Overview: Findings from the GCRO's Quality of Life survey 7 (2023/24)
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Graeme Götz
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Fiona Els ,
Christian Hamann ,
Ebrahim-Khalil Hassen ,
Dr Samkelisiwe Khanyile ,
Gillian Maree ,
Shamsunisaa Miles-Timotheus ,
Sthembiso Pollen Mkhize ,
Thembani Mkhize ,
Dr Ngaka Mosiane ,
Dr Darlington Mushongera ,
Dr Mamokete Modiba ,
Yashena Naidoo ,
Dr Laven Naidoo ,
Dr Pedzisai Ndagurwa ,
Rashid Seedat ,
Dr Wendy Tsoriyo
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Date of publication: 12 October 2024
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From the end of August 2023 to mid-April 2024, the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) collected data for the seventh iteration of its Quality of Life (QoL) survey series. The final dataset is based on 13 795 respondents who were randomly sampled to be representative of both the province as a whole, and of the residents of each of Gauteng’s 529 wards. Thematic findings of the survey are presented in 13 GCRO Data Briefs (numbered 13-25). This Data Brief (12) provides an overview. It argues that households are experiencing the effects of the polycrisis, a term coined to refer to complex and interconnected crises and challenges in many different domains of life particularly following the pandemic. The impacts of the polycrisis are evident in findings on poverty, unreliable services, crime and violence, poor health, transport difficulties and extreme environmental events.
Since QoL III (2013/14), the GCRO has calculated a multi-dimensional index of wellbeing that combines 33 variables into one measure, known as the Quality of Life Index. In QoL 7 (2023/24), the index has fallen to its lowest level, suggesting that the wellbeing of many households has been compromised by the polycrisis. This Data Brief also summarises findings on the various actions that individuals take in order to get by, get ahead, make a plan and manage risks. It examines the way in which households earn money, make use of safety nets provided by the state, draw from mutual support, take on debt, make private arrangements in the face of service limitations, make use of public services, migrate, move home and participate in public health initiatives such as the COVID-19 vaccination programme. Households are also forming increasingly negative perceptions of the state, with contradictory effects on behavior. There is some evidence which suggests political disengagement. There is other evidence that highlights increasing engagement in participatory governance in the years after the pandemic.
The findings show how inequality creates differences in the way that households experience difficulties and it also creates differences in the ways in which households are able to cope with challenges.