the dwelling frame project as a tool of achieving socially
TRANSCRIPT
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The Dwelling Frame project as a tool of
achieving socially-friendly Enumeration
Areas’ boundaries for Census 2011, South
Africa.
Mr. Bhekani KHUMALO
Statistics South Africa, South Africa
Abstract: The Dwelling Frame (DF) project is a project that was created in terms of Statistical Act
no.6 of 1999 which states that Statistics South Africa needs to have a national register of all
households within the country. Statistics South Africa as a body that embarks on censuses and other
household surveys have enumeration areas’ boundaries that crosses traditional boundaries (social
boundaries).Traditional boundaries are boundaries according to tribal authorities in tribal areas.
Statistics South Africa has declared that for census 2011 EA boundaries that are crossing social
boundaries are no longer needed. This paper seeks to explain the role that DF (project undertaken in
preparation for census 2011) is going to play in helping Statistics South Africa to achieve socially
friendly EA boundaries in tribal areas with Kwazulu-Natal’s tribal areas being used as an example.
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1. Introduction
Social boundaries are those boundaries that take into consideration the communal bonds that exist
among people living together. This paper examines the importance of respecting social boundaries
to ensure quality data collection for a census taking in South Africa, specifically in settlements
falling under traditional authorities such as those in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. In the province,
tribal areas are those regions which fall within the jurisdiction of a chief or Inkosi, and are
composed of a group of villages each administered by a headman or Izinduna.
The term socially-friendly boundaries in this paper is used to describe boundaries of Enumeration
Areas (EAs) for census taking, that respect and take into consideration accurate boundaries of tribal
authorities in such traditional settlements. This objective presents a unique challenge in the
province, as in such settlements homesteads are arranged in the form of dispersed patterns which
can make it difficult for an outside observer to recognize that the households belong to one place
defined as a village by a social boundary which is not easily discernable or tangible. Further to this,
some administrative boundaries do not always accurately represent what appears on the ground.
This paper outlines the role that the Dwelling Frame (DF) project (currently being undertaken by
Statistics South Africa in preparation for census 2011) will play in capturing accurate boundaries in
tribal areas. Boundaries create “territorial spaces in which we distributes power to people who
influence our lives…, construct regional identities and social togetherness” [Singarum, 2002:3].
According to the field experiences of this paper’s author, it is vital that social boundaries are
respected and the Dwelling Frame project represents a valuable initiative to ensure and maintaining
socially friendly Ea boundaries for Census 2011.
2. KwaZulu-Natal’s tribal areas
KwaZulu-Natal is one of the six provinces with major areas of land being under the jurisdiction of
tribal authorities. 40 % percent of Kwazulu-Natal can be classified as rural which is the home of 5
million people. The land belonging to different tribal authorities collectively forms Ingonyama
Trust land, which came into existence as a result of Ingonyama Trust Act 3 of 1994. The trust is
made up of representatives from provincial government, national house of traditional leaders and
His Majesty the King. In Kwazulu-Natal there are 227 chiefs or Amakhosi, 8 deputy chiefs and
10,000 headmen or Izinduna (Sultan, 200).
The tribal boundaries in the period before 17070s were determined through conquest; occupation or
negotiated occupation. In that period no surveyor’s map defined the extent of tribal land but was
due to allegiance of subjects to a particular chief. The land the chief had was defined by the number
of homesteads who paid tribute to him. That kind of land acquisition was changed by the
establishment of Native Administration Act of 1927. The act imposed the appointment of white
Supreme Chief who had powers to appoint Chiefs, Izinduna and regulate their roles and privileges
regulate land ownership in reserves through Department of Native Affairs, intervene in local
government and declare new boundaries. It is in this period that the current traditional boundaries
were established.
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When the democratic government came into being after the 1994 elections, new administrative
boundaries were created by the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB). The administrative bodies
created were 9 provinces with local and district municipalities. Local municipalities were created to
that ensure the delivery of services to the communities within their jurisdiction, and to promote
local economic development and poverty eradication.
During this process, traditional authorities were worried about the demarcation of their areas. The
board assured them that their land would not be divided between two different municipalities during
determination of boundaries. Although part of a promise between the MDB and tribal authorities it
was never a requirement for demarcating municipality [Sultan, 2000] as the MDB’s main task was
the creation of new bodies for service delivery. The tribal authorities perceived the creation of new
bodies in their areas as a way of diminishing their importance as actors of development to mere
objects under local municipalities. It is the opinion of this paper’s author, that traditional leaders in
most parts of the province were not adequately consulted for verification of boundaries during the
municipal demarcation exercise, resulting in administrative boundaries that do not always suits or
fit the ones that tribal authorities would have prescribed in their areas. Further to this, the process
created significant animosity and have resulted in mistrust and they have they are of the opinion that
their boundaries are not being recognized as valid ones.
