Stats SA conducted the October Household Survey (OHS) annually from 1994 to 1999, based on a probability sample of a large number of households ranging from 16 000 to 30 000 households each year (depending on availability of funding). This survey was discontinued in 1999 due to the reprioritisation of surveys in the face of financial constraints. February 2000 saw the birth of the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which is a biannual survey conducted by Stats SA in March and September of each year. The LFS covers some areas previously covered by the OHS, but not all, since it is a specialised survey principally designed to measure the dynamics in the labour market. The September LFS each year does include a section designed to measure social indicators such as access to infrastructure, but again this section does not go into as much depth as the OHS used to. A need was therefore identified by our users for a regular survey designed specifically to measure the level of development and the performance of government programmes and projects. The General Household Survey (GHS) was developed for this purpose. While the survey replaces the October Household Survey (OHS), the indicators measured in the 13 nodal areas identified for the Integrated Rural Development Strategy (IRSD) formed the basis for the subject matter of the survey. The first round of the GHS was conducted in July 2002 and the second round in July 2003.
