NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS

SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION

2

DRAFT DISCUSSION DOCUMENT
ON SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION:

TOWARDS THE 4TH NATIONAL
GENERAL COUNCIL (NGC)
1. INTRODUCTION
As a liberation movement and political party, the
strategic stance of the African National Congress (ANC)
has historically been anchored on the needs of South
Africa’s poor and vulnerable people.    
As a political party in charge of government, the 53rd
Conference of the ANC reaffirmed the visions of A. B.
Xuma, Albert Luthuli and OR Tambo of a democratic
government imbued with the values of solidarity as it
sought to advance the goal of the ANC as articulated
in the Strategy and Tactics of 2007 which states that,
“our strategies for social transformation must seek
to empower people to lift themselves out of poverty
while creating adequate social nets to protect the
most vulnerable in our society.”
Under the theme “Unity in action towards socioeconomic freedom,” the 53rd National Conference at
Mangaung reaffirmed our commitment to the vision
of the Freedom Charter to build a National Democratic
Society wherein, “South Africa Belongs to all who live in
it Black and White…that only a democratic state, based
on the will of the people can secure to all their birth right
without distinction or colour, race, sex or belief ” .
The conference noted that,
we are conscious that these rights will be meaningless
without the fundamental transformation of the economy
to serve the interests of the people and far-reaching
transformation in the areas of land distribution, housing,
education, health, water and sanitation and social
security.
In responding to these challenges, it observed that,

we are boldly entering the second phase of the transition
from apartheid colonialism to a national democratic
society. This phase will be characterised by decisive action
to effect economic transformation and democratic
consolidation, critical both to improve the quality of life
of all South Africans and to promote nation-building and
social cohesion.
Noting that the structural legacy of social and
economic inequality transferred apartheid ownership
and settlement patterns to a market that continues
to favour a minority and is biased toward capital,
the Conference included resolutions towards bold
state interventions in the acceleration of decent job
creation and sustainable livelihoods as well as land
and agricultural reforms.
The 2014 Manifesto of the ANC therefore reflects on
progress it has made in line with its goals of building a
more equal society and what we need to do over the
next 5 years to give life to our historical goals of a socially
and economically inclusive South Africa.   Guided by
sections of the National Development Plan (NDP)
2030, the ANC Manifesto calls for the implementation
of a broad and inclusive social protection system as we
seek to alleviate poverty and eradicate inequality.
The NDP recognises that the democratic government
has achieved significant milestones over its two
decades of administration, which include the
implementation of a comprehensive social protection
system and the establishment of minimum standards
linked to a social wage and the elimination of racial
inequities. However, challenges remain. Because the
long-range mission of our movement demonstrates a

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 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
continuum of historical inequalities since 1994, there
are specific priorities in the period since the 53rd
Conference that require more direct engagement with
the strategic challenges ranged before us.
Specifically, current fiscal constraints and downward
adjustments to the growth rate mean going beyond
reliance on the State to relieve poverty and address
inequality and economic exclusion through social
grants and social services. It also means introducing
more sustainable measures to radically transform
systems of production and ownership so as to
create employment opportunities on a large scale
and increase the economic power of the poor and
vulnerable.
This discussion document will therefore outline the key
elements of the social protection system introduced or
expanded since the advent of democracy and discuss
the areas that need to be taken forward over the next
30 years to build an inclusive society.   We recognise
that these efforts cannot bear fruit if carried out by
government and the ANC alone. Based on this reality,
we therefore commit ourselves to building strong
partnerships with community organisations and social
movements, trade unions, religious bodies, business
organisations, women and youth structures as well as
other organisations to ensure that, in actual practice,
South Africans – black and white – act as their own
liberators.
The aim of this discussion document is to review
progress towards the implementation of policy
decisions taken at the 53rd National Conference
in 2012. As such, the analysis here helps crystallise
ANC policy resolutions on social transformation and
provides a platform for more in-depth engagement
with the challenges and opportunities facing our
movement aimed at ensuring that we move with
speed in implementing our agenda for radical social
and economic transformation. The specific goals over
the next 5 years will be clearly outlined as part of a
proposed programme of action for the next term of
government.
Part 1 of this discussion document provides an
overview of the Policy Context of Resolutions taken at
the 53rd National Conference as we seek to implement
our programme of radical social and economic
transformation. The economic and social context
helps us understand the balance of forces in society, as
well as potential obstacles and opportunities towards
implementing our agenda of radical social and

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economic transformation. Part 2 reflects on progress
since the 53rd National Conference in 2012 towards
the implementation of resolutions and the context in
which we seek to build a national democratic society.

PART 1:
POLICY CONTEXT OF THE 4TH NGC
The foundation of our movement’s programmes and
policy interventions is ANC Conference Resolutions,
which are generally guided by the ANC’s Strategy
and Tactics, along with the ANC Constitution and the
Freedom Charter, and derive from the overriding
national imperative of transforming the economy and
eradicating racial inequality and poverty. The ANC
Constitution sets out the mission and character of the
ANC, how the organisation functions, how we relate
to each other, the rights and duties of members, how
decisions are taken, and how structures at all levels
should work. The Freedom Charter is our vision for the
society we seek to build from which our goals and all
other policies and actions derive.
The ultimate goal of our movement is articulated
in Strategy and Tactics as “the creation of a united,
democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous
South Africa.”  Our tasks are elaborated as eliminating
the three interrelated contradictions and legacies
of “(a) national oppression based on race; (b) superexploitation of black workers; and (c) the triple
oppression of women based on their race, class and
gender.”
To give effect to our goal of social and economic
transformation, resolutions taken at the 53rd National
Conference of the ANC refer to our strategy and tactics
– our programmes and means (in response to the
balance of forces) – by which we pursue our vision and
goals over time.
To successfully pursue our vision and goals between
conferences, the NGC assesses progress made in, and
recommends actions towards overcoming obstacles to,
implementing resolutions of the National Conference.
The 4th National General Council is held nearly two
years after the 53rd National Conference at Mangaung
in December 2012. During this period, a number of
critical developments have posed challenges to the
implementation of our policies as part of our ongoing
assessment of the balance of forces and the domestic
and global conditions in which we carry out the
programme set out in Strategy and Tactics.

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
This discussion on the balance of forces is ongoing,
raising issues and posing questions, with a view
to provide a backdrop to the reviews we will be
conducting at the NGC. What follows is an overview of
the context in which our policies and programmes are
framed, followed by progress made in implementing
resolutions taken at Mangaung.

2. ANC STRATEGY AND TACTICS
Drawing on strategy and tactics adopted at the 52nd
National Conference in Polokwane (2007), which
recognised that we were already emerging out of
the 1st phase of transition, Strategy and Tactics 2012
noted that although we are still in a transition, the task
is no longer simply to consolidate and expand the
hold of the democratic forces on levers of state power,
but to decisively tackle the task of building a National
Democratic Society.
Consistent with this challenge, Strategy and Tactics
confirmed the strategic approach of the 52nd
National Conference as encapsulating the transition
to a National Democratic Society and re-affirmed
the centrality of the Freedom Charter as our lodestar.
Consistent with this characterisation of the present
phase, the document noted that the socio-economic
character of the National Democratic Society is based
on the resolution of historical injustices and building a
democracy with social content, which includes:
■ 

“A political and socioeconomic system which places
the needs of the poor and social issues such as
health care, education, basic services and a social
security floor at the top of the national agenda;

■ 

Accelerated growth and development in a mixed
economy which includes state and private capital
as well as co-operative, worker-based, community
and other forms of social ownership of the means of
production;

■ 

An active developmental and leadership role of
the state in the economy and the pursuit of full
employment;

■ 

A democratic developmental state that leads
accelerated and sustainable change through
interactive, intensive and sustainable transformation
of the structural causes of economic exclusion and
social underdevelopment, including the spatial
imbalances inherited from the apartheid era;

■ 

The quest for equality and protection of the human
dignity of all;

■ 

Sustainable utilisation of natural endowments and
the protection and regeneration of the environment
as an inheritance of current and future generations;
and

■ 

Strong partnership with the trade union movement
and other mass and sectoral formations.”

In a nutshell, engagement with these challenges
relates to the overriding challenge of overcoming the
economic and social status of the majority of poor,
mainly black citizens and their differential inclusion
in the post-liberation order in which the deeper
structural features of race-based inequality have as yet
not been completely dismantled.

3.  THE 2ND PHASE OF THE TRANSITION
TOWARDS RADICAL ECONOMIC
TRANSFORMATION
The outcomes of the 53rd National Conference were
therefore informed by the fact that this phase of the
transition requires that we embark on a programme
of radical social and economic transformation, which
includes the promotion of social cohesion as the main
focus of poverty alleviation interventions.
This decision was based on the fact that priorities
from the ANC’s 2009 election manifesto still remained,
including creating decent work and sustainable
livelihoods, education, health, rural development, food
security and land reform, as well as the fight against
crime and corruption. Whilst we noted that over the
past eighteen years we have made significant progress
in fighting poverty and building a national democratic
society, much more is required to radically transform
the economy, education, health, delivery of social
services and build a socially inclusive South African
society.
The interventions required to speed up change,
especially with regard to economic and social
transformation, can be understood as marking
a second phase of the transition to a National
Democratic Society characterised by a concerted drive
to effect thorough-going economic transformation to
eradicate poverty and to reduce inequality.  As noted
in Strategy and Tactics, “The primary focus in this regard
should be higher rates of economic growth and social
inclusion, reflected primarily in massive job creation skills
development, the provision of quality public goods and
services and the expansion of small, medium enterprises

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 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
and cooperatives. This requires deliberate efforts, among
others, to build infrastructure, diversify the industrial base,
expand employment opportunities, to develop a national
system of innovation to grow our knowledge-based
sectors, intensify programmes to ensure environmental
sustainability, develop human resources, and implement
urgent programmes to eliminate youth and women
marginalisation.”

Hence the NDP specifically requires interventions
towards policy instruments and agreements on
moving to the next phase (ending 2017) of the new
growth path, and proposes a system-wide roadmap
for the prioritization of actions that lift key constraints
to economic expansion, including a monitoring
framework and indicators to evaluate development
progress in future.

The policy resolution on the 2nd phase of the transition
also notes that programmes to extend access to land
as an asset and resource for economic activity and
sustainable livelihoods, and basic services such as
education, health, water, electricity, sanitation and
housing should be intensified. While universal access
should receive urgent attention, emphasis in this
phase should also be placed on the quality of these
services. Social grants should reach all who are eligible;
and decisive measures should be taken to provide
sustainable livelihoods.

Consistent with this strategic and programmatic
focus, the 53rd National Conference agreed that in
order to realize the strategic goals of the NDP, the
ANC must continue to mobilize society behind the
vision of building a national democratic society by
strengthening the alignment between economic
growth, development and nation building, generating
a virtuous circle.

4.  THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN:
VISION 2030

5. OUR 2014 MANIFESTO PRIORITIES
Under the theme “Together we move South Africa
forward,” the ANC’s 2014 Election Manifesto enjoins
us to undertake the following priority interventions
over the next five years:

At a macro-economic policy level, the 53rd National
Conference embraced Vision 2030 and the NDP “as
a critical basis for united action by all South Africans to
build a truly united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and
prosperous society,” noting that “in many respects, the
National Development Plan accords with the objectives
of the ANC and its own elaboration of the second phase
of the transition to a National Democratic Society.”

■  “Establish capacity in the state to do long-term
planning, drawing where necessary on expertise
that exists in wider society.

In broad terms,the  NDP emphasizes five key dimensions
of a more holistic approach to a developmental policy
framework, namely (1) inclusive social and economic
development; (2) sustainable investment and growth;
(3) decent jobs and sustainable livelihoods; (4) a
capable state; and (5) expanding opportunities.

■  Accelerate the roll-out of the massive economic
and social infrastructure programme –
especially in energy, transport, ICT and water
– to unlock economic opportunities, create jobs
and improve people’s quality of life.

Designed as a set of broad programmatic interventions,
the plan is a roadmap to build a socially cohesive
society. It states that, “South Africa needs to reduce
poverty and inequality by broadening opportunity and
employment through economic inclusion, education
and skills, and specific redress measures; promote mutual
respect and inclusiveness by acting on the constitutional
imperative that South Africa belongs to all who live in
it, and that all are equal before the law; and deepen the
appreciation of citizens’ responsibilities and obligations
towards one another.”

20

■ 

■ 

Promote local procurement by directing the
state to progressively buy at least 75% of its
goods and services from South African producers
and support small enterprises, co-operatives
and broad-based empowerment.

Empower, educate and create jobs for youth
through job placement and internship schemes,
allocating 60% of employment in infrastructure
and other projects for youth, and promoting
youth employment and training incentive
schemes.

■  Promote investment and access to credit in the
productive economy from the financial sector,
including development finance institutions,
through bolder and far-reaching reforms.
■  Consolidate the public works programme,
creating six million work opportunities by 2019.

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
Many of which will be of long duration
■  Investigate the modality for the introduction
of a national minimum wage as one of the key
mechanisms to reduce income inequality.
■ 

Enforce measures to eliminate abusive work
practices in atypical work and labour broking.

■  Promote decent work and strengthen measures
to speed up employment equity.
■  Implement rural development focusing on
meeting basic needs, land reform and rural
enterprise development, supported by localised
markets, credit facilities and economic
infrastructure.
■  Increase investment in agricultural infrastructure
in support of small-holder farmer development,
prioritising former homeland communal areas.
■  Expand the Food for All programme as part of the
national integrated food and nutrition policy for
procuring and distributing affordable essential
foodstuffs directly to poor communities.
■  Accelerate the settlement of remaining land
claims submitted before the cut-off date of 1998,
and re-open the period for lodgement of claims
for restitution of land for a period of five years,
starting in 2014.
■  Provide one million housing opportunities
for qualifying households in urban and rural
settlements over the next five years.
■  Accelerate provision of basic services
and infrastructure in all existing informal
settlements.
■ 

Increase the supply of affordable housing
through mobilisation of housing allowances for
teachers, nurses, police officers, office workers
and many others in the gap market.

■  Connect an additional 1.6 million homes to the
electricity grid over the next five years.
■  Continue work to achieve universal access to
running water and decent sanitation.”

6.   CHANGES IN THE BALANCE OF FORCES
SINCE MANGAUNG
In the years since the 53rd National Conference in 2012,
a number of events and developments have occurred,
which impacted on our people and our movement

and have shaped the national debate about the state
of the nation. The inauguration of the 2nd phase of the
transition towards radical economic transformation
coincides with tough economic challenges that have
not only constrained funds available for the delivery
of tangible results to our people but demonstrated
the need for radical innovations in the design and
implementation of policies and programmes. These
include:
■  The contested fifth non-racial general elections
in 2014 and the coming to power of the fifth ANC
government.
■  The economic impact of rising interest rates, an
increasingly volatile rand, a downward revision
of the growth rate, a double deficit in terms
of the current account and budget deficit, the
downgrading of the country’s credit rating on the
capacity of the state to meet its developmental
mandate.
■  Service delivery protests that started but a few
months after the general elections in 2008 and
continued in various forms since then.
■  The challenges of aligning programmes around
the policy of radical economic transformation and
our Manifesto priorities.
The problem is that business as usual funding
models and programmes do not yet come close to
compensating for the steep slide in revenue. In light of
this, the impact on efforts to implement our election
priorities is bound to be challenging. There will almost
certainly be less funding available as budgets are
revised downwards. Furthermore, declining household
budgets will likely have a negative effect across all
sectors as consumer spending tightens.
With growing structural inequality a major policy
challenge, critical importance therefore attaches to
the desire to match resources with opportunities for
the poor and vulnerable by aligning programmes
with outcomes envisaged in the NDP, the Medium
Term Strategy Framework (MTSF), and more recently
government’s programme of radical economic
transformation.
As the NDP recognises.
Uniting South Africa is both an essential input into the
process of reducing poverty and inequality and a direct
outcome of successful poverty reduction. To build a
socially cohesive society, South Africa needs to reduce
poverty and inequality by broadening opportunity and

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 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
employment through economic inclusion, education
and skills, and specific redress measures; promote mutual
respect and inclusiveness by acting on the constitutional
imperative that South Africa belongs to all who live in
it, and that all are equal before the law; and deepen the
appreciation of citizens’ responsibilities and obligations
towards one another.