The chiefs in rural areas are the most respected people. Boundaries are not just neutral lines, but
they have a certain meaning attached to them by those people who created them (Sultan, 2000). In
tribal areas, village boundaries mean that people residing within those boundaries group themselves
according them. A tribal boundary means that people inside those boundaries group themselves
according to that chief. The tribal boundaries are important to respect because by respecting is also
showing reference to the chief. These boundaries are important to recognize because having an area
that cuts across them creates the impression that one is encroaching another land, thus creating new
boundaries.
3. Background to the census 2001 geographical frame
In order to collect data for censuses, Statistics South Africa demarcates work areas, dividing the
country into small, manageable working units for purposes of collecting census data to determine
the workload to be assigned to one enumerator. Such areas are called Enumeration Areas (EAs) and
are the units for planning, executing and capturing of census data. This spatial set of EA boundaries
is updated before each census. The last census that was conducted by Statistics South Africa was in
2001. In the preceding census which was held in 1996, EAs were mainly manually demarcated
using 1:50 000 topographic paper and town-planning maps. In 2001, a different strategy was
adopted with the advent of digital datasets and introduction of Geographic Information System
(GIS), a computer based mapping tool. Using the GIS, different layers of information were overlaid
on aerial photographs, providing an overhead view. This technology provided several advantages,
but also had drawbacks as the use of these digital tools can never compensate for field visits to
physically verify boundaries, especially in areas with undocumented boundaries like those in tribal
areas [Statistics South Africa a, 2000].
3.1 The Geographical Frame used in 2001
The geographical frame shows the relationships between different levels of geography, and
provides geographical standards for collecting, analysing and presenting statistical information
[Butler,2002]. The geographical frame used for census 2001 (see figure 1), is composed of EAs,
where household information is collected. EAs can be aggregated to place-names (reference to a
place that consists of an area with a name), used for dissemination. All place-names exist within
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the legal or official administrative boundaries of the country, which are within the hierarchy. South
Africa is divided into nine provinces and within them there are district municipalities, each of which
consists of one or more local municipalities.
Figure 1: Geographical hierarchy census 2001 (source: Geography website)
3.2 Demarcation of census 2001 EAs
For census 2001, the division of the country into EAs was done according to certain rules. The
fundamental rule of demarcating an EA was that an EA should not cross an administrative or social
boundary [Statistics South Africa b, 2007]. Census mapping is important for execution, collection
and dissemination of census data and the process must ensure that EA polygons are contained
within a geographical frame i.e. when EAs are aggregated, they constitute the boundaries for higher
geographical areas like municipalities and provinces and EAs cannot cross such boundaries.
It was further intended to demarcate as near as possible to the 1996 EA, magisterial districts and
tribal authority boundary as possible. It was also a requirement for an EA to be categorized by type
and either fall under urban, farms or traditional areas and not to mix any land uses types.
3.3 Drawbacks to census 2001 EAs demarcated in tribal areas
As the process of demarcation of census 2001 EAs involved on-screen digitization of boundaries,
the process relied heavily on the accuracy of digital dataset available, specifically on up-to-date
aerial photography. Tribal authority boundary data was obtained from the department of traditional
and local affairs. The other source of data that supplied data for census 2001 was the Surveyor-
General in the form of cadastre. Administrative boundaries also supplied data in the from of local
and provincial boundaries. It is clear that data taken from MDB would have never enabled the
demarcation of socially friendly boundaries because in the first place no consultation was done with
tribal authorities.
The limitations of this were evident during field data capture, enumerators were assigned areas that
did not always respect social boundaries, or where boundaries were difficult to identify if they did
not follow recognizable features like roads, rivers, rail lines, etc. The tribal boundaries are important
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to respect as they are symbolizing the authority of the chief. The social boundaries if not respected
can create the impression that new ones are being imposed. The people in the ground can feel
threatened and their level of cooperation during the filling of questionnaires can be impacted upon.
This would result from Easy that are crossing social boundaries. The respect for social boundaries
would group them according to way they are used to according to tribal grouping.
3.3.1 Example of demarcation problems in a tribal area
Figure 2 shows an example of a 2001 EA, located in Thafamasi village under the jurisdiction of
chief Hlongwa. The dotted lines shows a portion of an EA whose boundary has been aligned to the
Maphumulo municipal boundary (shown in blue on the right), observing the demarcation rule that
an EA boundary should not cross a municipal boundary. From the aerial photo however it can be
seem that some homesteads from the village of Thafamasi are located in the neighbouring uMvoti
municipality, and that this village is divided across two municipalities. The municipal and the EA
boundary are therefore not aligned to the social boundary.
