.

The Provincial Government acknowledges that while significant challenges remain, efforts are underway to create a conducive environment for job creation while providing critical support to uplift key economic sectors such as the agricultural sector, oceans economy, manufacturing, tourism, and digital economy towards inclusive economic growth.

Enquiries:
Khuselwa Rantjie
Government Spokesperson
Cell: 081 028 8841
E-mail: khuselwa.rantjie@ecotp.gov.za

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