The National War on Poverty Campaign’s Western Cape endeavour was officially launched in Knysna yesterday when field workers began the task of gathering information from communities in three of Knysna’s poorest wards.

It’s War: Knysna community services committee chairman Nompumelelo Koti (left), national director-general of the War on Poverty campaign Masiphula Mbongwa, and Knysna community services director Charl Botha at the launch of the War of Poverty Campaign. (Picture: Katherine Wilkinson)

The information will be used to draft policies aimed at poverty alleviation.

In Knysna, 97 trained field workers drawn from the ranks of unemployed matriculants, armed with questionnaires compiled by Stats SA in conjunction with the Department of Social Services, began their task and hope to have the data by March.

A government study on nodal areas in 2008 showed that while rural poverty had been slowing and urban poverty rising since 2006, rural poverty was almost twice as severe as urban poverty.

President Jacob Zuma appointed Deputy President Kgamela Motlanthe as the political champion of the War on Poverty campaign, which is being rolled out nationally.

Part of the roll-out is profiling of households. The questionnaire will identify areas in which the most immediate assistance is needed.

Stats SA provided the relevant training to five supervisors who trained the field workers and 15 team leaders.

Areas covered by the questionnaires include levels of education, skills, employment, clubs or societies attended, health services needed, areas where small business assistance may be required, services such as foster care, substance abuse help and victim empowerment.

Another section details foods from the various food groups which have been consumed in given time-frames and whether the food was obtained through purchasing, bartering, own production, gathering, hunting, food aid or as a gift.

Knysna community services head Charl Botha said: “The aim is to provide information of the living conditions of households in selected wards. The secondary purpose is to assess government’s service delivery to these households.”

He said funding had been allocated mainly from the Independent Development Trust.

Knysna Mayor Eleanore Bouw- Spies said the council had been working hard to improve the lives of the poor.

In July, a regional Poverty Indaba was hosted by the provincial Social Development Department and Eden District Municipality. Statistics revealed that 87000 people collected R64-million in social grants every month, but this was still not having an impact on the poor.

Poverty indicators done in the Western Cape using the 2001 census and the 2007 community survey indicated that Eden was the poorest part of the Western Cape.

By Katherine Wilkinson

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