Figure 2: A 2001 EA showing Thafamasi village under KwaHlongwa Tribal Authority (Source:
Stats SA geography database).
The implications of the boundary as shown in Figure 2 relate to difficulty for enumerators to
determine the exact boundaries of their EAs and inaccurate dissemination of place name data as the
village straddles 2 municipalities.
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3.3.2 Problematic Enumeration Areas in tribal areas
Figure 3: A 2001 EA that straddles two tribal authorities (Source: Stats SA Geography Database)
The above shown EA is the example of an EA that does not take into consideration issues behind
social boundaries. The above EA belongs to Biyela Tribal Authority and Mzimela Tribal Authority.
The above EA was used by the labour force survey for listing purposes. Chief Mzimela when the
map was presented during publicity was not happy with the EA boundary. The reason behind chief
Mzimela’s unhappiness was that how come Stats SA has grouped together the land under his
jurisdiction with the one belonging to Biyela chief. The listing had to be stopped in order to address
the issue. The attempt that was made was to split the EA according to tribal authorities and number
it a and b in order show that it is separated. The attempt proved to be useless because chief Mzimela
refused listing to be done in the part falling under his jurisdiction. This is indicating the importance
of social boundaries in data collection. This is showing the impression that crossing boundaries
create in tribal areas.
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4. The Dwelling Frame (DF) project
The Statistics Act (Act of 6 of 1999) mandates Statistics South Africa to collect, produce and
disseminates official statistics. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to develop and maintain a
register of all households in the country. “Fundamental for the collection of accurate statistics is an
accurate sampling frame, which is complete and updated in order to be used confidently for surveys
and censuses”[Statistics South Africa b, 2007:20]. This statistical frame will help improve sampling
for household surveys and ensure quality coverage when conducting a census. Statistics South
Africa’s aim is to have an up-to-date database of every dwelling in the country.
A quality census starts with knowledge of the whereabouts of all dwellings in the country, which
enables every household to be visited, thus ensuring that every person in all parts of the country is
counted. The Dwelling Frame (DF) project was therefore initiated to capture the exact location and
characteristics of every dwelling unit in the country by capturing the lines of latitude and lines of
longitude through the use of Global Positioning System (GPS). The process of geo-referencing
dwellings will enable one to tell what exactly exists on the ground and will inform the process of
demarcation or delineation of Enumeration Areas (EAs) to assign workloads to enumerators, assist
in locating dwellings and managing fieldwork during enumeration, provide a register of dwellings
against which census data is collected, and can be used for matching and cross-checking processed
census records in the census post-enumeration survey [Statistics South Africa b, 2007].
Stats SA has embarked on a project to develop a national dwelling frame and register for the whole
of South Africa. “A geo-referenced dwelling frame is a complete, up-to-date database of all
dwellings and other structures in the country” [Statistics South Africa b, 2007:27]. The objectives of
the DF project are:
• to locate every dwelling spatially;
• to collect associated attribute information about each dwelling unit; and
• to continuously maintain such a frame.
4.1. The Geographical Frame used in 2001
Figure 4 shows the geographical frame to be used for census 2011, with the DF register of
dwellings forming the most basic unit of the hierarchy. The dwelling information will be used in the
demarcation of EAs and to inform correct placename boundaries. It is important to note that in
census 2001 the smallest working unit was the enumeration area, but for census 2011 the smallest
working unit will be dwelling frame which will provide a register of the spatial location of each
dwelling unit in the country.
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Figure 4: Geographical hierarchy to be used for census 2011 (source: Geography website)
3.2 The DF project in tribal areas
By capturing data directly on the ground will help overcoming the drawback of using out-dated
aerial photography and satellite imagery to locate dwellings and demarcate EAs. The project will
assign unique identifiers to each and every household in the country. Working according to villages
in tribal areas, field teams from Statistics South Africa are assigned a person who knows the village
to work with as their guide and supplied with an orthophoto map to determine the village boundary.
The utilization of local knowledge enables accurate recognition of the tribal boundary of a
particular village, and vital in rectifying mistakes for the place-name database. This project is also
important in showing the distribution of villages within local municipalities according to their
respective tribal authority location.
Using the information collected during the DF project will be used to determine the demarcation of
EAs whose extents will incorporate the socially-friendly boundaries - ensuring respect for
traditional boundaries and therefore the chiefs.
