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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

Statistics South Africa a, (2000 a), 2001 Census Mapping/Demarcation, Manual V1.1, Manual

detailing demarcation for census 2001.

Statistics South Africa, (2006 b), Geo-referenced Dwelling Frame Project: Detail tender

specifications for spatial referenced fieldwork verifications

Sultan. (200), Tribal Authority and Service Delivery in the Durban Unicity, Westville University

Press.