Abstract

ROSSOUW, Jannie. An estimate of the annual personal income and annual household income of Orania in 2021. Tydskr. geesteswet. [online]. 2023, vol.63, n.4, pp.903-920. ISSN 2224-7912.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2224-7912/2023/v63n4a8.

Orania is situated on the southern bank of the Orange River in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. The closest towns are Hopetown, 43 kilometres to the north-west, Vanderkloof, 49 kilometers to the south-east, and Petrusville, 51 kilometers to the south-east. Orania is about 160 kilometres south of Kimberley. A unique aspect of Orania is that all inhabitants speak Afrikaans and are of the white population group. All business activities, education, social interaction and religious activities are conducted exclusively in Afrikaans. It is therefore described as an Afrikaner cultural enclave. Research on various aspects of Orania has been undertaken and published, but none to date has estimated the level of total economic activity in the town. This article addresses this gap in extant literature by focusing on the annual personal income and the annual household income of Orania in 2021, as based on data collected for the most recent sosio-economic and business surveys that had been completed for the town in December 2021 and early in 2022, respectively. At the time of these surveys, Orania'spopulation comprised 2 377 people, of which 1 635 were 20 years and older, and thus regarded as receiving of some sort of income. Simultaneously, Orania comprised 649 households and 220 businesses. The survey results are very complete, reporting data for 712 individuals of 20 years and older (43,5 per cent of the universum), 572 households (88,1 per cent of the universum) and all 220 businesses in Orania. Survey results with such a high response rate are uncommon. The Orania Sakekamer [chamber of commerce] issues vouchers linked on a one-to-one basis to the South African rand, known as the ora. The latter is abbreviated as φ and circulated as the legal tender in the town, at a rate of φ 1,00 equals to R1,00. Given the preference among Orania's inhabitants to refer to amounts in ora, rather than in rand, this article reports the research findings in ora, rather than in rand. Based on an analysis of the survey data, the total personal annual income of Orania's residents in 2021 was estimated at some φ 300 million. Per capita personal annual income for the 2 377 inhabitants was therefore estimated at some φ 125 000. This is about 20 per cent larger than South Africa's gross domestic product per capita of R102 982 in 2021. These results seem plausible, as Orania does not have an unempoyment problem, while South Africa's unemployment rate in 2021 exceeded 30 per cent. In contrast, the annual household income of households in Orania in 2021 was estimated to be some φ 200 million. This is considerably lower than the estimate for personal annual income for the same period. The difference in estimates cannot be explained in terms of the existing survey data. It can only be ascribed to differences in the interpretations of the questionnaires at the time of collecting the data. The estimates of annual personal income and annual household income show some correlation with the survey data obtained from the Orania business survey. Turnover of business enterprises in the town in 2021 is estimated at φ281 950 000, and business owners reported that 51 per cent of their turnover was generated by residents of Orania. There are some survey discrepancies as evidenced by the data, and additional information is needed to improve the estimates. Information on household savings and personal income tax paid will help improve the validity of the estimates. Information on net payment of value added tax (VAT) will also cause enhancement of their validity. In addition, more information is necessary to calculate Orania's gross geographic product. The conclusion must nonetheless be drawn that the annual personal income and annual household income of Orania in 2021 amounted to between φ200 million and φ300 million. The estimate leaves a margin of 50 percent, which is statistically considerable, while it nonetheless provides a benchmark for future comparison in research on the same subject. Finally, the fact that Orania'spersonal and household income grew to this level from virtually nothing in 1991 must be given its due: it is impressive.

Keywords : Afrikaans; consumption expenditure; annual household income; annual personal income; ora (φ); Orania.

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