The assigning of unique physical identifiers on homesteads is another task of the dwelling frame
project. In that exercise a given village is assigned similar numbers with the firs two digits being the
same for the entire village. This would enable the enumerators to recognise the village boundary
during data collection in the case where there are no clear recognizable features that can be used as
census boundaries for enumeration purposes.
The most significant aspect of the DF is that it involves fieldwork, directly capturing data ensuring
a true reflection of what is actually on the ground. The DF project in tribal areas works according to
villages, and can ensure the correct information regarding village boundaries of each tribal
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authority. This includes not only identifying the social boundaries adequately, but ensuring correct
spelling of village names.
The visiting of every dwelling unit to collect attribute data is also important for ensuring the
demarcation of workable EAs with manageable workload for enumerators, and help improve
quality data collection. As each tribal authority is visited, contacts and relationships are established
between Statistics South Africa fieldwork teams and gatekeepers in tribal areas, helping raise
awareness of the upcoming census and build relationships which will assist the data collection
process. The DF project will also assist enumerators to identify the extent of EA boundaries and
avoid missing or duplication of households.
5. Challenges for DF project in tribal areas.
Fieldwork in tribal area is sometimes confronted by certain challenges. In some instances the major
concern is to ensure the tribal authorities believe that their land will not be taken away from them.
The perception of land dispossession arises when fieldworkers enter their areas requesting
assistance in defining village boundaries, the chief or Inkosi usually concludes that one has come to
look how big their land is. It was further observed during consultations that boundary is a very
sensitive issue among tribal authorities. They regard it as continuation of demarcation that would
further divide their land as has happened during municipal demarcation. It is a further challenge to
make the communities accepts, that numbering is for their benefit and no harm will arise from it.
The people on the ground sometimes give incorrect information regarding boundaries of a village,
but this easy to rectify because of the presence of local authority or someone sent by the Chief.
A significant challenge with rural Tribal Areas in Kwazulu-Natal is the issue of hilly terrain that is
impenetrable by cars during field exercises. This results in long distances being walked in order to
collect the required data. This at the end has an impact on the pace of collecting data.
Another challenge is weather. When it is raining it becomes difficult for field operations to take
place. The reason is that orthophoto maps can not be held by hand when it is raining and the other
form for collecting attribute data can easily get destroyed by rain.
6. Conclusion
The development of the dwelling frame will form an integral part of the statistical infrastructure for
our country to supplement and refine the spatial frameworks that are already used for gathering and
disseminating statistical information. The information collected will support an accurate
demarcation process for census 2011 in tribal areas, and ensure demarcation of EAs which will
respect social boundaries.
This is because of dwelling frame’s consultative nature and utilisation of local knowledge in
determining social boundaries. It is also important to note that the information regarding the split of
Thafamasi village into two local municipalities was obtained during dwelling frame field exercise
from the local person from the area. The DF project will enable Statistics South Africa to identify
areas where administrative, local municipality, district municipality and provincial boundaries cross
villages and enable Statistics South Africa to demarcate Enumeration Areas that suits its needs and
requirements. This will prevent problems that were experienced in the past. In tribal areas where the
service of Izinduna is being utilized correct traditional boundaries will be obtained. Dwelling frame
will achieve socially friendly boundaries because all the work that is done there is working
according to tribal boundaries. It is clear with the above mentioned data sources that none of them is
going down to tribal authorities to find the exact tribal boundaries. Dwelling frame is the only tool
that can achieve social friendly boundaries for census 2011. This is because it’s basic working units
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i.e. villages are guided by social boundaries. Its fieldwork nature is more accommodative of local
knowledge.
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7.References
Biyela, D. (2000), Grassroots Governance? : Chiefs in Africa and the Afro-Caribbean.
Butler, M. (2002) Traditional Authorities: Know Where to Land Traditional Authority and Land in
Kwazulu-Natal, Research done for Association for rural advancement.
Helena ,M. Sewnath,R. (2001);The South African census 2001 Spatial Information System Data
Capture Problems, presentation in spatial information on sustainable development conference in
Nairobi
Singurum, R. (2002), Re-Demarcation in South Africa: A Rural Perspective- A case study of the
Ntuli Tribal Authority in Kwazulu-Natal, Natal, a Thesis published by Natal University Press
Statistics South Africa (2007 d), Geo-referenced Dwelling Frame Project: Process Flow and
Methodologies, a Paper detailing how dwelling frame will work, Stats SA
Statistics South Africa, (2007c), Census 2011 EA Demarcation and Maintenance strategy and
Methodology, a paper detailing EA demarcation, Stats SA
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Statistics South Africa, (2006 b), Geo-referenced Dwelling Frame Project: Detail tender
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