At SAPREF it is our dream to be seen by surrounding communities as a good neighbour. We know we have a long way to go to achieve this and as part of our improvement effort we recently sponsored a household survey in eight of our neighbouring communities. This brief gives an overview of the results of the survey. The full survey data is available by clicking here.

The survey questionnaire was designed together with some local community organizations, and was aimed at finding out residents' feelings about the communities where they live, as well as their perceptions of the impact of industries in general and SAPREF in particular. The survey also sought to identify the skills and capacities of residents with a view to possibly developing future opportunities between the community and the refinery's services needs.

PARTICIPATION: The survey was carried out in December 2003 by members of four local community groups in eight neighbouring communities (Austerville, Wentworth, Merebank, Treasure Beach, Fynnland, Ocean View, Isipingo and Athlone Park), and received a high degree of participation from residents. A total of 2247 respondents gave their opinions, priorities and concerns 'in their own words'. The breakdown of respondents from the different communities was as follows:

Athlone Park	180
Austerville	523
Fynnland	081
Isipingo	554
Merebank	471
Ocean View	185
Treasure Beach	102
Wentworth	143
No Answer	008

WHO RESPONDED TO THE SURVEY? Most of the residents who answered the survey (53%) were families with children and were also long-time residents of the community. More than a third (36%) of those who responded had lived in their communities for more than 21 years, and 34% had been residents of the same for 11 to 20 years. In terms of education, most (34%) had a Standard Ten level, followed by those who had Standard Eight (21%). The largest proportion of those surveyed (28%) had an annual income of R20 000 or less, followed by those whose annual income ranged from R20 000 to R60 000 who made up 23% of those surveyed.

ATTACHMENT TO THE COMMUNITY: Significantly, the survey results showed a high degree of attachment on the part of residents to the communities where they live (52% said they would buy a house in the same community if they had that opportunity). Only 22% said they would like to buy a house outside of South Durban altogether, largely because of crime concerns followed by worries about the 'Concentration of Industries'. Residents identified 'Friends and Family' and 'Sense of Community' as the top two reasons for living where they do. They were, however, uncertain about whether their communities were changing for the better or for the worse. An almost equal proportion thought the community was getting better (32%) as those who thought it was getting worse (36%), and those who did not see any change (30%).

IMPACT OF INDUSTRY: Residents identified 'Noise and Odour from Industries' as their number one 'dislike'. However, that issue was closely followed by concerns about 'Crime' and 'Lack of Employment Opportunities'. Almost three quarters (73%) of those surveyed said the impact of industries on the community was 'Bad', compared to 27% who thought of industry's impact on the community as 'Good". Pollution was the primary reason for residents to think negatively of the impact of industry, followed by issues of 'Noise and Odour', whereas 'Providing Employment' and running "Programs that Benefit Communities' were the chief reasons for those who thought positively about the impact of industry.


RELATIONSHIP WITH SAPREF: More residents thought SAPREF was a 'Good Neighbour' to the community than those who did not (49% vs 37%). The overwhelming majority (84%), however, were unaware of the community activities undertaken by SAPREF. 86% of the survey population had not contacted SAPREF about any particular issues. Residents also urged SAPREF to pay additional attention to issues of 'Reducing Flaring and Noise' and 'Gaining Community Trust'.

More importantly a decided majority (58%) expected the community's relationship with SAPREF in the future to get better, and only 3% of the respondents thought the relationship was likely to get worse.


COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PRORITIES: The survey showed that residents have a clear sense of priority issues in the communities where they live. The need for 'Additional Employment Opportunities' was the number one issue in all the communities surveyed, followed by issues of 'Healthcare', 'Crime' and issues related to young people
(youth programs, educational materials.).

Employment was a particularly pressing issue in the surveyed communities. 14% of the respondents were unemployed, and 37% were looking for work. Residents also expressed a certain degree of skepticism about training programs, and identified the main obstacle to employment as 'Lack of Jobs'.

SKILLS & CAPACITIES OF RESIDENTS: The three major categories where residents described themselves as skilled at were: