POVERTY REDUCTION SOUTH AFRICA

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POVERTY REDUCTION - SOUTH AFRICA

• BACKGROUND
• South Africa - a middle income developing
  country
  
• Joined community of Nations in 1994 - 8 years of
  democratic governance
  
• Enthusiastic Committed member of SADC AU

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POVERTY REDUCTION - SOUTH AFRICA

• Strong political commitment and will to fight
  poverty on part of Government
  
• We know this as a matter of fact that the
  struggle to eradicate Poverty and
  underdevelopment in our country is fundamental to
  the achievement of our own national goal to build
  a caring and people centred society". President
  Thabo Mbeki, February 2002-11-16

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POVERTY REDUCTION - SOUTH AFRICA

• THE POVERTY CHALLENGE IN SOUTH AFRICA
• The Poor on Poverty
• Alienation from the community
• Food Insecurity
• Crowded Homes

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POVERTY REDUCTION - SOUTH AFRICA

• THE POVERTY CHALLENGE IN SOUTH AFRICA
• Use of basic forms of energy
• Lack of adequate paid, secure jobs
• Fragmentation of the family

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POVERTY REDUCTION - SOUTH AFRICA

• SOME FIGURES
• 45 of the population (18 million people) live on
  less than 2 a day, as measured by the World
  Bank.
  
• 25 of African children are stunted.
• 10 of Africans are malnourished.
• 60 of the poor get no social security transfers

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POVERTY REDUCTION - SOUTH AFRICA

• INEQUALITY
• Skewed distribution of assets - grotesque
  inequality - Apartheid legacy
  

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POVERTY REDUCTION - SOUTH AFRICA

• GOVERNMENTS REPSPONSE TO THE POVERTY CHALLENGE
• Relief - social grants - R25 billion (2.5b)
• Poverty Relief Fund - Special Allocation - R1.5
  billion (153m)

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POVERTY REDUCTION - SOUTH AFRICA

• POVERTY RELIEF FUND
• Established 1997
• To assist departments in reorienting budgets to
  focus on delivery to the poor

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POVERTY REDUCTION - SOUTH AFRICA

• POVERTY RELIEF FUND
• Criteria for projects
• Relieve poverty in the poorest areas of
  provinces, particularly in rural areas
  
• Assist in human development and in building
  capacity
  
• Provide jobs and in doing so involve the
  community
  

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POVERTY REDUCTION - SOUTH AFRICA

• POVERTY RELIEF FUND
• Criteria for projects
• Provide for infrastructure in poor areas
• Have an impact on households in which single
  women are the main breadwinners
  
• Seek to make projects sustainable in the long
  term
  

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POVERTY REDUCTION - SOUTH AFRICA

• PROBLEMS - POVERTY RELIEF FUND
• Underspending
• Overlapping, duplication, moving outside core
  areas of expertise and lack of co - ordination.
  
• Long term spending implications and burdens on
  other levels of government as a result of
  projects.
  

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POVERTY REDUCTION - SOUTH AFRICA

• CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS
• Committed, enthusiastic and active officials at
  all levels as well as participants
  
• A critical mass of project management skills are
  present in the department or these have been
  brought in
  
• Departmental officials have the ability to manage
  the consultants
  

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POVERTY REDUCTION - SOUTH AFRICA

• CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS
• Good co-operation between national and
  provinces/local authorities
  
• Project proposals are submitted by communities
  themselves, reflecting their needs
  
• Good balance between experienced and emerging
  contractors
  

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POVERTY REDUCTION - SOUTH AFRICA

• CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS
• Projects chosen fall directly within the ambit of
  core departmental activities
  
• Communities have invested their own resources in
  the projects
  
• Experienced NGOs have handled delivery on the
  ground
  

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POVERTY REDUCTION - SOUTH AFRICA

• Integrated Sustainable Rural Development
  Strategy
  
• Purpose - improvement of living conditions of
  rural poor
  
• Aim - to create socially cohesive rural
  communities with viable institutions
  
• Co - ordinate and focus resources of Government,
  Private sector etc in rural SA