PART 2:
SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION SINCE 2012
– PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES
Our task for social transformation is about advancing
the goal of the ANC, as articulated in Strategy and
Tactics of 2007, which states that, “our strategies for
social transformation must seek to empower people to
lift themselves out of poverty while creating adequate
social nets to protect the most vulnerable in our society.”
Although faced with difficulties, the process of aligning
policy to our goals has been managed well, and the
5th administration hit the ground running. In just over
a year since assuming office, the reconfiguration of
national and provincial government is near complete.
These include the consolidation of coordination and
planning capacity in the form of the Cluster system
and the Planning Framework and Commission, as
well as the capacity and framework for managing
performance across government.
The ANC 2014 manifesto priorities – education and
health; safety, security and the fight against corruption;
decent work and a growing economy; and rural and
agricultural development – are also central to the
macro-organisation of government, the budget and
to the communication of government. These priorities
speak to what a developmental state should be about
– that is, capable of delivering effective basic services
and leveraging national development. The extent to
which we are able to deliver on our election mandate
is therefore part of the litmus test for progress in
building a national democratic society.
What follows is a comprehensive assessment of our
achievements and challenges since the 53rd National
Conference.

7.   ON SOCIAL COHESION AND NATIONBUILDING
In preparation for the 53rd National Conference of the
ANC, we did an analysis of progress towards building a

22

national democratic society.  Our observation was that
we are still largely characterized by racial and ethnic
divisions which have systematically excluded the
majority of South Africans from full and unhindered
participation in all aspects of national life, and have
left deep and persistent social, cultural and economic
divisions and inequalities in society. This is despite the
fact that South Africa is a unitary and sovereign state
based on democracy, the rule of law, the pursuit of
equal human rights, non-racialism, non-sexism and the
equality of all persons, as articulated in our constitution
which defines the kind of society we seek to create.
We noted that despite the above, significant strides
have been made in building a socially inclusive society
over the past twenty years of Freedom and Democracy.
This is evident, for example, in the building of human
settlements of integrated communities.
Our immediate task going forward is to continue to
build the ANC as the embodiment of our society by
mobilizing society in its entirety to work together to
build a caring nation proud of its heritage, based on
shared values and a vision informed by the following
principles:
■  Constitutional democracy;
■  Ubuntu
■  Human rights and equality
■  Non-racialism, non-tribalism and non-sexism
■  Inclusivity and social justice
■  Redress and transformation
■  Intercultural and community cooperation
■  Social solidarity
■  Empowered, fair, inclusive and active citizenship
■  Civic responsibility
■  Unity in diversity
■  National consciousness and identity.
This will include working towards the implementation
of the recommendations of the National Development
Plan, Vision 2030 as our blueprint for reducing
unemployment and inequality and eliminating poverty.
We have already noted that the inauguration of the
2nd phase of the transition towards radical economic
transformation coincides with tough economic
constraints on funds available for the delivery of
tangible results to our people but demonstrates
the need for radical innovations in the design and

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
implementation of policies and programmes. Central
to this task is developing radical programmes that are
inclusive;addressing economic and social development;
delivering social development programmes; delivering
quality education and healthcare; embarking on a
radical human settlement programme; embarking on
an inclusive land and rural development programme;
building safer communities; responding to challenges
of immigration; strengthening and promoting arts,
culture, all official languages, heritage development
and preservation including the promotion and
preservation of progressive indigenous cultures and
knowledge systems that are not in conflict with the
constitution; and enhancing technological innovation,
research and development.
Given these challenges the question for discussion
going forward is what more do we need to do to
promote the Charter of Positive Values adopted by
the Moral Regeneration Movement in 2008?
What more should we do to continue to fight all
forms of discrimination, which are threats to social
cohesion and nation building?

8.   ON REDUCING INEQUALITY AND
ELIMINATING POVERTY
As indicated above our aim is to eliminate poverty
and inequality. Whilst in over the past twenty years
of Freedom and Democracy, significant strides have
been made in building a socially inclusive society,
made progress in reducing poverty, closing the gap
between the poor and the rich. However, despite this
progress in fighting and reducing poverty, inequality
and unemployment, we still face challenges of race,
gender and slow economic growth which results in
many excluded from the economy.  
Hence in order to respond to the above challenges,
we will have to strengthen our resolve of the
implementation of the National Development Plan,
Vision 2030 and this will include the development of
a comprehensive anti-poverty strategy that will help
eliminate poverty and reduce inequality in society.
In response to challenges of the social wage, at the
2007 ANC 52nd National Conference we took a
decision to equalize the pensionable age for the older
persons. This has assisted in responding to some of the
immediate challenges when it comes to ensuring that
man especially those that need to be assisted by the
state are able to contribute towards the development

and growth of families. Thus far and in particular since
Polokwane we have completed the Consolidated
Government Document; that sets targets, coverage
of social assistance and social insurance. We have also
been able to target more than 15 million people in
this country benefit from social grants which allows
the care-givers of children, the aged and those with
disabilities to fulfill their basic needs and sustain their
households. Hence, more than 94 % of our people have
access to water, 84% have access to sanitation, 81 %
of our people have electricity 71% of South Africans
have refuse removed from their homes and that we
have supplied more than 3 million of households with
formal dwellings.
In response to the challenges of poverty, inequality
and unemployment, since 2007, we have developed
a framework Comprehensive Social Security strategy,
which includes   the following key elements; the
expansion of the assets base of the poor through
housing, small business and land reform programs.
This strategy is back on the agenda of NEDLAC and will
be debated and finalized by Social Partners.
We have increased the capacity of the state to
ensure the acceleration of the implementation of the
comprehensive social security strategy; to ensure the
provision of free basic services for the poor, quality free
education for poor households, passenger transport
subsidies; we increase access to social grants to children
and older persons as outlined in the Consolidated
Government Document on Comprehensive Social
Security.
In an attempt to answer the key question of what
else should be done in the medium to long-term
to decisively reduce poverty, unemployment and
inequality, we make the proposals below.  
■  We need greater coordination of all anti-poverty
interventions especially those with the greatest
potential of creating jobs, transferring skills,
building and maintaining community facilities,
creating sustainable livelihoods including selfemployment and small businesses, reducing food
in securing as well as transferring incomes. Greater
coordination, especially by the Presidency, should
ensure monitoring and oversight, quality control
and shape a systematic way of communicating
the impact of the ANC’s anti-poverty policies.  
■  In this connection, short-term strategies for
employment creation should be mainstreamed
into a range of programmes across government.

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 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
The role of the Inter Ministerial Committee
(IMC), chaired by the Deputy President, is not to
duplicate or substitute for existing mechanisms
of oversight and accountability across the
spectrum of such strategies, but rather, to focus
its energy and political authority on where IMClevel intervention is most able to add value and
innovate, trouble-shoot, eliminate bottlenecks to
implementation and mediate inter-governmental
disputes.

opportunities, those ‘closest’ to such opportunities
– spatially and in terms of their profiles, skills and
experience – will be absorbed first. Enhanced
coordination should have a dual focus on shortterm employment creation as well as on addressing
poverty. This means the leadership should pay
particular attention to strategies that enable the
inclusion of the poor, who are otherwise likely to be
excluded from mainstream programmes because
of poor social capital.

■  Enabling rapid scaling up of programmes. There
is an urgency to create jobs. But rapid scaling up
introduces higher programme risks. It requires
rapid expansion in governance, delivery systems
and capacity and often also in payment systems.
All of these can require qualitative changes
in institutional arrangements and in existing
procedures. This certainly heightens the risks; but
a narrow focus on the risks of scaling up can result
in understating the societal risks of failing to do
so. The IMC’s role is to provide strategic oversight
intended to manage and minimize the risks –
without shirking the need to them.

■  Innovation has to inform our poverty interventions
going forward. While enhancing the quality of
existing programmes, we should continuously
innovate and identify new avenues and sectors to
expand opportunities. For example. South Africa
faces such challenges as mine dumps which
are hazardous to our communities. Short term
jobs can be created by working with the mining
sector, bring in cadets who can assist with land
rehabilitation. The mining sector will have to cover
most of the costs of this work whilst government,
through EPWP instruments, can cater for training
and other related elements of such a programme.

■  Coordinating multiple stakeholders is needed
to fast-track implementation. Programmes that
involve multiple governmental stakeholders face
particular difficulties in implementation. Intergovernmental co-ordination is difficult, because
of the way mandates, accountability and fiduciary
responsibilities are structured in government.
This is a crucial context in which the IMC is able
to provide strategic oversight, secure high-level
agreements and unblock institutional roadblocks
that may exist on the path to implementation.
■  Building accords has become more necessary
in order to expand buy-in and support for our
programmes. The focus on multiple stakeholders
is not, however, only within government. The IMC
should also focus on building partnerships outside
of government where these enhance job creation
prospects – especially with labour, business and
communities. The ANC values the role of social
partners in creating livelihood opportunities and
reducing poverty. Our leadership therefore, should
actively broaden the scale and scope support in
order to extend reach to as many South Africans
as possible.
■  Focusing on the most marginalized is essential to
maximize the impact of our programmes. When
overall strategies for employment start to open new

24

Apart from Social Security (i.e. grants), the Social Wage
(i.e. free basic services, housing, free scholar transport,
no fee schools, school feeding scheme, land reform
etc.), the government should enhance the quality and
raise the profile of the following programmes which
constitute the core of our anti-poverty strategies:
i.  The Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP)
ii.  Community Works Programme (CWP)
iii.  National Rural Youth Service Corps (NARYSEC)
iv.  The National Youth Service Programme (NYS)
v.  National Human Settlements Youth Brigade
(NHSYB)
vi.  Community Development Workers
vii.  Military Skills Development System (MSDS)
For youth people in particular, it is essential that people
going through these programmes exit with portable
skills which help them access further learning, small
business and employment opportunities. These
programmes have been proven to work, as stated in
the 20 Year Review. The task now is to expand them,
enhance quality and ensure greater coordination and
branding.
Finally, government should be urged to fast track

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
the finalization of the Comprehensive Anti-Poverty
Strategy with the buy-in of social partners.

8.1  The ANC Government’s Achievements in
Transforming Social Protection
Over the last twenty years, the ANC government has
worked consistently to develop a social protection
system that is developmental and meets the needs of
the most vulnerable people. With respect to income
support for poor people, the ANC government, as
required by the constitution, has been consistent
in the progressive realisation of South African’s
social assistance needs. For example, the number of
grantees accessing their constitutionally guaranteed
entitlements grew from 2, 4 million people in 1996 to
about 16 million in 2014.
Since our Polokwane conference we have completed
the Consolidated Government Document that sets
targets and coverage of social assistance and social
insurance programmes. We have also been able to
target more than 15 million people in this country
who now benefit from social grants which allow caregivers of children, the aged and those with disabilities
to fulfill their basic needs and sustain their households.
More than 94 % of our people have access to water,
84% have access to sanitation, 81 % have electricity,  
and 71% have refuse removed from their homes. We
have also supplied more than 3 million households
with formal dwellings.
Since 2007 we have developed a framework for
a Comprehensive Social Security strategy, which
includes the expansion of the asset base of the poor
through housing, small business and land reform
programmes.
We have increased the capacity of the state to
ensure the acceleration of the implementation of the
comprehensive social security strategy to ensure the
provision of free basic services to the poor, quality
free education for poor households, and passenger
transport subsidies. We have increased access to
social grants to children and older persons as outlined
in the Consolidated Government Document on
Comprehensive Social Security.
While South Africa’s abilities to improve access to
unconditional transfers to millions of its citizens has
been impressive and is being studied as a model by
other developing countries, its impressive impacts
have largely been unappreciated domestically.  Social

grants have created household income security,
thereby helping families cope with vulnerability. The
net effect is that human development indicators have
improved and risks have been mitigated.
Studies undertaken by the Economic Policy Research
Institute (EPRI) comparing poverty data between 1993
and 2013 found that Social Grants reduced the number
of South Africans living in poverty significantly.  If the
strictest poverty measure is used; 40% of South Africans
would be living in poverty without cash transfers.  
Government transfers are responsible for reducing this
number to 25% . As well as reducing absolute poverty
rates, as measured by income measures, social grants
have also been instrumental in reducing inequality.
Given that the growth in social grants has been the
highest in relation to the Child Support Grant (CSG),
the Department of Social Development, SASSA and
UNICEF published the outcome of a peer reviewed
impact study in 2012.  The study found that children
who access the CSG early perform better at school.
A noteworthy finding was that their performance in
mathematics was better than peers in poor households
that did not access social grants.  Girls who enrolled in
the CSG from an early age attained marks one-quarter
of a grade higher than those who enrolled in the CSG
at age six.
The CSG also has had considerable impacts on health.
For boys who received the grant from an early age, the
likelihood of illness is 10% lower than for boys who
were enrolled at a later age.  Adolescent health is also
positively affected, particularly in terms of reducing
risky behaviours across both genders. Alcohol and drug
use decreased among recipients, as the CSG provided
protection against drug use and also discouraged
youth from engaging in reckless sexual encounters at
an early age.
Moreover, the CSG has increased the employability of
South Africans. Statistics from South African Labour
Force Surveys and an analysis conducted by EPRI of
three independent datasets are consistent in their
findings.   Most notably, there is no evidence that the
CSG creates perverse labour market incentives or
unproductive dependencies on grants by households.  
The evidence not only refutes the dependency
hypothesis but also provides important evidence that
the CSG can contribute to labour market engagement,
particularly for groups within the country that often face
significant risks and vulnerabilities.  In particular, youth,
women, and especially single women – including single

25

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
mothers – are most likely to respond positively to Child
Support Grants by successfully finding employment.

has audited 19 973 ECD sites to ensure continuous
compliance to norms and standards.

Internationally, the grant has been recognised by
the World Bank as amongst the best unconditional
transfers in the world. In a recent report entitled The
State of Social Safety Nets 2014, the World Bank ranks
the CSG amongst the the top five programmes across
the world in terms of abslotute number coverage as
well as percentage of the population coverage. The
Child Support Grant was ranked the largest social
safety net in the continent.

An integrated social protection package for children
will in essence be an investment in the country’s future
and ensure that the country is well placed to eradicate
poor nutrition amongst children, improve psychosocial
and cognitive development of children and improve
educational outcomes.

In its effort to improve the payment of Social Grants,
the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has
reduced the cost of service delivery and improved
the efficiency of the system. This was accomplished
by improving grant application processes and
implementing a new payment system which reduced
the cost of paying grants by close to 50%.  Between 2011
and 2013 the costs dropped from R3.5 billion to under
R2 billion per annum. Fraud detection and prevention
strategies have been institutionalised in the Agency,
with thousands of ghost beneficiaries, including civil
servants, prosecuted, and millions of Rands recovered
from those who were ineligible.
Limited progress has been made in preventing large
numbers of South Africans who retire into poverty
after years of working. Close to 3 million do not have
retirement benefits, resulting in large numbers of
older persons who had jobs having to rely on the
State Old Age Pension for income support. As a result,
the establishment of a national retirement scheme
will be one of the more pressing tasks facing the ANC
government.
Over the past twenty years, the ANC government has
made meaningful progress in expanding access to ECD
programmes.  The ANC and now government recognises
the importance of early childhood development. An
ECD Diagnostic Review identified a range of challenges
in the ECD sector and argues for universal provision
of ECD support. The 53rd Conference of the ANC and
the National Development Plan are therefore in sync
in calling for the ECD programme to become a public
repsobsility, with government, the private sector, NPOs
and communities having a crucial role to play.
The National ECD Policy and a comprehensive
programme that includes the 1000 days campaign will
also include nutritional support to expectant mothers
and children up to the age of five. To this end DSD

26

The ANC-led government has passed essential pieces
of legislation that will enable the implementation of the
envisaged service package required for improved social
protection of children. The Children’s Amendment Act
of 2007 provides for increased access to ECD services,
increased reporting of child abuse, neglect and
exploitation, and increased access to support services
for vulnerable and orphaned children.
There has been progress in ensuring that people
with disabilities are protected and supported. To this
end, we have increased the Disability Grant and Care
Dependency Grants beneficiary coverage to 1120419
and 120632 beneficiaries respectively. We have also
been able to establish a Ministry that focuses on
disabled in society. We have since drafted a Bill on Social
Development Services to People with Disabilities.
Whilst there is progress in addressing challenges
facing the disabled in society, there has been a lack of
facilities to support the disabled in society, including
the development of braille and sign language.
We continue to implement policies and programmes
that are geared towards the protection and promotion
of the rights of people with disabilities, including a
campaign for the protection of the disabled in society.
We must at the same time ensure that it is compulsory
for all public buildings to have easy access for the
disabled.
The Minister of Social Development has established
a committee that will amongst other things ensure
that our policies are integrated to promote the
participation of people with disabilities at all levels of
the movement and in all spheres of governance.
Whilst ensuring the continuation of mainstreaming
disabled people and establishing full services in
schools, we must prioritise the establishment of special
needs schools for specific disabilities where the need
arises. We must also develop mechanisms at the Early
Childhood Development (ECD) level in order to detect
the needs and challenges of a child at an early age.

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
The social and economic exclusion of Military
Veterans, in particular the Non-Statutory Force (NSF),
has not received priority attention from government
departments. While the Department of Military
Veterans has been established, there is a need to
escalate the provision of a comprehensive basket of
services (social and economic) by all state departments
and parastatals.

