SA News: Operation Phakisa, In Operation

Foreword The National Development Plan is the country’s socio-economic development blueprint which enjoins us to create a better life for all citizens in an inclusive society.  We use the NDP to guide every sector plans and policies, programmes, projects and operations – including how budget and skills investment and other resources are allocated to move South Africa forward.  It provides the framework in which Government, organised business, labour and citizens can work together to accelerate economic growth and resolve the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality. Operation Phakisa is one of the mechanisms we have put in place to implement the National Development Plan come alive. Operation Phakisa is a fast results delivery programme that we launched in July 2014 to help us implement the National Development Plan, with the ultimate goal of boosting economic growth and create jobs.Operation Phakisa is a cross-sector programme where various stakeholders engage to implement initiatives and concrete actions to address constraints to delivery in a prioritised focused area for public accountability and transparency. Government welcomes the partnership with business and labour to rally around the NDP in ensuring that there is a collective effort in workplace conflict reduction and improved cooperation between government, organised business and organised labour.    Introduction Operation Phakisa is an initiative of the South African government.  This initiative was designed to fast track the implementation of solutions on critical development issues.  This is a unique initiative to address issues highlighted in the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 such as poverty, unemployment and inequality.  Operation Phakisa is an innovative and pioneering approach to translate detailed plans into concrete results through dedicated delivery and collaboration. “Phakisa” means “hurry up” in Sesotho and the application of this methodology highlights government’s urgency to deliver.  It plays a crucial role in accelerating the delivery of some of the development priorities. Through Operation Phakisa, Government aims to implement priority programmes better, faster and more effectively.   Methodology Operation Phakisa is a results-driven approach, involving setting clear plans and targets, on-going monitoring of progress and making these results public. The methodology consists of eight sequential steps. It focusses on bringing key stakeholders from the public and private sectors, academia as well as civil society organisations together to collaborate in: detailed problem analysis; priority setting; intervention planning; and delivery These collaboration sessions are called laboratories (labs). The results of the labs are detailed (3 foot) plans with ambitious targets as well as public commitment on the implementation of the plans by all stakeholders. The implementation of the plans are rigorously monitored and reported on. Implementation challenges are actively managed for effective and efficient resolution.

SA News

Programme of Action

Government's Programme of Action reflects its strategic plan for the 2014-2019 electoral term, the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF). 

The MTSF is the first five-year implementation phase of the National Development Plan (NDP). 

It is structured around 14 priority outcomes which cover the focus areas identified in the NDP and Government’s electoral mandate: education, health, safety and security, economic growth and employment, skills development, infrastructure, rural development, human settlements, local government, environment, international relations, public sector, social protection, nation-building and social cohesion. 

This website does not contain detail about any programmes, but updates the progress in achieving the goals set.

SA News

National Development Plan 2030

The National Development Plan (NDP) offers a long-term perspective. It defines a desired destination and identifies the role different sectors of society need to play in reaching that goal, Minister in The Presidency: National Planning Commission, Trevor Manuel, said at a media briefing on the implementation of the plan on 19 February 2013.

The NDP aims to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030. According to the plan, South Africa can realise these goals by drawing on the energies of its people, growing an inclusive economy, building capabilities, enhancing the capacity of the state, and promoting leadership and partnerships throughout society.

Minister Manuel highlighted the processes in the implementation of the plan:

• The NDP and its proposals will need to be implemented in the right order over the next 17 years. Three phases have been identified.
• Government has already started a process to align the long term plans of departments with the NDP and to identify areas where policy change is required to ensure consistency and coherence.
• The NDP is a plan for the whole country. Government will engage with all sectors to understand how they are contributing to implementation, and particularly to identify any obstacles to them fulfilling their role effectively.
• The Plan will shape budget allocation over the next 17 years.
• The Plan identifies the task of improving the quality of public services as critical to achieving transformation. This will require provinces to focus on identifying and overcoming the obstacles to achieving improved outcomes, including the need to strengthen the ability of local government to fulfil its developmental role.
• Planning and implementation should be informed by evidence-based monitoring and evaluation.
• The President and Deputy President will be the lead champions of the Plan within Cabinet, in government and throughout the country. Premiers and Mayors will need to be visible and active champions of the Plan, with their offices being the catalytic agencies to drive implementation at provincial and municipal levels.
• Read more about the implementation in Minister Manuel's statement.

Documents

• Executive Summary-National Development Plan 2030 - Our future - make it work [PDF], 15 August 2012
• National Development Plan 2030: Our future - make it work, 15 August 2012
• Minister Trevor Manuel: National Development Plan launch,15 August 2012
• President Jacob Zuma: National Development Plan handover, 15 August 2012
• Summary of the National Development Plan
• More speeches and statements

For more information

• E-mail: comments@npconline.co.za
• Tel: 012 308 1791
• Address: Union Buildings, Private Bag X1000, Pretoria, 0001
• Fax: 086 683 5479
• Twitter: @npcSA / http://www.twitter.com/npcSA
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/npcSA

SA News

Sustainable Human Settlements - Breaking new ground

By June 2011, the formalisation of 206 informal settlements had been completed. The number of informal settlements was reduced from 2 700 in 2009 to 2 450 in 2011.