8.2  Key actions and priorities for 2014-2019
Reform the current social welfare system to deliver
better results for vulnerable groups
The current state-NGOs partnership model of
delivery of services is inadequately funded, and
poorly structured and organised to respond to the
increasingly complex social problems facing our
society. A need exists to reform the model to deliver
better results.  Work in this area will include improved
services to protect the constitutional rights of
vulnerable groups through better determining and
resourcing a defined package of social welfare services.
A critical element of this restructuring exercise will be
to strengthen the partnership between government,
community organisations, civil society organisations
and private sector organisations involved in the
delivery of social services. Work will be done to
restructure the partnership between stakeholders
to develop a system which is socially equitable,
financially viable, structurally efficient and effective in
meeting the needs of the most disadvantaged sectors
of the population. The involvement of communities
in planning and delivering services will be prioritised.  
Policy and institutional changes will be made to ensure
improved accountability by government, NGOs and
private sector providers of social services to ensure
that qualitative and dignified welfare services are
provided to people.

Address the skills deficit in the social welfare
sector
The inability of South Africa’s social welfare services
to provide the quality of care required is reflected in
the inadequate supply of social work, community
development, and child and youth care professionals.
There is an overreliance on professional social workers
and a need to expand human resource capacity
through the employment of other categories of social
service personnel such as child and youth care workers,
community development workers, social development
workers, and volunteers.

In consultation with various stakeholders, including
academic, formal and informal training institutions and
organisations, and professional and allied associations,
government must support the development of an
appropriately trained pool of personnel at all levels,
which includes both generic and specialised services.
While there is a cadre of community development
workers in the system, their training and capacity
building environment is fragmented. This is
exacerbated by the challenges in intergovernmental
alignment around home and community based care
activity, including overlapping mandates between the
Departments of Health and Social Development.
Over the next five years, an ANC-led government will
develop a workforce development strategy to train
people in new approaches such as working in networks
and partnerships; introducing new integrated
posts in the welfare services sector; encouraging
integrated education and training and the promotion
of integrated approaches by professional training
institutes; developing  the sector’s training, recruitment
and retention strategy that anticipates the number of
graduates each year and deploys them to the areas
where there are shortages; and creating opportunities
for social welfare personnel in the public and private
sectors to develop themselves.

Improve Social Protection for Children
Children make up 31.3% of the population, and
therefore require interlinking strategies to ensure that
the adults of 2030 are active agents in implementing
the vision for South Africa envisioned in the NDP. The
ANC-led government will therefore accelerate the
implementation of a Comprehensive ECD Programme,
taking into consideration the proposals in the NDP.  
Policy changes will be made to ensure that there will
be universal access for at least four (4) years of Early
Childhood Development. The implementation of the
Comprehensive Early Childhood Development will
be accompanied by implementation programmes
to support expecting mothers and children with
nutritional and health outreach programmes at home,
ECD facilities, schools and community centres.
While there is wide coverage and reach of the social
assistance system, there are gaps, with some sections
of people not accessing the benefits they qualify
for.   Lessons learned in the current administration
highlight the unintended consequences of some of
the approaches which require reviewing these to
improve efficiency and fairness.  

27

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
Create a Universal Child Benefit Grant
Given the positive impacts of the CSG, the ANC-led
government will work towards universalising the Child
Support Grant so that no deserving child is excluded.
However, South Africa has approximately 1.5million
double orphans and approximately 4million poor
children who have mothers, but due to poverty and
other social problems reside with their extended
families.  These are all children in need of foster care.
The foster care system is cumbersome, with significant
administrative delays that impact negatively on
orphaned children’s rights to adequate and timeous
social assistance as is constitutionally required. Over
the next five years, work will be done to review the CSG
and FCG to align the benefits and create a universal
child benefit.

Improve Social Protection Services for Youth
Youth aged 15–24 years account for almost 20% of the
country’s population while those aged 15–34 years
account for 37%.   The majority of the youth are poor,
with more than half of all 18–24 year olds living under
the lower bound poverty line of R604 per month in
2011. More than two-thirds live under the higher bound
poverty line of R1 113 per month and that about half
are unemployed and about two-thirds are inactive.
Employment projections show that even if average
annual growth were to rise to 5%, unemployment
amongst 15–24 year olds would be 44% and 31% by
2020 and 2030 respectively, in the absence of special
other interventions.  In addition, the youth are unduly
burdened with all key social challenges including
unemployment, substance abuse and HIV and AIDS.
The ANC-led government will continue to develop
strategies to retain young people in schools until
they complete secondary schooling. Government will
strengthen and implement policies and programmes
to eradicate drug abuse and alcohol related harms
as a key component of youth development work and
implement a rights-based comprehensive sexuality
education in schools.  
Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services
and family planning for the youth will be improved,
including the implementation of a schools health
programme. This will include the provision of dignity
packs to support the health and development needs
of all young people, with special focus on the needs
of adolescent girls. Amendments will be made to the
Social Assistance Act to ensure that children over the

28

age of 18 who are still at school are able to continue
accessing the Child Support Grant so that their basic
needs can be met.
The ANC-led government will therefore ensure that
its programmes and policies focus on developing
skills that are required by the economy so that the
youth can become part of the mainstream economy.
This will include accelerating the development and
implementation of Youth Incentive and Support
Programmes and the development of policies and
strategies to support job-seekers that are tied to
compulsory learning and skills development as part of
the Comprehensive Social Security System. Post-school
support will include improving programmes to train
and skill unemployed young people.  This will include
creating opportunities for youth to volunteer in the
military with the aim of learning life and vocational
skills.

Expand access to Social Assistance and Social
Insurance for Adults and Older Persons
With respect to social assistance, the ANC-led
government will universalize the State Old Age Pension
over the next 5 years.  This will ensure that no older
persons are left vulnerable due to exclusions currently
associated with the means tests that are applied.  With
respect to social insurance, South Africa still does not
have a statutory pension system. The ANC government
will therefore work towards implementing the
proposals in the Consolidated Government Document
on Comprehensive Social Security so as to affect
retirement reform measures to improve the livelihoods
of those who have had jobs after retirement.   Work
will also be done to improve the administration and
efficiency of the current contributory systems such as
the Compensation Fund the UIF, and COIDA to meet
the needs of the many informal workers and those
involved in seasonal employment and other forms of
contract work.
The 53rd Conference of the ANC noted that the
ANC’s Polokwane Conference took key decisions
on the welfare of veterans of the struggle, which
relates to housing, health-care, education support,
social security and other social services in relation to
themselves and their families. Since then the Military
Veterans Act has been passed which lays the basis for
more comprehensive social protection measures for
military veterans.  Over the next 5 years the ANC-led
government will implement the measures as outlined

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
in the Military Veterans Act and develop a programme
focusing on a comprehensive social package for the
military veterans, including social assistance measures.

Implement the Household Food and Nutrition
Strategy
Based on resolutions taken at the 53rd Conference
of the ANC, a detailed Household Food and Nutrition
Strategy was developed.The strategy seeks to integrate
the production and consumption of food with a
bias towards improving the productive capacities of
families, small and mediums sized farms.  The strategy
will engage the whole of government in partnership
with civil society.  The Household Food and Nutrition
Strategy has been approved by Cabinet and the ANCled government will accelerate the implementation of
this strategy over the next 5 years.

9.  ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AND A
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR HOUSING
DELIVERY
At its inception, the Housing Policy and Strategy (1994)
focused on stabilising the environment to transform
the extremely fragmented, complex and raciallybased financial and institutional framework inherited
from the previous government, whilst simultaneously
establishing new systems to ensure delivery to address
the housing backlog. The significant achievements of
this programme have been recognised both nationally
and internationally.   Significant socio-economic,
demographic and policy shifts have also occurred over
the past 10 years.

– that is, Metros – to host a Social Housing Summit
(SHS). Summits have been hosted in Metros such as
Ekurhuleni, and the NDHS will be hosting its indaba
in October 2014 and its entity National Home Builders
Registration Council (NHBRC) will also be hosting
a Summit in November 2014. The NDHS has sent a
delegation to various countries to explore approaches
to delivering sustainable human settlements.

Women, Youth and People with disabilities
The NDHS, through its construction projects, is
building capacity to drive the social transformation
agenda. This includes absorbing youth and women
into economic activities.  
Taking into account the above, the NDHS has set
the following targets so as to ensure that social
transformation comes to fruition:
■  A target of 30 % of women contractors  has been
set;
■  A target of  2% of people with disabilities has been
set; and  
■  A target for youth contractors has been set.
Over and above the targets as scheduled supra,
women, people with disabilities and the aged are the
focal point of all national housing policy programmerelated interventions. The NDHS also has a target of
delivering a housing assistance programme to about
five thousand eight hundred and fifty four (5 854)
Military veterans. This is aimed at alleviating poverty
and dealing with the challenge of unemployment.

Built Environment Skills Development
9.1  Achievements
Since the hosting of the 53rd conference in December
2012 the following has been achieved:

Social Contract
During 2014 each province was expected to host a
Social Cohesion Summit (SCS) and a National Report
Back Summit (NRBS) must be held. Each province must
accelerate the change in improving the quality of life
of all people within its own jurisdiction, with special
attention on the needs of the youth, women and
people with disabilities.
The National Department of Human Settlements
(NDHS) has advised all Provincial Human Settlements
Departments (PHSD) and Metropolitan Municipalities

The NDHS has employed built environment
professionals as part of Professional Resource
Team (PRT) companies and other professionals and
contractors in order to boost the skills required by the
economy. A group of built environment professionals
(Total number of interns) has been paired with
professionals operating in the built environment.  
Further, build environment professionals that are
already in the employ of the NDHS have been
encouraged to register with relevant councils
that regulate their professions. For instance, the
Development Planners and Town and Regional
Planners have been encouraged to register with the
South African Council for Planners (SACPLAN).  This has
been undertaken to ensure that professional practice

29

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
is enhanced in the undertaking survive delivery related
duties and responsibilities.

development of sustainable human settlements and
the development of housing assets.

Moreover, the Human Resource Development (HRD)
programme is to be utilised to ensure that the
professionalisation of the sector is accelerated.   This
will occur in the form of encouraging staff members to
acquire scholarships that will assist them in obtaining
built environment-related skills that can aid the sector
to augment service delivery.

After the 1994 elections, Government committed itself
to developing more livable, equitable and sustainable
cities. Key elements of this framework included
pursuing a more compact urban form, facilitating
higher densities, mixed land use development, and
integrating land use and public transport planning, so
as to ensure more diverse and responsive environments
whilst reducing travelling distances. Despite all
these well-intended measures, the inequalities and
inefficiencies of the apartheid space economy, has
lingered on.

Research and Development
Further investment is being made by the NDHS in
Research and Development (R&D) of Alternative
Technology (AT). About ten percent (10 %) of human
settlement development projects and contracts must
be given to Alternative Building Technology (ABT). The
NDHS has signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) with the Council for Science and Industrial
Research (CSIR) and Human Sciences Research Council
(HSRC) with the intention of partnering with key
stakeholders, including universities, in the delivery
of policy and research that support the delivery of
sustainable human settlements.

Social Net
The housing or human settlement grant is still aimed
at the poorest of the poor earning between R0 and
R3500 and the gap market earning between R3501 and
R15 000. The government is still operating on a policy
of a 70/30 split in the development of social housing
projects. The country has developed Community
Residential Units (CRUs) for the qualifying beneficiaries.
The NDHS aims to partner with the private sector and
develop more affordable rental units, especially in
urban areas which are experiencing an influx.

9.2 Challenges
Poverty manifests itself in different ways. In Towards
a 10 year Review, poverty is understood to involve
three critical dimensions: income, human capital
(services and opportunity) and assets. A composite
analysis of indicators in these three categories assists
in compiling a broad picture of the experience of
poverty in terms of deprivation of basic needs and
the vulnerability, powerlessness and experience of
exclusion which accompanies lived poverty. Housing
primarily contributes towards the alleviation of asset
poverty. This contribution is to be strengthened in the
new human settlements plan through supporting the

30

9.3 Our new strategy and vision
Whilst ANC-led government believes that the
fundamentals of the policy remains relevant and
sound, a new plan is required to redirect and enhance
existing mechanisms to move towards more responsive
and effective delivery. The social transformation
committee decided to recall the Breaking New Ground
document for discussion given that it forms the basis
of the chapter on Human Settlements in the National
Development Plan. It will be the basis of legislation
to be introduced by the ANC in the area of Human
Settlements.
The new human settlements plan reinforces the
vision of the Department of Housing, to promote
the achievement of a non-racial, integrated society
through the development of sustainable human
settlements and quality housing. Within this broader
vision, the Department is committed to meeting the
following specific objectives:
■  Accelerating the delivery of housing as a key
strategy for poverty alleviation
■  Utilising provision of housing as a major job
creation strategy
■  Ensuring property can be accessed by all as an
asset for wealth creation and empowerment
■  Leveraging growth in the economy
■  Combating crime, promoting social cohesion and
improving quality of life for the poor
■  Supporting the functioning of the entire single
residential property market to reduce duality
within the sector by breaking the barriers between
the first economy residential property boom and
the second economy slump.
■  Utilizing housing as an instrument for the

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
development of sustainable integrated human
settlements, in support of spatial restructuring.
The mechanisms which the Department intends to
introduce to achieve these objectives are discussed in
greater detail in the remainder of this section.  

9.4  Supporting the entire residential property
market
Expanding the scope of the housing mandate
The new plan envisages the expansion of the mandate
of the Department to encompass the entire residential
housing market. This expanded scope is required
to address the challenge of increased integration
between the primary and secondary housing market.
The impact of this expanded mandate is reflected
throughout the plan, but is manifested most strongly
through the expansion of the existing state-assisted
housing scheme to support lower-middle income
groups.
The current housing mandate restricts subsidies to
households earning less than R3,500 per month. This
was premised upon the assumption that end-user
finance would be accessed for the construction of
houses by income groups above R3500 per month.
This has not in fact occurred and there is a growing
disjuncture between subsidised and non-subsidised
residential accommodation. This impacts negatively
on the operation of the residential property market. In
order to address this problem,a new subsidy mechanism
is to be introduced to facilitate the availability and
accessibility of affordable housing finance products/
instruments to medium income households (earning
R3,500 to R 7,000 p.m.) by providing a mechanism to
overcome the down-payment barrier. This mechanism
will be linked to household savings and loans from
financial institutions. This mechanism is discussed in
greater detail under the Financial Subsidy Systems
Reform Business Plan.

Shifting from product uniformity to demand
responsiveness
The dominant production of single houses on single
plots in distant locations with initially weak socioeconomic infrastructure is inflexible to local dynamics
and changes in demand. The new human settlements
plan moves away from the current commoditized
focus of housing delivery towards more responsive
mechanisms which address the multi-dimensional

needs of sustainable human settlements2. This
approach is intended to provide maximum
flexibility and will ultimately enhance the mobility
of households3. The movement towards increased
flexibility and demand responsiveness inevitably
increases tension between uniform subsidy payments
and increasingly non-uniform housing products as
policy moves away from allocative equity to demand
responsiveness and flexibility. The mechanics of this
approach is discussed in greater detail in the Social
Housing Programme Business Plan and the Informal
Settlement Upgrading Programme Business Plan.

Enhancing the role of the private sector
The new plan envisages a continuation and deepening
of the partnership between government and the
private sector vis-à-vis the development of sustainable
human settlements. In particular, the support of the
private sector will be required in the following areas:
Construction capacity and the collapsing of the
subsidy bands
The withdrawal of large construction firms from the
state-assisted housing sector has meant that the
conditions for reproducing public-private partnerships
for housing construction in the primary market
have been reduced and the rate of construction
has accordingly dropped.   In order to promote the
participation and contribution of the private sector
in housing construction, the existing 3 subsidy bands
are to be collapsed to enable households earning
below R3500 to access a uniform subsidy amount.
This mechanism will address housing bottlenecks in
respect of households earning above R1500 and will
also substantially increase the number of households
who qualify for a full housing subsidy. This increased
demand for housing, coupled with the removal of key
bottlenecks, will create new opportunities for private
sector participation in the housing programme.  
The provision of housing finance
Housing finance from financial institutions is key to the
development of the primary and secondary housing
market.The new human settlements plan will introduce
the following interventions to support lenders to meet
their commitments under the Financial Sector Charter:
■  Mechanisms to overcoming the down-payment
barrier – The expansion of the subsidy instrument
to medium-income households (earning R3500
to R 7000 p.m.) by providing a mechanism

31

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
to overcome the down-payment barrier and
will enhance lending by financial institutions.
This aspect is discussed in greater detail under
Financial Arrangements.
■  Funding for Social Housing – Funding is to be
provided for social housing institutions through
public private partnerships and/or Special
Purpose vehicles.
■  Loss Limit Insurance – Government may
investigate the introduction of a risk sharing
mechanism to limit the lender’s loss to a more
normal proportion of loan value in the event of
default.  
■  Fixed Interest Rates – The Department will work
with the financial sector to develop mechanisms
to address volatile interest rates including the
development of fixed rate loan products.
■  New Product Development – While significant
attention has gone into extending the mortgage
loan product down market for the benefit of low
income earners, this product is not appropriate
for everyone. Specifically, no appropriate loan
products exist to service secondary transactions
in an incremental residential property market. A
significant proportion of households in this submarket lacks the formal employment and levels
of income necessary to support medium- to longterm instalment mortgage loans. Alternatives
linked to savings/insurance products, which
generate cash endowments, are accordingly to
be developed in conjunction with the financial
sector.
■  Monitoring lending trends and enforcing the
Financial Services Charter – The Department
will increase lending transparency through the
establishment of the Office of Disclosure under
the Home Loan and Mortgage Disclosure Act. This
will facilitate the monitoring of lending trends.  
The Department will, in addition, engage with the
Reserve Bank to establish instruments to enforce
the targets contained in the Financial Services
Charter vis-à-vis participation in the state-assisted
housing programme.
Project management and other support
Significant capacity constraints are currently being
experienced in the public sector. It is accordingly vital
that the resources of the private sector be harnessed to
deliver housing programmes at scale. A portion of the

32

capital budgets is to be made available for operational
expenses and outsourcing planning, engineering,
project management and social facilitation to the
private sector to ensure delivery in the short term. It will
be expected of the private sector teams to provide skills
transfer and training to public sector employees who
will increasingly have to take on the responsibilities
of ensuring delivery. The need for outsourcing will
depend on capacity across government and will not
be the same everywhere.

Employer-assisted Housing
It is imperative that the private sector and particularly
employers take an active role in the housing process
for low- to moderate-income earners. Discussions
will be held with employer groups regarding their
contribution to the process.
Creating linkages between the primary and
secondary residential market
Housing represents the most significant investment
that most families make and is often their only
provision for long-term security. Currently, the
secondary property market is dysfunctional at the
lower end of the market. A dysfunctional secondary
market undermines the realisable value on properties
and consequently the value underpinning security
for mortgage loans. Mechanisms must accordingly
be introduced to support the development of a
functioning residential property market and enhance
the linkages between the primary and secondary
residential property market. The new human
settlement plan accordingly introduces the following
inter-related interventions:
■  Supporting individual housing demand – The
operation of a secondary market is dependent
upon the existence of effective housing demand
i.e. purchasers with the necessary funds to
acquire property. The existing subsidy scheme is
presently associated with a supply side delivery
model in which subsidies are accessed through
new housing projects. This makes it difficult for
people to acquire housing in other circumstances.
In response, the Department will now reintroduce
and promote the demand-side individual subsidy
instrument which will enable individuals to
purchase properties on an individual basis.   Due
to previous abuses of this mechanism, this subsidy

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
will only be available to support secondary market
transactions.
■  Removing barriers to housing trade – Section
10A of the Housing Act prohibits the sale of
government-subsidised property for a period of
eight years. This section was enacted to protect
subsidy beneficiaries from downward raiding.
The provision has also had the unintended
consequence of undermining beneficiary choice
and housing mobility and has created a significant
barrier to formal secondary transactions. For this
reason, an amendment to Section 10A of the
Housing Act, 1997, is to be introduced to reduce
the prohibition period following occupation to
five years.  
■  Focusing on the local level – The supply of
state-assisted housing must respond to housing
demand. This relationship is best packaged at local
level.  Municipalities must accordingly take the lead
role in negotiating the location of housing supply
to facilitate spatial restructuring.   Municipalities
must also facilitate a greater match between the
demand and supply of different state-assisted
housing typologies. This approach envisages that
municipalities will play a significantly increased
role in the housing process.   This will help to
build linkages between housing delivery, spatial
planning, and transportation systems and will also
support the integration of housing into Municipal
IDPs, ensuring greater budgetary coherence. This
issue is dealt with in greater detail under the
Institutional Arrangements Business Plan.
■  Enhancing access to title – Access to title is a
fundamental principle of national housing policy.
While security of tenure has been achieved
in principle, a significant proportion of public
housing stock has not yet been transferred into
the names of the entitled individuals4. In addition,
a large number of houses constructed under the
existing housing programme have not yet been
transferred to households. In order to address
these problems, the Department will implement
a range of measures to stimulate a renewed
uptake in the Discount Benefit Scheme in order
to transfer the balance of the free-standing public
housing stock. The Department will also establish
a high priority focus to complete the registration
of transfer in respect of houses constructed under
the existing housing programme.

9.5  Strategic interventions
From Housing to sustainable integrated
human settlements
Cabinet has adopted the National Spatial Development
Perspective (NSDP) as an indicative framework to
inform decisions on infrastructure investment and
development spending. This perspective has noted
that several development programmes, including
the housing programme, is not addressing the
distortions of the inherited apartheid space economy.
The Department of Provincial and Local Government
has furthermore prepared the Draft National Urban
Strategy (2004), which proposes a vision for South
African towns and cities where they will be spatially
and socially inclusive, well-designed and developed in
an environmentally efficient way.
Through this new plan, the Department will shift
towards a reinvigorated contract with the people
and partner organizations for the achievement of
sustainable human settlements. “Sustainable human
settlements” refer to:
“well-managed entities in which economic growth and
social development are in balance with the carrying
capacity of the natural systems on which they depend
for their existence and result in sustainable development,
wealth creation, poverty alleviation and equity”.
At the heart of this initiative is the move beyond
the provision of basic shelter towards achieving the
broader vision of sustainable human settlements and
more efficient cities, towns and regions. This issue is
discussed in greater detail in the Spatial Restructuring
and Sustainable Human Settlements Business Plan.
In line with the NSDP and the Draft National Urban
Strategy, the Department will enhance its contribution
to spatial restructuring by:
Progressive Informal Settlement Eradication
Informal settlements must urgently be integrated into
the broader urban fabric to overcome spatial, social and
economic exclusion. The Department will accordingly
introduce a new informal settlement upgrading
instrument to support the focused eradication of
informal settlements. The new human settlements
plan adopts a phased in-situ upgrading approach
to informal settlements, in line with international
best practise. Thus, the plan supports the eradication
of informal settlements through in-situ upgrading
in desired locations, coupled to the relocation of

33

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
households where development is not possible or
desirable8. The upgrading process is not prescriptive,
but rather supports a range of tenure options and
housing typologies. Where informal settlements are
upgraded on well-located land, mechanisms will
be introduced to optimize the locational value and
preference will generally be given to social housing
(medium-density) solutions. Upgrading projects will
be implemented by municipalities and will commence
with nine pilot projects, one in each province building
up to full programme implementation status by 2007/8.
In addition, it is indicated that a joint programme by
the National Department, the Western Cape Provincial
Government and Cape Town Metropolitan Council has
already initiated the N2 upgrading project from the
Airport to Cape Town, covering the informal settlement
in Gugulethu, Cross Roads, Khayelitsha, and Langa
as a lead pilot project. Therefore a further 8 projects
are to be identified.  This intervention is discussed in
greater detail in the Informal Settlements Programme
Business Plan.
Promoting Densification and Integration
Integration and restructuring are public interventions
in the way in which towns and cities are built and
the processes by which wealth is generated and
distributed. The key objective is to integrate previously
excluded groups into the city and the benefits it offers,
and to ensure the development of more integrated,
functional and environmentally sustainable human
settlements, towns and cities. The new human
settlements plan includes the following interventions,
which are discussed in greater detail in the Spatial
Restructuring and Human Settlements Business Plan.
■  Densification policy – Suitable policy instruments
and adjustments to promote densification in urban
areas are required. The National Department of
Housing, in conjunction with the Department of
Provincial and Local Government, will investigate
the development of suitable policy instruments
and adjustments to promote densification.
This will interrogate aspects of promoting
densification, including planning guidelines,
property taxation, zoning, subdivision, and land
swops and consolidation. A draft densification
policy will be ready for consideration by October
2004.  
■  Residential development permits – The
Department will investigate the introduction of
mechanisms such as residential development

34

permits.   These permits are used extensively in
the international context and facilitate income
integration by obliging developers either to set
aside units within residential developments for
lower-income groups or, alternatively developing
lower-income residential accommodation in
adjacent areas. In this instance it is proposed
that 20% of all residential development would
constitute low cost to affordable housing and
would be prescribe through the permit. This can
be achieved on site of in alternative location
initially to overcome negative perception about
property value depreciation. It is envisaged that
once the programme has been successfully
implemented those perceptions will change
and on site development can be achieved in the
medium term. In all instances, adequate provision
is to be made for the construction of supportive
social infrastructure in support of residential
development.
■  Fiscal incentives – The Department,   in conjunction with Treasury and SARS, will investigate
the development of fiscal incentives to promote
the densification of targeted human settlements
and whilst introducing disincentives to sprawl.
This may require engagement with DPLG and
municipalities.
Enhancing Spatial Planning
The development of sustainable human settlements
must be undertaken within a broader spatial
restructuring framework, incorporating the principles
of the NSDP and the National Urban Strategy. In
practice, however, spatial planning is spread between
the Departments of Housing, DLA and DPLG, with
significant aspects being addressed by the Department
of Transport.   Greater coordination and alignment of
various planning instruments and economic policies
lies at the heart of sustainable human settlements.
This requires more than mere co-ordination between
departments, but instead suggests the need to
develop a single overarching planning authority
and/or instrument to provide macro-level guidance
to support the development of sustainable human
settlements. This will enhance the sustainability and
success of the new plan.
Enhancing the location of new housing projects
The location of housing projects has been criticized
as reinforcing apartheid spatial settlement patterns.

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
The objective of spatial restructuring demands a
more decisive intervention in land markets.  The new
human settlements plan envisages the following
interventions:
■  Accessing well-located state-owned and parastatal land – An overall   strategy to facilitate
the release of well-located public land to
municipalities will be developed in co-operation
with the Department of Land Affairs and the
Department of Public Works. Public land and land
held by para-statal organisations, where deemed
suitable for housing purposes, is to be transferred
to municipalities at no cost. The strategy will
be coupled to the Public Land Register, which is
expected to enhance the coordination of land
assembly at project level. Municipalities, in coordination with provincial departments, will
request land parcels for vesting and transfer.
■  Acquisition of well-located private land for
housing development – A strategy will be
developed in conjunction with the Department of
Land Affairs to finance and guide the acquisition of
private land for housing purposes. All land will be
acquired by municipalities in line with Municipal
IDPs, Spatial Development Frameworks and will be
made available for housing development in line
with the Housing Chapter of IDPs. Private land will
only be acquired where there is no appropriate
state-owned land and whilst preference will be
given to the negotiated purchase of land, land
may also be expropriated at market value as a final
resort. The strategy is expected to be complete by
December 2004, with full implementation by April
2005.
■  Funding for land acquisition – The acquisition
of land to enhance the location of human
settlements constitutes a fundamental and
decisive intervention in the Apartheid space
economy.  This cost should not be borne by the
poor, but should be treated as a broader social
cost.  As a result, funding for the acquisition of land
will no longer form part of the housing subsidy.  
Rather, the acquisition of well-located private
land will be funded through a separate funding
mechanism.
■  Fiscal incentives – The Department will engage
with SARS and Treasury to investigate the
introduction of fiscal incentives (and disincentives)
to support the development of well-located land.  
This will also require engagement with DPLG and
municipalities.

Supporting Urban Renewal and Inner City
Regeneration
Urban renewal is a targeted intervention by government to resuscitate declining urban areas. Housing
plays an important role in a range of urban renewal
interventions focused on urban centres and exclusion
areas such as inner cities and historical townships.
Increasingly, the renewal of inner city areas has become
focused on commercial and high-income residential
property redevelopment.  During the implementation
of these projects, the current inhabitants of these
areas are often excluded as a result of the construction
of dwelling units that they cannot afford.   Many
municipalities are striving to avoid this by promoting,
amongst others, affordable inner-city housing.   The
new human settlements plan will support this by:
■  Encouraging Social (Medium-Density) Housing
– Social Housing is generally medium-density
and this housing intervention may make a strong
contribution to urban renewal and integration.
Social housing interventions may also be used
to facilitate the acquisition, rehabilitation and
conversion of vacant office blocks and other
vacant/dilapidated buildings as part of a
broader urban renewal strategy. Social housing
developments should be dovetailed with other
initiatives such municipal redevelopment projects
and the urban development zone tax incentive
offered by SARS.
■  Increasing effective demand – The introduction
of a new incentive to facilitate access to loan
finance in the middle income group above the
R3 500 income limit and the re-introduction of
demand-driven individual subsidies will have the
effect of increasing effective demand for existing,
well-located property. This is expected to provide
an incentive for the redevelopment of properties
within inner city areas.
Developing social and economic infrastructure
There is a need to move away from a housing-only
approach towards the more holistic development
of human settlements, including the provision of
social and economic infrastructure. The new human
settlements plan proposes that:
■  Construction of social and economic infrastructure – Municipalities must determine the
need for social/community facilities through
a community profile and facilities audit to
ensure that facilities are appropriately targeted.

35

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
It is thereafter envisaged that a multi-purpose
cluster concept will be applied to incorporate
the provision of primary municipal facilities
such as parks, playgrounds, sport fields, crèches,
community halls, taxi ranks, satellite police stations,
municipal clinics and informal trading facilities.
■  New funding mechanism – A new funding
mechanism will be introduced to fund the
development of the primary social/community
facilities, which will focus on informal settlement
upgrading projects, completed housing projects
still lacking social facilities and new housing
projects.   The programme will provide funding
assistance amounting to 50% of the primary,
social/community facility development costs
of projects implemented by district councils,
while 100% of the development costs of projects
implemented by local municipalities will funded.  
■  Municipal implementation – Municipalities will
be the primary implementation agencies and will
submit business plans for approval to Provincial
Housing Departments. Municipalities will be
responsible for the operational and maintenance
costs, but facilities may be managed/operated
by CBO’s and NGO’s active within the beneficiary
communities.   Implementation will commence
on 1 April 2005 and will continue for a three-year
period after which the assistance provided will
fall away and become the responsibility of all
municipalities concerned.
Enhancing the Housing Product
There is a need to develop more appropriate
settlement designs and housing products and to
ensure appropriate housing quality in both the urban
and rural environments. The new human settlements
plan accordingly proposes the following:
■  Enhancing settlement design – The Department
will investigate the introduction of enhancing
measures and incentives to include design
professionals at planning and project design
stages, and will develop design guidelines for
designers and regulators to achieve sustainable
and environmentally efficient settlements. This is
aimed at promoting the development of dignified
size of house that supports morality of family and
society.
■  Enhancing housing design – Within the
rural context, there is a need to make housing

36

interventions more effective, to enhance
the traditional technologies and indigenous
knowledge which are being used to construct
housing in rural areas and to improve shelter,
services and tenure where these are priorities for
the people living there. Within the urban context,
there is a need to focus on “changing the face” of
the stereotypical “RDP” houses and settlements
through promotion of alternative technology and
design.  The Department will investigate measures
and incentives to enhance housing design and
promote and alternative technologies, including
support and protection of indigenous knowledge
systems.
■  Addressing housing quality – The Department
will undertake an audit of and develop a
programme to address the poor quality of houses
built before the introduction of national norms
and standards and the NHBRC Warranty Scheme.  
Municipalities must also play an increasing role to
ensure compliance with building plan approvals
and township establishment conditions. The
maintenance of construction standards in the face
of the shift towards supporting smaller economic
interests will be addressed by capacitating
municipalities and the National Home Builders
Registration Council to monitor quality.
  

10. ON ARTS, CULTURE AND HERITAGE
At our 53rd national policy conference in Mangaung,
the ANC resolved that, “We must work towards the
implementation of the recommendations of the 2030
National Development Plan as a long term vision which
should serve as a basis for partnerships across society
to attain the South Africa of our dreams, as eloquently
articulated in the constitution.”
Informed by the ANC’s and government’s policy
framework, our arts, culture, social cohesion and
nation‐building mandate is captured in our vision of
“a thriving arts, culture and heritage sector contributing
to sustainable economic development, leveraging on
partnerships for a socially cohesive nation.”
As the NDP states, “Arts and culture open powerful
spaces for engagement about where a society finds itself
and where it is going. Promoted effectively, the creative
and cultural industries can contribute substantially to
small business development, job creation, and urban
development and renewal.”

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
Hence, the transformatory electoral mandate of
the 2014 election, captured in the ANC’s manifesto
and translated into several outcomes, identifies the
promotion of social cohesion and nation building as
Outcome 14. The Delivery Agreement for Outcome 14
pertaining to arts and culture points out that while
the Constitution and its Chapter Nine Institutions
have laid the foundations for an inclusive and just
relationship between citizens and the state at different
levels of government, as well as with other public and
private agencies, the effective realisation of the full
participation of all citizens remains uneven.
This outcome was assigned to the Ministry of Arts and
Culture. The core of the resolution is the need to focus
on development in order to drive social cohesion.   

10.1 Achievements
Since 2012, initiatives to take forward our strategic
priorities in the Arts, Culture and Heritage (ACH)
sector have included a comprehensive review of
our strategies and programmes towards building a
national democratic society. In 2011, we conveneved
a National Consultative Summit which provided a
revised strategy and plan, including new large-scale
interventions to:
■  reinforce the Arts, Culture and Heritage (ACH)
Sector as an economic growth sector; and
■  introduce programmes that contribute to largescale employment.
Pursuant to our strategy and vision, the following
measurable objectives were aligned to the mandate:
a)  Coordinate and support the national strategic
programmes by developing and reviewing policy
and legislation and developing systems for
monitoring and evaluation.
b)  Increase and facilitate access to and broader
participation in arts and culture through policy
formulation, legislation and equitable funding.
c)  Increase the access and participation of grassroots
arts practitioners in cultural industries economic
activities through training, legislation and
international opportunities.
Consistent with the above, we re-engineered
our strategic focus during the 2009-2014 term of
government. Such re-engineering was informed
by the government-wide strategic re-orientation,
following the National Consultative Summit in 2011

and a conference on social cohesion at Kliptown in
2012, which put sustainable livelihoods and cultural
entrepreneurship at the centre of our priorities.
It was then imperative for us to clearly articulate
our contribution to the job creation and economic
development agenda of government.
To give effect to our strategic mandate we launched
the Mzansi Golden Economy (MGE) strategy in 2012.
The strategy essentially focused on the creation of an
estimated 5 million jobs over the next ten years as a
primary objective by:
■  Identifying areas where employment creation is
possible on a large scale, as a result of substantial
changes in conditions in South Africa and globally.
■  Developing a policy package to facilitate
employment creation in these areas, above all
through:
o  A comprehensive drive to enhance both
social equity and competitiveness;
o  Systemic changes to mobilise domestic
investment around activities that could create
sustainable employment;
o  Strong social dialogue to focus all stakeholders
on encouraging growth in employmentcreating activities.
The following programmes constitute the MGE:
National Academy for Cultural & Creative Industries
of SA (NaCISA)
NaCISA will provide training, not necessarily in the
form of bricks and mortar, as a way in which to expand
knowledge and expertise to people.The main emphasis
of this programme is the provision of enabling training
kits that are widely accessible.  
Creative Arts Incubators
Once people are trained, artists will progress to
incubation centres across the country.These incubators
will help provide artists with the tools for production.
For example a film maker will be provided with the
tools (camera equipment, etc.) to make films.   The
tangible measure of impact of the two programmes
will be more local content.
Venture Capital
Our Venture Capital programme will help artists
who have progressed beyond the apprentice and
professional (incubator) levels to access capital and
markets. It is often the case that entrepreneurs struggle
to sustain business initiatives because of financial

37

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
dips. The Venture Capital fund will assist with moving
people out of dips into more sustainable economic
activities.
Tax Incentives
Our tax incentive interventions address both immediate
concerns around Section 18A of the Income Tax Act
and more comprehensive medium-term interventions  
pursuant to a tax regime that  both enables artists to
build sustainable enterprises and contribute towards
the tax revenues of the country. In large measure, these
programmes are aimed at making it easier for artists to
expand sources of funding.  We are currently designing
a strategy to achieve this objective.
Audience Development
Our Audience Development programme will enable
us to leverage our institutions and resources to create
more customers who buy local content from artists.
Market Development
The final leg of the MGE programme is the creation
of an Mzansi Golden Market that is able to pool the
buying power of government and the private sector.
Both government and the private sector will source
local content that artists themselves create. One
method of maximising the Mzansi Golden Market is an
online platform that will expand market opportunities
for creative entrepreneurs.
Loyalty programme
The Mzansi Golden Market will be complimented by a
loyalty programme aimed at incentivising and creating
more markets.

a. Strategic Challenges
There are a number of challenges and key issues for
consideration as we proceed with the rollout of the
various MGE strategic initiatives, discussed below:
■  Funding and the high dependence on government
sources of funds. Alternative sources of funding
such as the Lotto should be leveraged, and the
available funding should be equitably spread and
all forms of duplication removed.
■  A lack of understanding of the role of Arts and
Culture, in particular, its impact on society and the
economy is a stumbling block towards elevating
the importance of Arts and culture. This is
exacerbated by the inability to quantify the socioeconomic contribution of Arts and Culture.  

38

■  Investing in the ‘usual suspect’ sector bodies
leading to a lack of participation by potentially
powerful partners and unexploited strategic
partnerships. The lack of utilisation of indigenous
knowledge systems as a strategic driver for MGE
needs to be reconsidered.
■  Inadequate policy development and related
monitoring and evaluation. There is a need to
ensure that the programmes and interventions
are well conceptualised and broadly meaningful
and that there is a cross-cutting involvement of
government across the 3-spheres, in order to
improve on the current lack of ownership and
commitment.
■  The participation and implementation of
programmes across the sector is too narrow
due to a perceived lack of consultation and
engagement across the sector and an inequitable
distribution of opportunities, compounded by a
loss of intellectual capital.
■  The lack of a research strategy in the MGE resulting
in inaccurate monitoring and reporting on
concepts that are only ‘lightly’ defined. Specifically,
there is a lack of research infrastructure for the
sustainable development of digital content and
official language services.
■  There is a lack of balance between developing new
infrastructure and maintaining existing, thereby
impacting on the sustainability of programmes.
■  The promotion of literacy through the
development of a culture of lifelong reading and
writing as an emphasis on market development
and not only as a skills development intervention.
■  There are a number of transversal issues to be
taken into account in the area of human capital
and skills development, including:
o  The need for capacity building for the arts in
general across many levels;
o  The need to develop ACH skills pipelines and
career paths and to make it attractive for
qualified arts practitioners to be recruited into
civil services in all 3-spheres of government;
o  The lack of transformation of existing
institutions;
o  The lack of clarity
implementation plan;

on

the

NACISA

o  Under-utilised internal human resources due
to an organisational design and structure not

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
aligned to strategy. Re-skilling and up-skilling
may be required.
■  In the area of job creation and entrepreneurship
there are persistent challenges related to the full
participation of the sector. Some of the issues to
be addressed include:
o  The need to create a platform for the creative
industries to operate effectively;
o  The creation of a linkage between skills
development and job creation;
o  Assisting in expanding the markets for
products through the creation of an enabling
environment for artists to market their
products;
o  The articulation of the competencies
that are needed for the 200 artists in
schools programme and the performance
management of same.
■  Developing markets and building and growing
audiences in a low economic growth environment
remains a critical but challenging issue. Extensive
marketing of the MGE strategies and initiatives
are required to gain broader awareness, buyin and collaboration, with the possibility of
incentives, public-private partnerships and intergovernmental partnerships.
■  Research, monitoring and evaluation require
proper systems to be instituted with a view to
measuring the impact of ACH on communities
and the economy.
■  Governance and administration across the sector
needs to be improved with a clear delineation
of the roles and responsibilities of the various
participants. The intention being to eliminate
duplication, minimise conflict, confusion and
inefficiencies in the allocation of scarce resources.
The ever-increasing compliance demands are also
to be considered.
■  The resource base of the arts requires growth
and development with the creation of additional
revenue streams for the sector and improving
access to the arts.
The above analysis of the context and environment
of the ACH sector suggests that it can no longer be
business as usual, with the overwhelmingly strong
message being the need for radical socio-economic

transformation and the creation of an ACH sector
which adds value through its nation building and
social cohesion leadership, as well as the championing
of programmes with an economic spin-off.

10.3  Our plan for programmatic alignments
and reprioritisations of outputs 
The programmes we have embarked on are therefore
designed to address the challenge of radical economic
transformation in a context of declining growth and
diminishing demand. We do not thereby recommend
a single-minded approach. We advocate an integrated
plan to guide the department through the current
downturn and position it for the future.
This will include working towards the implementation
of the recommendations of the National Development
Plan: Vision 2030 as our blueprint to reducing
unemployment and inequality and eliminating
poverty.
Consistent with these challenges, an engagement
with the nation-formation and social cohesion
mandate relates to the economic and social status of
the majority of black poor citizens. The transformatory
electoral mandate of the 2014 election, captured
in the ANC’s election manifesto, and translated into
outcomes, identified ‘active and responsible citizenship’,
which included the promotion of social cohesion,
as Outcome 14. This outcome was assigned to the
Ministry of Arts and Culture to lead. The core of the
resolution is the need to focus on development in
order to drive social cohesion.   
The Delivery Agreement for Outcome 14 pertaining to
arts and culture points out that while the Constitution
and its Chapter Nine Institutions have laid the
foundations for an inclusive and just relationship
between citizens and the state at different levels
of government, as well as with other public and
private agencies, the effective realisation of the full
participation of all citizens remains uneven.
Therefore, our focus over the medium-term will be on
improving the economic competitiveness of arts and
culture, whilst pursuing its developmental mandate as
public “custodian of the diverse cultures, languages and
heritage of the people of South Africa and in the provision
of support for the development of innovation across the
full spectrum of the arts as creative, economic and social
practices, and as bearers of a dynamic society.”

39

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
Our strategy is built on existing initiatives, categorised
into five areas: stimulation of demand, audience
development and consumption, heritage, a cultural
observatory, and human capital development.

■  Getting big results now means choosing low
hanging fruit.

Informed by the aforementioned policy framework,
the arts, culture, social cohesion and nation‐building
mandate is captured in its vision of “a thriving arts,
culture and heritage sector contributing to sustainable
economic development, leveraging on partnerships for a
socially cohesive nation.”

■  Getting big results now means removing a paper
pusher mentality from departments generally,
which typically make it difficult for people to
access real value, and introducing innovations
that encourage experimentation in development
models that work.

Pursuant to our strategy and vision, a major
reprioritisation exercise has since been undertaken
in order to allocate resources to specific programmes
and interventions that optimise value for money.
Consistent with the economic impact on budget
allocations, spending baselines have since undergone
rigorous review, areas of inefficiency and lower
priority have been identified, and funds are being
redirected towards key priorities, both new and
existing, in recognition of the relationship between
the composition of spending and sustainability over
the long term.

b. The Phakisa programme
To give effect to these objectives, we have adopted
a strategic plan – called the Phakisa programme –
which (loosely translated) means ‘big results now’.
Phakisa demonstrates clear directional thinking and
experimentation as basic value doctrines for the
creation of Virtuous capital, understood as a symbiotic
relationship between the value we create as a result of
our interventions in the economy, the value we capture,
and the value we circulate for poverty alleviation.
This is necessary because, currently, the development
of artists and cultural entrepreneurs is constrained by
numerous challenges including access to information,
access to funding, corruption, bribery and nepotism,
lack of business skills, and access to tools of production.
The Phakisa programme responds to these constraints
by broadly advocating a paradigm shift from resource
scarcity to a value for money approach to development.  
If funds are not readily available, the question pivots
around getting more value for money at our disposal.
What it takes:
■  Getting big results now means overcoming
challenges entrepreneurs face of inexperience,
weak networks, a lack of credibility and visibility, a
lack of workspaces, and a lack of capital.

40

■  Getting big results now means designing
programmes that add value.

■  Getting big results now means transcending
factional struggles that have cascaded from the
ANC to the department and now threaten to
derail the transformation agenda of the ANC.
Against the above challenges, entrepreneurs
possess ideas, enthusiasm, commitment, motivation,
knowledge and peers. Harnessing these characteristics
to achieve big results now is not only desirable
but possible. Through the Phakisa programme,
the Depaertmet oif Arts and Culture (DAC) will
be a catalyst for entrepreneurship and a bridge
between opportunity seekers and opportunity
providers, providing entrepreneurs with an enabling
environment and the tools to build bridges to  thriving
enterprises.
Within the DAC itself we are made all the more aware of
the critical need for employees with the requisite skills
to create more content and generate more outputs
in the process of advancing towards .our mandate of
social cohesion and nation-building.

Our strategic approach
Framed as a set of guiding principles, our philosophy
and approach to radical economic transformation
builds on the NDP’s vision and mission of creating a
virtuous cycle of development.
As a broad strategic framework, the NDP proposes
a multidimensional approach to confronting
poverty and inequality. By forging a virtuous cycle of
development, with progress in one area supporting
advances in others, the NDP sets out a combination
of interventions aimed at expanding opportunities,
increasing employment, and raising incomes through
productivity growth as interlinked challenges.
Social cohesion, the NDP states, needs to anchor the
strategy. “If South Africa registers progress in deracialising
ownership and control of the economy without reducing
poverty and inequality, transformation will be superficial.
Similarly, if poverty and inequality are reduced without

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
demonstrably changed ownership patterns, the country’s
progress will be turbulent and tenuous.”
What is clear is that we cannot afford a vicious cycle that
sharpens social tensions. Achieving and maintaining
this balance requires a confluence of several factors.
A growing economy, rising employment and incomes,
falling inequality, an improving education system,
fertile conditions for entrepreneurship and career
mobility will contribute significantly to uniting South
Africa’s people.
To this effect, our approach advances the concept
of Virtuous Capital (Value Creation, Value Capture
and Value Circulation) as a basis for a formal social
compact to help strengthen the alignment between
growth, development and nation building, generating
a virtuous cycle.
In essence:  
■  Value Creation – is the process of unlocking
value through direct and immediate measures
by government – given the skewed and limited
nature of the market – aimed at the expansion
and redistribution of opportunities?
■  Value Capture – is the benefits to government
from remittances to the fiscus generated by an
expanding economy.
■  Value Circulation – is the process by which income
and opportunities are redistributed towards a
more equitable, shared and sustainable growth
path.
At issue in the arts and culture sector is new
opportunities and new market creation. Rather than
a model of sustainability that measures progress
by efficiency gains alone, this model framework for
radical change measures progress by the capacity of
those changes to create new markets in a virtuous
cycle of poverty reduction, innovation and economic
expansion.
At the same time, this approach can be applied to all
sectors and departments, and it is proposed that the
NEC gives consideration to its deployment across the
board.
What then are the components of the Phakisa
programme that respond to the challenges we face?
Recasting the Mzansi Golden Economy
The limits of the MGE approach are an overriding
concern with job creation over more sustainable

imperatives of new enterprise creation as a basis
for employment. Recognising these limits, our new
approach to the MGE is focused on the development
of artists through the following interventions:
■ Mentorship
This stage provides information, training, experience,
and networks to artists.
■ Incubation
Once the mentorship stage has been implemented,
artists will proceed to incubators in which information,
experimentation, credibility and visibility, and much
needed workspaces are provided.
■ Venture capital
From incubation, venture capital enables artists to
access information, markets and finance partners.
The South African scenario is that the glut of artists
at the base of the pyramid is fragile. Their progression
to the next level – that of professionals – is the core
of incubator interventions.   The level of master is
largely the preserve of cultural elite at present. Thus
progression through different levels and genres
is facilitated through the staged technical and
entrepreneurial development interventions of our
new approach aimed at transforming artists into
creative entrepreneurs.  
MGE programme interventions
■  National Academy for Cultural & Creative
Industries of SA (NaCISA) - NaCISA will provide
training, not necessarily in the form of bricks and
mortar, as a way in which to expand knowledge
and expertise to people. The main emphasis of this
programme is the provision of enabling training
kits that are widely accessible.  
■  Creative Arts Incubators - Once people are
trained, artists will progress to incubation centres
across the country. These incubators will help
provide artists with the tools for production. For
example a film maker will be provided with the
tools (camera equipment, etc.) to make films.  
The tangible measure of impact of the two
programmes will be more local content.
■  Venture Capital - Our Venture Capital programme
will help artists who have progressed beyond the
apprentice and professional (incubator) levels
to access capital and markets. It is often the case
that entrepreneurs struggle to sustain business

41

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
initiatives because of financial dips. The Venture
Capital fund will assist with moving people out of
dips into more sustainable economic activities.
■  Tax Incentives - Our tax incentive interventions
address both immediate concerns around
Section 18A of the Income Tax Act and more
comprehensive medium-term interventions  
pursuant to a tax regime that  both enables artists
to build sustainable enterprises and contribute
towards the tax revenues of the country. In large
measure, these programmes are aimed at making
it easier for artists to expand sources of funding.  
We are currently designing a strategy to achieve
this objective.
■  Audience Development - Our Audience
Development programme will enable us to
leverage our institutions and resources to create
more customers who buy local content from artists.
■  Market Development - The final leg of the MGE
programme is the creation of an  Mzansi Golden
Market that is able to pool the buying power
of government and the private sector. Both
government and the private sector will source
local content that artists themselves create. One
method of maximising the Mzansi Golden Market
is an online platform that will expand market
opportunities for creative entrepreneurs
■  Loyalty programme - The Mzansi Golden Market
will be complimented by a loyalty programme
aimed at incentivising and creating more markets.
■  DAC entities - We are in the process of finalising
revisions to the White Paper, the outcome of
which will enable us to rationalise functions
of entities within DAC. In order to get value for
money, we will review our business models
to both strengthen our capacity for service
delivery and avoid wasteful duplication of scarce
resources. There are currently a proliferation of
entities and programmes within the DAC that
prohibit the achievement of economies of scale
and the efficient use of resources. The utility of our
entities will thence be measured by their impact
on social cohesion and nation building. But
most importantly, these interventions will aim at
making sure that our entities spend more money
on delivering programmes rather than on salaries
and related costs.
■  Cultural Diplomacy - Our Cultural Diplomacy
programme will introduce Africa month as a

42

festival of ideas. Where previously we had Africa
day, we have now extended the occasion to a
month-long celebration. These celebrations will
be marked by performing arts including music,
dance and theatre sessions, dialogues, business
conferences, and culinary festivals.  
■  Programme of Seasons - This programme will
continue to focus on BRICS countries. To this effect,
we are currently exploring a China season which
will include cultural exchange programmes aimed
at sharing our heritage and ideas. In similar vein,
Russia will be next.
■  Liberation Heritage Route - The liberation
heritage route programme, aimed at celebrating
our struggle heroes, will be an economical journey
of heritage routes widely accessible to people.
■  Unite Schools clubs - These clubs will be an
avenue for fostering our Constitutional values in
schools. The programme allows learners to come
up with projects at school level and increase
their application of constitutional values. The
programme will also look at sports projects and
arts and culture projects, ultimately expanding to
other projects such as environmental and health
projects in schools. The schools club concept will
be announced in Mandela Day, that day being the
22nd of November.
■  Language - The Official Language Act will be
implemented across government departments
in our effort to encourage the use of official
languages. To this effect, the department will be
making sure that the implementation of the use
of official languages is monitored. In that regard,
one of the critical elements is making sure that we
turn around the management challenges of our
language board and also encourage the use of the
Khoisan and San languages.
■  Libraries - We currently have a conditional grant
from National Treasury for the development and
upgrade of libraries. The key priority will be rolling
out the programme, especially in rural areas,
to make sure that there is a culture of reading
and in the process guarding against libraries
becoming white elephants.   To this effect, we
will be developing strategies that increase their
utilisation and impact.
■  Community Arts Centres - Finally, we will be
reviewing our Community Arts Centre strategy
to avoid them falling into derelict states, upgrade

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
those that need improvement and encourage
greater use of the facilities by communities by
introducing more programming.

Reviewing the White Paper
In order to increase the contribution of this sector to
nation building, social cohesion and economic growth
and development, we are reviewing the White Paper
on Arts and Culture.
Preserving our cultural heritage
We should ensure the development and promotion
of indigenous languages, with a view to including the
programme in the education curriculum. In this regard,
indigenous language policy should seek to ensure
that one African language should be compulsory in
schools depending on the region. Special emphasis
should be placed on promoting the arts in historically
marginalised communities to ensure the building of
patriotism and national consciousness.
As the ANC we should remain at the forefront of
promoting and preserving our cultural heritage but
ensure that all cultural practices are not in conflict with
the South African Constitution with special reference
to human rights and gender. This includes ensuring
that all patriarchal practices are discouraged and that
practices such as ukuthwalwa and ukungenwa, which
are in their nature gender oppressive and abusive to
women and children, must be outlawed.
We must also ensure that measures to reduce
Xenophobia and to protect people from discrimination
based on sexual orientation.
Measuring outputs
The key to the success of our programmes is effectively
measuring their outputs within DAC. Lean processes,
value for money, opportunities generated, and social
cohesion are key success measures within the DAC.
At stakeholder level, success measures include
the number of cultural entrepreneurs impacted,
meaningful opportunities created, financing provided
or leveraged, and the ‘feel good’ factor.
Ultimately, the degree of social cohesion and nation
building is the cross-cutting measure of success.
Delivering our programmes requires that we think
outside the box. This in turn means taking a very
experimental approach to designing and driving our
interventions.

11. ON SPORTS AND RECREATION
11.1 Policy pronouncements
The following policy directives have been scrutinized
and pronouncements regarding sport and recreation
extracted.  
2012: National Development Plan
The NDP recognizes that sport plays an important role
in promoting wellness and social cohesion, and treats
sport as a cross-cutting issue, with related proposals in
the chapters on education, health and nation building.  
The NDP sets out five long-term nation building
imperatives for South Africa.  These are as follows:
■  Fostering constitutional values 
■  Equal opportunities, inclusion and redress 
■  Promoting social cohesion across society 
■  Active citizenry and leadership 
■  Fostering a social compact 
Sport and recreation contribute substantially to
promoting social cohesion across society and detailed
initiatives in this regard are captured in the Medium
Term Strategic Framework.
It is acknowledged that sport and physical education
are an integral part of a child’s development and with
this in mind the Department of Basic Education (DBE)
and SRSA have taken important steps to reintroduce
sport in schools.   The NDP recommends that this
should be expanded so that all schools develop and
maintain infrastructure for at least two sports.   All
communities should have access to sport facilities and
encourage the formation of amateur leagues.  The NDP
proposes an initiative to encourage South Africans to
walk, run, cycle or play team games on the second
Saturday of every month. The extensive network of
formal and informal sporting clubs can be mobilized
to organize these events.  Expanding opportunities for
participation in sport will help to ensure that sports
teams represent all sectors of society. It will also ensure
that South Africa produces results that match its
passion for sport.  The NDP recognizes health as being
everyone’s responsibility, including city planning
officials.   Many functions of a city government, like
providing pedestrian walks, cycling lanes, open parks
and street lighting, can have a positive effect on
physical activity which is essential for health outcomes.  

43

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
Although there is alignment between the NDP and
the DBE Action Plan and Vision for Schooling in 2025,
it does identify, amongst others, that sport, school
health, arts and culture require attention.   The NDP
encourages sport and physical education. They are an
integral part of the holistic development of a learner.
Schools are where talent is identified, career choices
made (including careers in sport) and habits learnt.
Given the growing problem of obesity, the habit of
leading an active life-style can be developed at a
young age through participation in sport.
The NDP states that the best place to instill changes
in lifestyles and behavior is at school.  To this end the
following proposals are made:  
■  Physical education should be compulsory in all
schools.
■  Every school in South Africa should employ a
qualified physical education teacher.
■  Schools should have access to adequate facilities
to practice school sport and physical education.
■  All schools should be supported to participate in
organized sport at local, district, provincial and
national levels.
■  School health promoting teams should be
established in each district and should visit
schools regularly.
■  A culture of wellness must be established in
communities and at work.
■  Every ward should have adequate facilities for
basic exercise and sporting activities.
■  There should be incentives for employers to
provide opportunities for employees to exercise
and have access to information about healthy
eating.  
For the transformation vision for sport to be realized,
school sport must be adequately resourced. The
government must ensure, that there are adequate
facilities for the majority of the population to play
sport and that these are adequately maintained. This
does not need expensive buildings, but recreational
environments with basic facilities that can function
as community hubs. Communities should organize
sporting events, leagues, championships and generally
look after the sports facilities once they are installed or
developed. Corporate investments in grassroots sport
should also be encouraged.

44

The NDP acknowledges that in the area of sport there
is a need to showcase South Africa and promote its
presence and leadership on strategic issues as part
of its “soft power” in international relations.   Similarly,
as a middle-income African country, there needs to
be a more comfortable fit between critical domestic
socio-economic demands, regional and continental
obligations and international cooperation through
BRICS (Brazil Russia India China & South Africa) and the
world.  Foreign policies cannot be disassociated from
these demands and obligations.  They should be made
through engaging with domestic constituents like the
business community, the Development Bank of South
Africa and arts, culture and sporting bodies, which
ultimately constitute the relations between countries.   
In terms of building safer communities the NDP
acknowledges that initiatives in this regard should
involve the youth and could be run by sectors, such as
education, sport, arts and culture, and social welfare,
coordinated by community safety centers.  
The NDP also acknowledges the significant role that
sport plays with regards to fostering nation building.  
The NDP envisions a South Africa where all will be more
conscious of the things they have in common, rather
than their differences, where their shared experiences
will cut across divisions of race, gender, space and class.

The second transition – Building a national
democratic society and the balance of forces
Apart from the state-building and socio-economic
aspects of nation-formation, we must also continue to
pay attention to the role of arts and culture, religion,
language, media, tradition, and sports as they evolve
and contribute to an emerging and diverse South
African identity. These too remain terrains of struggle,
because aspects of each of these may well detract
from our non-racial and non-sexist objectives, or even
counteract our democratic goals.
Our approach to social transformation must therefore
be people-centered by involving people in their
own development, through the public provision of
a minimum package of publicly delivered transfers,
goods and services known as a ‘social floor’, and by
providing a safety net for the most vulnerable. This
includes providing basic rights to shelter, food security,
health services, education, water and sanitation, and a
social security network. It also includes other programs
that promote the physical, social, safety and emotional

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
well-being of all in our society, including through
culture, community safety and sports. It also involves a
focus on the values of caring, excellence; cooperation
and solidarity that we want to build as part of the
social capital for social and economic transformation.

2014: National Election Manifesto
A phased-approach to the introduction of compulsory
African languages in schools will be adopted. We will
continue to promote sports, arts, heritage and culture
at our schools.

11.2 Achievements
In the past eighteen years we have made significant
improvement in the development of all sporting codes
in the country. These include:  
Physical education is now a stand-alone and a
compulsory subject in schools,
■  Since 1994, sport has been a unifying force in
South Africa. Sporting code institutions such as
the South African Council on Sport, the South
African Non-Racial Olympic Committee and the
National Sports Council were consolidated by
building a democratic and unified sports system.
■  A dedicated focus was placed on transforming this
sector to increase and ensure equitable access to
sporting opportunities. Sports interaction has
contributed towards increased interaction across
race and class.  
■  From being a pariah state, South Africa is now
an affiliate of the Supreme Council of Sport
(SCSA, Zone VI) and also participates in various
international sport organisations and events, such
as the Commonwealth Games, Olympic Games,
Paralympic Games, World Games, and World
Antidoping Agency, and the International Antidoping Arrangement.
During the period 1994 to 2005, Sport and Recreation
South Africa constructed 744 sport and recreation
facilities throughout the country.   South Africa has
also successfully hosted a number of key international
sporting events, most notably the Rugby World Cup in
1995, the Africa Cup of Nations in 1996 and the FIFA
World Cup in 2010. These events strengthened the
glue that keeps this country together by fostering
an overarching national identity as well as a spirit

of camaraderie. They also contributed significantly
towards developing South Africa as a tourist
destination.
The sixth edition of the Development Indicators was
published in 2012 by the Minister in The Presidency for
DPME.  As with previous publications, DPME employed
quantitative measures to track the progress made
in implementing the government policies based on
data sourced from research institutions, government
databases and official statistics.  
In an analysis of the findings on public opinion on
race relations it was found that “at a 39% average
for 2012, public perceptions about race relations have
reached a record low. This could be signaling an urgent
need for sustainable nation-building initiatives aimed
at improving social cohesion in the country.” It is clear
that sport and recreation have a role to play here in
promoting social cohesion and eliminating racism
while building the nation as they provide a tool for all
South Africans to unite and strive towards common
goals.   Sport and recreation also offer a medium to
recognise our common humanity in meaningful ways.  
When exploring pride in being South African it was
noted that national pride was at its highest (90%)
during the economic boom years and at it’s lowest at
the height of the economic crisis (65%). Since 2009,
pride in being South African significantly increased.
The 2012 publication on the Development Indicators
recognises that the hosting of the 2010 FIFA World
Cup™ could have partly contributed to this increase in
national pride.  Sports events commonly address the
indicator of belonging and inclusion by showcasing
and valuing the contributions of different groups of
residents.   These events can aim to create positive
social capital by facilitating friendly interactions
among groups who normally rarely meet.  By involving
marginal groups in public activities in a “safe space”
sports events can promote civic engagement and
participation as well.  This was a finding in a 2012 African
Centre for Migration and Society (ACMS) research
report that studied social cohesion interventions in
fourteen South African townships.  
There is still a need to ensure the organisation and
development of all sporting codes in the country.
In this regard, we welcome the adoption of the new
sports and recreation plan which seeks to ensure the
development and growth of the sports sector and the
welfare of the sporting fraternity.

45

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
In order to fully realise the implementation of the
vision of building a competitive sporting nation we
must resource sport in the country from the public
fiscus at all levels. The MIG must be ring-fenced so
as to facilitate investments in sports and recreation
infrastructure.
The utilisation of transformation charters and scorecards to transform ‘Sporting Franchises’, Sporting
Councils and Federations and the High Performance
Centres must focus on local talent development. This
includes targeting developing sporting facilities that
are historically not available in other parts of the
country, e.g. swimming.
The Adopted National Sport and Recreation plan
(NRSP) must include the decision to implement the
quotas as a means to attain sporting excellence in the
medium term.
We will focus on indigenous and grassroots sport
development over the next 10 years so that the need
for quotas is phased out.
All sport facilities must enable access to people with
disabilities and that special attention must be paid to
children with disabilities.
Sport development must also include targeting an
active ageing programme, and this must be done
working with all sectors of society.

Social Transformation Policy Discussion
Document: 2012
Since, culture, sports, recreation and heritage play
integral components in the realisation of development
and social upliftment through contributing to nation
building and economic as well as social development,
these sectors are central in the pursuance of most
economic and social outcomes including job creation
and economic growth.
Apart from the state-building and socio-economic
aspects of nation-formation, we must also continue to
pay attention to the role of arts and culture, religion,
language, media, tradition, and sports as they evolve
and contribute to an emerging and diverse South
African identity. These, too, remain terrains of struggle,
because aspects of each of these may well detract
from our non-racial and non-sexist objectives, or even
counteract our democratic goals.

46

Our approach to social transformation must therefore
be people-centred by involving people in their own
development through the public provision of a
minimum package of publicly delivered transfers,
goods and services known as a ‘social floor’, and by
providing a safety net for the most vulnerable. This
includes providing basic rights to shelter, food security,
health services, education, water and sanitation, and a
social security network. It includes other programmes
that promote the physical, social, safety and emotional
well-being of all in our society, including through
culture, community safety and sports. It also involves a
focus on the values of caring, excellence; cooperation
and solidarity that we want to build as part of the
social capital for social and economic transformation.
A key aspect of social and economic transformation
is investment in the education and training and the
health of all our people. The critical questions and
programmes for the next few decades therefore
include developing and preserving our arts, culture,
sports, heritage and language to promote social
cohesion and nation-building. This will require a
coordinated approach, deepening political and
ideological development in the ANC, deliberately
developing progressive intellectuals, organic and
otherwise, and ongoing engagement on the roles of
media, education, arts and culture, sports and other
institutions that produce and reproduce knowledge,
ideas and values.
The description of multiple deprivations is an important
and framing statement in that it recognises that
poverty is not only defined by a lack of income (income
poverty), but by the fact that people are rendered
vulnerable and caught up in systemic poverty through
lack of opportunity to work, limited access to quality
education and training (human capability assets),
through inadequate access and exposure to sports
and recreation, to inadequate access to safe drinking
water through not having access to physical assets
such as land (physical assets), inadequate health, they
live in unhealthy environments and their safety and
security are not sufficiently protected and guaranteed.
In this regard, the provision of human settlements
must be recognised as an integral part of local
governance and necessary for the promotion of social
cohesion.  The development of cohesive communities
requires the availing of all the necessary amenities and
assets. The current local land acquisition strategies,
planning and land use processes must be reviewed
to ensure communities are provided with access to

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
basic services and integrated human development
including the provision of sports, recreation, arts,
culture and communal heritage.
Since the introduction of these policies, there have
been some significant changes as is evident in sporting
codes, in schools and in the development of integrated
communities. Our people are now more tolerant of
each other’s diversity.
However, after 17 years efforts of sport and recreation
transformation has been largely unsuccessful. In its
attempts to transform and re-invent itself, the concept
of transformation and the motivations for and against
the need thereof have been oversimplified, often
emotional, not clear and sometimes misunderstood.
To implement, manage and monitor sports
transformation, a multidimensional Transformation
Performance Scorecard will be used. The Scorecard
will enable the sport system to measure where it is in
its transformation journey, whether it is improving and
to set targets. It is intended to reflect a balanced and
timely view of sport and recreation performance in
implementing transformation strategies in proposed
dimensions.
In recognising this role, Sport and Recreation South
Africa (SRSA) finalised an updated White Paper on
sport and recreation and a Road Map outlining priority
areas. In advancing this Roadmap, SRSA adopted
the National Sport and Recreation Plan (NSRP) at
the National Sport and Recreation Indaba (NSRI)
held in December 2011 to address strategic focus
areas to assist with broadening the base of sport
and recreation in South Africa. The Roadmap and
NSRP reflect on the limitations, misconceptions and
perceptions of the current transformation discourse
in the sporting sector and calls for a greater sense
of urgency, resourcing and linkage to the schools
programmes. It is therefore imperative that the Sports
and Recreation Act be amended to integrate new
developments and important policy intentions. Such
amendments should also provide for the revision of
the appointment and accountability of the South
African Sport Confederation and Olympic (SASCOC)
board and recreation Federations.
The NSRP emphasises Schools Sport as the ‘bedrock’
of South Africa’s sport strategy for the coming 20 years
and being key to laying the foundation for both an
active and a winning nation. It is therefore imperative
for all branches of the ANC and the broader movement
and society at large to contribute to the NSRP. The

NSRP also facilitates for increasing representative
participation levels in all levels of various sports codes,
so as to foster a common South African identity and
social cohesion.
The NSRP paves the way to ensure that physical
education is compulsory and implemented in all
schools and that schools sport contributes to the
development of sport in line with national priorities.
Therefore, there is a need for all branches of the
ANC and the Alliance to assist in identifying sport
and recreation legends and veterans to assist the
country into the campaign to resuscitate schools and
community sport.
Pursuant to our programme of massification of sport
and recreation, we need to mobilise society at large
especially local sports councils and branches of the
ANC to implement grassroots sports programmes
such as Modified Sport (in order to take youth out of
the streets) as an important foundation for sporting
codes. The purpose of the Modified Sport is to attract
especially young people by modifying rules and
equipment with the focus on fun and enjoyment.
The majority of municipalities in South Africa do not
use the allocated budget for sport and recreation
infrastructure for its mandated purpose. Therefore, all
structures of the movement should be encouraged
to participate fully and influence the IDP processes
with regard with sport and recreation infrastructural
development.
The ring-fencing of 15% of Municipal Infrastructure
Grant (MIG) for building sport and recreation facilities
in May 2011 was an important step to address
backlogs. It for this reason that this ring-fenced 15%
should be transferred to the coffers of the Department
of Sport and Recreation with immediate effect as per
the Resolution of the 2007 National Conference of the
ANC.This should be complemented by the deployment
of Community Development Workers (CDW) to assist
in this exercise which will include, among other things,
sport and recreation facilities audit.
In order to ensure alignment, it is proposed that all
structures of sport and recreation especially sport
federations and sport councils should be redemarcated
in line with the Municipal Demarcation Board from
2012 to 2013 for integrated and seamless planning
and service delivery.
All branches of the ANC, Alliance and fraternal
organisations should embark on a sustained campaign

47

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
to establish and strengthen local sport and recreation
councils. Branches of the ANC should mobilise
SANCO local structures, COSATU locals, and SACP
districts as well as broader society to establish Sport
and Recreation Subcommittees where they operate.
This should be coupled with encouraging cadres of
our movement to take an interest in sport including
standing and be elected and be active in Sport and
Recreation structures from local, district, regional,
provincial and national levels.
This should include, but not be limited to, strengthening
the delivery system of sport and recreation through
the empowerment of the people from our localities
as well as the South African Sport Confederation and
Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and Sport Councils
at ward, local, regional, and provincial level; and in
the end work towards greater cooperation with
strategic partners between our branches, SRSA, the
Police, Defence Force, and other related structures,
including Correctional Services that will enhance sport
participation while in service or serving a term as well
as the employment of athletes giving them a career
while offering opportunities for them to train at an
appropriate level.
All this will also be successful if our branches and
the ANC government focus on a well-coordinated
education and training programme and functional
Athlete’s and Coaching system. SRSA must as a
matter of urgency establish an Athletes’ and Coaches’
Commission to pave the way towards the development
of sport and recreation leaders that will adhere to
sound governance principles and guide South African
sport and recreation to higher and new heights.
A key proposal in the National Sport and Recreation Plan
(NSRP) is the Transformation Charter which is aimed
at establishing a competitive and demographically
representative sport system guided by a value set
based on equal opportunity, fairness, just behaviour,
equitable resource distribution, and empowerment.
In developing and anticipating the implementation
of the Charter, SRSA should implement grassroots
based sport development, talent identification and
academies so that in the long run the quota system
is abandoned. Such implementation must also include
Transformation Scorecards and Monitoring and
Evaluation systems and bodies.
In order to coordinate and monitor the implementation
of sports and recreation oriented plans it is proposed
that the ANC establish a National and Sports Recreation

48

Desk as a matter of urgency as agreed by the 52nd
National Congress. The work of Sports and Recreation
Desk should be complemented by local sports
and recreation councils. This Sport and Recreation
machinery should be charged with monitoring and
evaluating the implementation of the social cohesion
programme of the STC whilst also  conducting audits
of community members especially the youth who have
been involved in sport or/and having some skills in
athletics and coaching to enroll in the SRSA database
of athletes and coaches.
To bring about equity and fight poverty the state
would do well in putting in place a platform or social
floor to facilitate for sustainable livelihoods. This can be
achieved by; (1) the deepening of the social protection
system, (2) a strengthening of delivery in education and
health services, (3) a vigorous promotion of sports, arts,
recreation, culture and heritage, (4) improved access
(especially to young mothers) to social services, and
(5) reduced cost of living. Such responsive measures
must be complemented by proactive labour market
measures which should link the poor and potentially
labour active social grant recipients to employment
opportunities.
This will require that the state determines and
implements a minimum and acceptable package
of quality and publicly delivered transfers, goods
and services so as to enable households to access
opportunities and engage in sustainable livelihoods.
This may include access to quality and free education,
health, water, sports and recreational opportunities,
affordable and accessible transport and access to
affordable quality nutrition. The implementation of
such a package of services would ensure improved
livelihoods for vulnerable individuals, families and
households. This would contribute to the reduction of
the number of people living below the poverty line,
and would facilitate for human capital development
and upward class mobility.
Additional programmatic responses which engage
particularly young people in the sports and recreation
sector will be needed to complement the legislative
and policy level proposals to which end additional
local level sports and recreation facilities have to be
built.
The functionality of Sport and Recreation South Africa
(SRSA) is premised on the Constitution of the Republic
of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996, which guarantees the

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
right to social security in Schedule 27. The Constitution
affirms the democratic values of human dignity,
equality and freedom.  In line with these Constitutional
imperatives, SRSA has been assigned the powers and
functions to develop and implement national policies
and programmes regarding sport and recreation in
the country.  
The third revision of the White Paper addressed the
afore-mentioned issues.  This White Paper was finalised
in 2012 together with the development of a Road Map
that outlined priority areas for sport and recreation.
An increased and focused commitment at all levels of
sport would be advantageous for the country since
this could reap greater health, economic, social and
international benefits.  This being the case, government
must consider expenditure on sport and recreation as
a worthwhile, and indeed a necessary investment in
the future of our country and its people.
On 18th May 2012 Cabinet approved a NSRP for South
Africa.   This plan covered a period of more than 10
months and included contributions from all roleplayers that comprise the sports sector in the country.
The NSRP, underpinned by a declaration of intent, was
adopted at the National Sports Indaba that took place
in Midrand from 21 to 22 November 2011 with the
theme: “From policy to practice”.
The strategic focus of the NSRP is to reconstruct and
revitalise the sport and recreation sector for an active
and winning nation whilst improving the quality
of lives of all South Africans. In addressing these
challenges the NSRP provides the framework for a
coordinated, integrated and aligned national sports
system within which all component parts are focused
towards a common set of goals and objectives.  
This however has become an unfunded mandate. In the
initial Medium Term Expenditure Framework period
the SRSA requires approximately R10b for the 1st year
reducing to R7.8b by the 2nd year and stabilising at R4b
annually to roll-out and implement the entire plan for
the 20 year life cycle of this plan.  This will leave a lasting
legacy for the country in addressing facility backlogs,
the training of coaches, and the establishment of
sustainable clubs and so on. A phased-in approach has
been designed to ensure that various aspects can be
implemented on an incremental basis.
Considering the prevailing financial situation, the
Department realises that key funding priorities need
to be identified and in this regard the following are

proposed:
■  Development and maintenance of sport and
recreation facilities;
■  Transformation in sport;
■  School sport;
■  Community sport; and
■  Recreation.
The basis for selecting these priorities was the
fundamental value placed on them in both the NDP
and in the Medium Term Strategic Plan (MTSF).

11.3 Challenges
Organisational factors that influence our ability to
effectively implement programmes and policies
include:
■  Inadequate financial resources to
historical backlogs and current needs;

address

■  Sectorial capacity constraints;
■  Limited revenue streams for sport;
■  A politically incorrect view that sport and
recreation is not an important portfolio; and
■  A skewed participation landscape with severe
accessibility limitations.  
For the transformation vision for sport to be realised,
school sport must be adequately resourced. A reconfiguration of the existing funding models is
required to fully implement the National Sport and
Recreation Plan and in so doing to effectively address
the policy pronouncements made by the ANC.
The government must ensure that there are adequate
facilities for the majority of the population to play
sport and that these are adequately maintained. This
does not need expensive buildings, but recreational
environments with basic facilities that can function
as community hubs. Communities should organise
sporting events, leagues, championships and generally
look after the sports facilities once they are installed or
developed
As the MTSF articulates government’s commitment to
implementing the NDP and delivering on its electoral
mandate as well as its Constitutional and statutory
obligations, it is critical that these priorities are
adequately resourced.  Outcome 14, where sport and

49

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
recreation feature prominently, acknowledges that
despite progress since 1994, the South African society
remains divided. The privilege attached to race, class,
space and gender has not yet been fully reversed, and
the quality of services continues to be affected by who
you are and where you live. Apartheid spatial patterns
mean limited opportunity for sharing of space across
race and class and thus there is still limited interaction
across race.  The sharing of common space across race,
space and class will be enabled through instituting
sustained community dialogues, improving public
spaces and services and elevating sport at both
community and school levels.  
Sport and recreation contribute notably in suboutcome 3 of Outcome 14 (Promoting social cohesion
across society through increased interaction across
race and class) and have committed to the following
for the MTSF:

■  Given the historical empirical evidence that sport
plays a pivotal role in instilling positive behaviour,
encouraging healthy lifestyles, and promoting
social cohesion and nation building, the current
funding models and the National Lotteries Act
must be reviewed. A ticket levy is proposed and
the Draft Bill on the Ban on Alcohol Advertising
needs to be reconsidered.
■  The recreation portfolio has in the past
generally been neglected and with a heavy
focus on formalised sport it suffered severely.
The Committee should take a concrete a clear
resolution on recreation as key to the promotion
of healthy lifestyles.

11.4 Strategic Interventions

■  Advocate transformation in sport and recreation.

The NDP recognises that sport plays an important role
in promoting wellness and social cohesion, and treats
sport as a cross-cutting issue, with related proposals in
the chapters on education, health and nation building.
The NDP sets out five long-term nation building
imperatives for South Africa.  These are as follows:

■  Provide adequate sport and recreation facilities
and ensure that these are maintained.

■  Fostering constitutional values

■  Increase the access of South African citizens to
sport and recreation activities.
■  Provide mass participation opportunities.

■  Develop talented athletes by providing them with
opportunities to excel. Support high performance
athletes to achieve success in international sport.

■  Equal opportunities, inclusion and redress

The Ministry and the Department have identified the
following key critical success factors to achieve these
priorities:  

■  Fostering a social compact

■  Consolidation of the Municipal Infrastructure
Grant (MIG) into a new National Grant administered
by Sport and Recreation South Africa.   This will
radically change the sport facilities landscape of
the country and contribute towards addressing
the imperative of shared public spaces.
■  Acceleration of the transformation agenda and
the imposition of penalties to non-compliant
sport and recreation bodies which will radically
change how transformation in sport has been
approached in the last 20 years.
■  Allowing Sport and Recreation South Africa to be
a lead department in driving the delivery of school
sport which will radically change how school sport
is being approached and how it is delivered in the
country.

50

■  Promoting social cohesion across society
■  Active citizenry and leadership

It is acknowledged that sport and physical education
are an integral part of a child’s development and with
this in mind the Department of Basic Education (DBE)
and SRSA have taken important steps to reintroduce
sport in schools.  The NDP recommends that this should
be expanded so that all schools develop and maintain
infrastructure for at least two sports.  All communities
should have access to sport facilities and encourage
the formation of amateur leagues.  The NDP proposes
an initiative to encourage South Africans to walk, run,
cycle or play team games on the second Saturday of
every month. The extensive network of formal and
informal sporting clubs can be mobilised to organise
these events.  
Expanding opportunities for participation in sport will
help ensure that sports teams represent all sectors of
society. It will also ensure that South Africa produces
results that match its passion for sport.  

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
The NDP recognises health as being everyone’s
responsibility, including city planning officials.  
Many functions of a city government, like providing
pedestrian walks, cycling lanes, open parks and street
lighting, can have a positive effect on physical activity
which is essential for health outcomes.  
The NDP states that the best place to instill changes
in lifestyles and behaviour is at school.   They are an
integral part of the holistic development of a learner.
Schools are where talent is identified, career choices
made (including careers in sport) and habits learnt.
Given the growing problem of obesity, the habit of
leading an active life-style can be developed at a
young age through participation in sport.
To this end the following proposals are made:  
■  Physical education should be compulsory in all
schools.
■  Every school in South Africa should employ a
qualified physical education teacher.
■  Schools should have access to adequate facilities
to practice school sport and physical education.
■  All schools should be supported to participate in
organised sport at local, district, provincial and
national levels.
■  School health promoting teams should be
established in each district and should visit
schools regularly.
■  A culture of wellness must be established in
communities and at work.
■  Every ward should have adequate facilities for
basic exercise and sporting activities.
■  There should be incentives for employers to
provide opportunities for employees to exercise
and have access to information about healthy
eating.  
Although there is alignment between the NDP and
the DBE Action Plan and Vision for Schooling in 2025, it
does identify, amongst others, that sport, school health,
arts and culture require attention.  In divided societies
like South Africa, levels of trust are low and groups
tend to prioritse their immediate sectoral interests.  
The National Planning Commission (NPC) suggests the
public signing of an agreement which represents an
important symbolic commitment by leadership and a
public statement of what is important.  

It is further suggested that this should not be a once-off
event.  Leaders of sport and faith-based organisations,
unions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs),
cooperatives, student organisations, governing bodies,
traditional leaders and traditional healers should
discuss the agreement and address obstacles to
implementation.  
Sport and recreation teach discipline and are an
integral component of a healthy lifestyle. They enable
South Africans to share common space. But the
conditions for a culture of physical activity also need
to be addressed.  For example, authorities must ensure
that the design of cities, suburban areas and rural
villages encourages people to run, walk and cycle, as
mentioned above.
The NDP proposes that every ward should have
adequate facilities for basic exercise and sporting
activities and suggests improving public services
and spaces as well as building integrated housing
and sports facilities in communities to ensure
sharing of common spaces across race and class.   It
also encourages a holistic approach to low-cost
housing developments that include local recreational
facilities.   Daily interactions on an equal basis build
social cohesion and common understanding.   These
interactions will be promoted effectively when South
Africans share more public spaces, as was the case
briefly during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  
The NDP recognises water as being a foundation of
activities for tourism and recreation and reinforces
the importance of its protection.   The NDP also
highlights the importance of maintaining ecosystem
services such as those delivering cultural benefit,
such as recreational opportunities, as fundamental
to achieving South Africa’s social and economic
development objectives.  
For the transformation vision for sport to be realised,
school sport must be adequately resourced. The
government must ensure, that there are adequate
facilities for the majority of the population to play
sport and that these are adequately maintained. This
does not need expensive buildings, but recreational
environments with basic facilities that can function
as community hubs. Communities should organise
sporting events, leagues, championships and generally
look after the sports facilities once they are installed or
developed. Corporate investments in grassroots sport
should also be encouraged.

51

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
The NDP acknowledges that in the area of sport there
is a need to showcase South Africa and promote its
presence and leadership on strategic issues as part
of its “soft power” in international relations.  Similarly,
as a middle-income African country, there needs to
be a more comfortable fit between critical domestic
socio-economic demands, regional and continental
obligations and international cooperation through
BRICS (Brazil Russia India China & South Africa) and the
world.  Foreign policies cannot be disassociated from
these demands and obligations.  They should be made
through engaging with domestic constituents like the
business community, the Development Bank of South
Africa and arts, culture and sporting bodies, which
ultimately constitute the relations between countries.   

mechanism does not take into consideration the
significant funds needed for the maintenance costs
of these.   As SRSA remains adamant that the most
feasible avenue to address this issue is in the form
of dedicated funding, it has approached National
Treasury to consider the establishment of a Conditional
Grant, managed by the Department and dedicated to
provide adequate sport and recreation facilities. The
original planning was that the transfer of the MIG
funding would be allocated to the SRSA budget in
the 2014/15 financial year.  This has been delayed by a
global review of grant funding.  

In terms of building safer communities the NDP
acknowledges that initiatives in this regard should
involve the youth and could be run by sectors, such as
education, sport, arts and culture, and social welfare,
coordinated by community safety centres.  

Currently municipalities are expected to deliver sport
and recreation through the Municipal Infrastructure
Grant.  Our observations and monitoring of the spend
on this ring-fenced funding over the past two financial
years indicates that most municipalities, specifically
the rural municipalities (which ironically need the
sport and recreation facilities the most,) do not spend
this ring-fenced funding on its intended purpose.

It is clear from the excerpts above taken from the NDP
that sport and recreation play a pivotal role in promoting
wellness and social cohesion and that benefits can be
derived by both the education and health sectors.  The
NDP also acknowledges the significant role that sport
plays with regards to fostering nation building.   The
NDP envisions a South Africa where all will be more
conscious of the things they have in common, rather
than their differences, where their shared experiences
will cut across divisions of race, gender, space and class.  
SRSA has heeded the call to prioritise the NDP and a
strategic decision has been taken to support identified
initiatives that contribute directly to the vision of the
NDP.

We accordingly proposed the creation of a new
Building for Sport and Recreation Grant made up of
the currently identified and ring-fenced funding. The
Minister of Finance is called upon to support this
initiative. The proposal is that the ring-fenced amounts
should be consolidated and transferred to Sport and
Recreation South Africa to administer.  No new funds are
required. This will enable sport and recreation facilities
to be rolled-out directly and through intermediaries
(these will include state entities with capacity to
deliver in the building and maintenance environment
and non-profit bodies such as the Sports Trusts and
Dreamfields, recognised sport and recreation bodies,
municipalities and the private sector).

Sport and recreation infrastructure
The ANC 2007 National Conference in Polokwane
resolved that funding for sport and recreation
currently under the Municipal Infrastructure Grant
(MIG) be diverted to the Departments of Education and
Sport and Recreation. However, Sport and Recreation
Infrastructure is still a challenge.    
The ring-fencing of 15 % of the Public Municipal
Service Infrastructure component of the Municipal
Infrastructure Grant (MIG) towards building sports
facilities in rural areas, as gazetted in May 2011, was an
important step to addressing the shortage of sports
infrastructure in municipalities. However, the funding

52

The National Sport and Recreation Plan should be
supported by adequate and well maintained sport
and recreation facilities including in all schools of the
Republic of South Africa.

Transformation in sport and recreation
There has recently been a greater sense of urgency,
pro-active and coordinated engagement with regards
to the transformation of South African sport. The main
tool used is the Transformation Scorecard as reflected
in the NSRP. The Transformation Scorecard is a multidimensional model defining an entity’s transformation
profile in more than one area.

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
Under the leadership of the Eminent Persons
Group (EPG) appointed by Minister Mbalula, a pilot
transformation audit of five Federations (Rugby,
Cricket, Football, Netball and Athletics) was conducted
at the end of 2013. A report in this regard was released
at a media briefing on 25 March 2014.

School sport and compulsory physical education

In appointing this Group the Minister took into account
issues of representativity, gender, disability and
experience and in the South African and international
sporting context.

Progress has been made in the implementation of
the Resolutions of the 52nd National Conference
with regard to school sport and compulsory physical
education in all schools of the Republic of South Africa.

The decision to appoint the Eminent Persons Group was
taken after wide consultation within the Sporting and
Recreation community and eventually the adoption of
a resolution by the Sport and Recreation Indaba on the
need to monitor and evaluate the implementation of
the Transformation Charter with its stated scorecard
by the federation.

The School Sport programme and compulsory
physical education will assist the government to
achieve its national goals such as fight against crime
and communicable and non-communicable diseases
including lifestyle diseases, and increasing the level of
school attendance and pass rate.

The completion and presentation of the pilot evaluation
of transformation status of the five selected sports
codes was an important milestone and a stepping
stone for sports transformation. This preliminary multidimensional assessment goes beyond the traditional
focus on racial representivity in our national teams to
include other critical variables such as gender, access
to infrastructure and participation opportunities,
governance practice, employment equity and
leadership diversity, preferential procurement as well
as the demographic profiles of coaches and referees
in these codes.  
The following resolutions were adopted in this regard:
■  Committee adopts the steps being taken to bring
about total transformation in sport and recreation
in South Africa.
■  The Committee implores all ANC structures to
launch all-round campaigns for the creation
of transformation forums and embarking
on programmes to revitalize transformation
processes in all sporting codes from local to
national levels.
■  The Committee adopt a resolution making it a
prerequisite and mandatory for all sporting codes
to publish the outcomes of their transformation
plans quarterly in line with the score-card and also
submit quarterly reports to the Minister of Sport
and Recreation.
■  The Committee adopts a resolution for
government and private sector to increase to

funding of activities and action plans arising
from the findings and recommendations of the
Eminent Persons Group.

The NDP pertinently states that the best place to instill
changes in lifestyles and behaviour is at school.  To this
end the following proposals are made:  
■  Physical education should be compulsory in all
schools.
■  Every school in South Africa should employ a
qualified physical education teacher.
■  Schools should have access to adequate facilities
to practice school sport and physical education.
■  All schools should be supported to participate in
organised sport at local, district, provincial and
national levels.
■  School health promoting teams should be
established in each district and should visit
schools regularly.
■  A culture of wellness must be established in
communities and at work.
■  Every ward should have adequate facilities for
basic exercise and sporting activities.
■  There should be incentives for employers to
provide opportunities for employees to exercise
and have access to information about healthy
eating.  
School Sport has been identified as a key priority over
the next MTSF. This, we believe, is the bedrock of our
entire sport and recreation development continuum.
However resources for this critical programme have
not been made available to roll-out this programme
to scale. The debate should support the critical

53

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS

matter of funding for school sport. Our firm proposal
is that funding for sports attire, equipment and
school competitions be made available to SRSA. It is
estimated that the funding for this programme will
cost approximately R870 million annually.
There are currently loosely organized and erratic
tournaments played over the weekends and holidays.
They are largely unsupported and generally not
funded.    The existing Community Based Sport and
Recreation Hubs service a fraction of the need in
communities. The funding required (R17 million) will
be utilized to support these tournaments in major
townships in the Republic and also to fund the Rural
Sport Improvement Project being implemented with
the House of Traditional Leadership.  
In this regard, we resolved to:
■  Make physical education a stand-alone subject or
learning area in all schools of the Republic.  
■  Make physical education/training compulsory.
This should be implemented/ practiced at least
2½ hours per week in all schools.
■  The Department of Higher Education in
collaboration with the Department of Basic
Education, including Sport and Recreation, should
draft and adopt a Policy for Sport and Recreation
Education and Curriculum for Teacher Training
Colleges as well as a Policy for the Recruitment
of Sport and Recreation Educators as to assist
as coaches in the school sport programmes and
facilitators in the physical education programmes.  
All learners should be obliged to choose at least
one or more sporting or art and culture activities
at registration at the beginning of each year.

a fund to support health promotion campaigns, sport,
arts and culture as well as educational programmes
relating to the dangers of alcohol abuse.
If the Draft Bill proceeds in its current form it is
inevitable that there will be devastating consequences
for the sport and recreation sector. The alcohol
industry, which has historically been very supportive
of sports programmes through generous sponsorship
initiatives, will undoubtedly withdraw this support
when the marketing benefits associated with
sponsoring sport cease with the sponsorship deals.  
This happened when the ban on tobacco advertising
was instituted and it would be naive to assume that
the effect with the ban of alcohol advertising would
be any different.
It is essential that a contingency plan is put in place.  
The Industry Association for Responsible Alcohol
Use (ARA) was established in 1989 by the major
manufacturers of alcohol beverages in South Africa
to reduce alcohol-related harm through combating
the misuse and abuse of alcohol and promoting only
its responsible use. The ARA is registered as a nonprofit organisation with the Department of Social
Development.  The Association’s members include the
major manufacturers of alcohol beverages in South
Africa, such as SAB, Distell, brandhouse, KWV, PernodRicard and DGB. Four thousand wine producers and
60 cellars are also members of the ARA and more than
180 distributors and retail chains such as Tops, Makro
and Diamond Liquors are associate members.
The ARA acknowledges that the industry has a
responsibility to make every effort to reduce alcoholrelated harm and since its establishment, its initiatives
in this regard have had three focus areas:

■  All ANC structures from the branch to province and
society should be mobilised to give full support
to the school sport programmes including the
school sport competitions.

1.   Effective self-regulation by member companies
and other alcohol beverage manufacturers,
distributors and retailers;

Alternative funding sources

3.   education on the nature and risks of alcohol abuse,
and on the responsible use of alcoholic beverages
by those not at risk who have made the decision
to drink alcoholic beverages.

SRSA acknowledges the funding pressures currently
restraining government, and as such the possibility
of two alternative sources is being tabled for
consideration. The current debates and the Draft Bill
on the Ban on Alcohol Advertising will negatively
affect revenue streams to sport, arts and culture. We
believe that the Bill should be converted into a Money
Bill where a 2.5% levy is imposed that will constitute

54

2.   partnerships with government, public health
bodies and other relevant stakeholders to combat
abuse; and

Anticipating the considerable loss of revenue that
will inevitably follow the promulgation of the ban on
alcohol advertising, it is proposed that the government
departments negatively impacted by the new

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS

regulation be compensated through this fund that is
already in existence.  A 2% levy is suggested.  
A second alternative source of funding is a Sport Ticket
Levy to be collected on all sport tickets being sold
for major classified tournaments and competitions
including on registration fees and participation fees
for major tournaments and competitions being hosted
in the Republic.
We envisage a 5% levy on all tickets. This new revenue
stream (conceivably implemented as an ear-marked
levy through SARS) will contribute towards grass
roots sports development programmes including
mass participation. Furthermore it will contribute to
the funding of the NSRP considering the expenditure
ceiling that National Treasury and Cabinet have put in
place. The Tourism industry has a similar levy levied on
hotel bills and air travel tickets.
The Committee is therefore requested to support the
new funding streams. The operational mechanism can
be finalised with the National Treasury.

11.5 Recommendations
The ANC Social Transformation Committee (STC) in its
discussion and dialogue should consider the following
policy proposals on Sport and Recreation:
■  Support the proposal that the MIG ring fenced
amounts for facilities should be consolidated in
full and transferred to Sport and Recreation South
Africa to administer.
■  Adopt the steps being taken to bring about total
transformation in sport and recreation in South
Africa.
■  Take note of the funding needs of Sport and
Recreation South Africa and consider the
allocation of additional funding.
■  Consider the proposal to revise the draft bill on
the ban on alcohol advertising and to lobby for
an allocation to sport from the existing Industry
Association for Responsible Alcohol Use fund.
■  Support the proposal of a 5% levy on all sports
tickets sold.
■  Lobby the Provincial Treasuries allocate adequate
resources from their provincial equitable share to
the provincial departments responsible for sport
and recreation.

12. ON WOMEN
Women make up approximately 52% of the population
of our country. Women have suffered the most and
continue to be faced with the burden of providing
for children and building families.   This includes the
burden of patriarchy and continued forms of abuse
against women in society by their partners. Many of
them still remain outside of the economy, including
access to economic opportunities.
Despite the above challenges, the ANC government
working together with society, women   and private
sector has ensured that women are now actively
involved in the decision making structures in society
and in government. Some key initiatives include
progress towards achieving the 50/50 parity mark. In
addition, we will continue to ensure that women play a
more meaningful role in the growth and development
of communities and society at large. We will continue
to fight the scourge of violence and abuse against
women.
As part of implementing our policy of radical social
and economic transformation, we will implement
programmes geared towards the development of
women, in particular those that live in abject poverty,
the disabled and the most vulnerable in society.  This
includes access to opportunities, access to free basic
services; systematically fighting patriarchy in society;
increasing access to economic opportunities for
women, including targeted procurement for women
companies and SMME’s; ensuring that we work with
the rest of society, in particular the private sector, so
that women are part of decision making structures
in society; and ensuring that women are part of the
mainstream economy. In the latter regard, we welcome
the proposal by the Ministry on Women, which we
must engage to ensure that it achieves its goals.

13. ON DISABILITIES
We are making strides in ensuring that the disabled
are protected and supported. This includes the
establishment of a Ministry dedicated and focusing
on the disabled in society. However, we note that
whilst there is progress towards addressing challenges
facing the disabled in society, there has been a lack of
enabling facilities to support the disabled such as the
development of braille and sign language.
We have therefore taken decisions to implement
policies and programmes geared towards the
protection and promotion of the rights of people with

55

 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS
disabilities, including embarking on a campaign for
the protection of the disabled in society with relevant
stakeholders; ensuring that we make it compulsory
that all public buildings make it easy for the disabled to
access such facilities; and promoting the participation
of people with disabilities at all levels of the movement
and in all spheres of governance.
We are also making progress towards mainstreaming
disabled people through establishing full services in
schools and prioritizing the establishment of special
needs schools for specific disabilities where the need
arises.  This includes the development of mechanisms
at the Early Chilhood Development (ECD) level in order
to be able to detect the needs and challenges of a
disabled child at an early age. We must also develop
mechanisms at the Early Childhood Development
(ECD) level in order to be able to detect the needs
and challenges of a child at an early age. We need to
establish stimulation centers for disabled children that
needs this specialized intervention.
We must consider the establishment of a commission,
or a structure, focusing on the disabled in society.

14. ON WATER PROVISION
As part of our developmental efforts, we are required
to protect natural resources such as water. This is
so because water is a scarce commodity. Over the
past twenty years there have been efforts made by
government to ensure that we preserve water and also
produce clean quality water. Hence our vision as the
ANC remains that of ensuring that people have access
to clean and quality water.
Over the next fifteen years we will embark on a
process of reviewing current legislation to facilitate
the removal of unused and inequitable allocations
from entitlement holders in order to ensure a more
equitable distribution of water; abolish water trading
and change the funding model for the development
and maintenance of infrastructure; further explore
conservation initiatives including restrictions on the
number of golf courses within a particular radius;
develop small dams especially in rural areas as part
of water conservation; and urgently provide every
household with quality, clean water which in the short
term may include portable purification tanks and
water tanks for rain water harvesting to promote food
security.

15.  ON THE SOCIAL WAGE AND
ALLEVIATING POVERTY
As indicated in this document, our aim is to eliminate
poverty and inequality. Whilst over the past twenty
years of Freedom and Democracy, significant strides
have been made in building a socially inclusive society,
reducing poverty, and closing the gap between the
poor and the rich, we still face challenges of race,
gender and slow economic growth which results in
many being excluded from the economy.  
In order to respond to the above challenges, we will
have to strengthen our resolve to implement the
National Development Plan, Vision 2030 and this will
include the development of a comprehensive antipoverty strategy that will help eliminate poverty and
reduce inequality in society.
Key strategies for the next fifteen years will ensure
the elimination of poverty, and the reduction of
unemployment and inequality. In response to
challenges of social wage, we took a decision at the
2007 ANC 52nd National Conference to equalise the
pensionable age for the older persons. This has assisted
in responding to some of the immediate challenges
when it comes to ensuring that the vulnerable,
especially those that need to be assisted by the state,
are able to contribute towards the development and
growth of their families.
Thus far, and in particular since Polokwane, we have
completed the Consolidated Government Document
that sets targets, coverage of social assistance and
social insurance. We have also been able to target
more than 15 million people in this country benefit
from social grants which allows the care-givers of
children, the aged and those with disabilities to fulfill
their basic needs and sustain their households. Hence,
more than 94 % of our people have access to water,
84% have access to sanitation, 81 % of our people have
electricity 71% of South Africans have refuse removed
from their homes and that we have supplied more
than 3 million of households with formal dwellings.
In response to the challenges of poverty, inequality
and unemployment, we have since 2007 developed
a Comprehensive Social Security strategy, which
includes the expansion of the assets base of the poor
through housing, small business and land reform
programmes.
We have also increased the capacity of the state to
ensure the acceleration of the implementation of the

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 NGC 2015 DISCUSSION DOCUMENTS

comprehensive social security strategy towards the
provision of free basic services for the poor, quality
free education for poor households, and passenger
transport subsidies.
We also increased access to social grants to children
and older persons as outlined in the Consolidated
Government Document on Comprehensive Social
Security.

16. ON MILITARY VETERANS
The social and economic exclusion of Military Veterans,
in particular Non Statutory Force (NSF), has not received
priority attention from government departments.  
While the Department of Military Veterans has been
established, there is a need to escalate the provision
of a comprehensive basket of services (social and
economic) by all state departments and parastatals.
Hence, the Department of Military Veterans must
be strengthened to set up mechanisms to monitor
the implementation and enforce compliance by all
structures in line with Military Veterans Act.

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