Cabinet approved the Comprehensive Housing Plan (CHP) for the Development of Integrated Sustainable Human Settlements (Breaking New Ground [BNG]) that aims, among other things, to eradicate informal settlements in South Africa in the shortest possible time.

The BNG incorporates principles such as:

• integrating subsidised, rental and bonded housing
• providing municipal engineering services at a higher level and being applied consistently throughout the township
• providing ancillary facilities such as schools clinics and commercial opportunities
• combining different housing densities and types,ranging from single-stand units to doublestorey units and row houses.

The CHP provides for programmes that promote the development of the entire residential property market, including the development of low-cost housing, medium-density accommodation and rental housing; stronger partnerships with the private sector; social infrastructure; and
amenities.

The plan also aims to change spatial settlement patterns by building spatially economical and socially integrated human settlements. The CHP is being implemented through informal settlement-upgrading pilot projects in each province. These projects provide for phased, areabased development, and emphasise community participation and social and economic development as an integral part of housing projects. The goal of upgrading all informal settlements by 2014/15 is aligned to the United Nation's (UN) millennium development goals (MDGs) to improve the lives of 100 million slum dwellers worldwide.

The CHP focuses on:

• accelerating housing delivery as a key strategy for poverty alleviation
• using housing provision as a major job-creation strategy
• ensuring that property can be accessed by all as an asset for wealth creation and empowerment
• leveraging growth in the economy, combating crime and promoting social cohesio
• using housing development to break down barriers between the First-Economy residential property boom and the Second-Economy slump
• using housing as an instrument for the development of sustainable human settlements in support of spatial restructuring
• diversifying housing products by emphasising rental stock.

As part of the CHP, government provides a 40-m² house with two bedrooms; a separate bathroom with a toilet, shower and hand basin; a combined living area and kitchen with wash basin; and a ready-board electrical installation where electricity supply is available in the township, to qualifying households earning less than R3 500 a month.

The department developed and launched a number of instruments to guide the implementation of the comprehensive plan in all three spheres of government. These include the monitoring, evaluation and impact-assessment policy and implementation guidelines, and the operating system for the policy and guidelines. The department has also initiated a project-monitoring process to measure the performance of provincial housing departments against targets set in their business plans, to identify constraints and assist with addressing them swiftly.

Phase One of the Housing Demand Database has been completed, resulting in an integrated national database.

Progress made during 2011 included:

• Development on the N2 Gateway Project in the Western Cape being at different stages in each of the project areas. Considerable progress was made in providing bulk infrastructure, constructing houses, installing service connections to individual units and the handover of 7 887 houses by the end of 2011.
• The Zanemvula Housing Project that entails the upgrading of informal and formal settlements in the Soweto-on-Sea and Veeplaas areas, as well as greenfields housing developments in the areas of Chatty and Joe Slovo West in the Eastern Cape.
• 4 300 sites and 800 units in Duncan Village in the Eastern Cape.
• The initiation of the Lerato Park Housing Project in the Northern Cape.
• 5 500 units in the Khutsong Resettlement Project in Gauteng.
• Infrastructure and housing in the Klarinet Housing Project in Mpumalanga.
• The Emnambithi Urban Renewal Project in KwaZulu-Natal.
• 6 776 units in Grassland in the Free State.
• 341 units of the Morgan's Village III Affordable Housing Project in Mitchell's Plain, Cape Town.
• The Informal Settlement Upgrade Programme in Nelson Mandela, Joe Slovo, Phola Park and Chris Hani informal settlements and Ngangelizwe in the Eastern Cape. Phase One of this project will focus on the provision of interim services and planning for 6 600 units.
• Agreement to unblock eight housing development projects valued at over R85,7 million was reached between the North West Provincial Government and the Mahikeng Local Municipality for the construction of 2 481 housing units, including the building of 200 rental housing units.
• In total, 26 328 housing units have been completed, benefiting some 118 476 individuals in the Mabaso RHP, in KwaZulu-Natal.
• A housing project in Qolweni, Gaatjie, Bossiesgif and Pinetree in the southern Cape created denser settlement for people in the area. The high-density units are the first of their kind in the southern Cape. Higher-density settlements fulfil one of the department's strategic objectives of maximum use of resources and are important in creating integrated and sustainable settlements. The project will be developed in four phases, with Phase One (265 units) already completed. On completion it will consist of 1 420 units.
• Several mixed housing projects such as Lehae, Olieventhoutbosch, Lufhereng, Cosmos City, Chief Mogale and Chief Albert Luthuli, to relocate people from informal settlements, are being built in Gauteng.

Other housing programmes

• Community Residential Unit (CRU) Programme
• Integrated Residential Development Programme (IRDP)

SA News

NEIGHBOURHOOD DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

The Neighbourhood Development Programme (NDP) Unit was established in 2006 and is responsible for managing theNeighbourhood Development Partnership Grant (NDPG). The NDPG is driven by the notion that public investment and funding can be used creatively to attract private and community investment to unlock the social and economic potential in targeted underserved neighbourhoods, generally townships. This in turn will not only improve the quality of life of residents but also contribute to South Africa’s economic performance. The purpose of the grant is to therefore fund, support and facilitate the planning and development of neighbourhood development programmes and projects that provide catalytic infrastructure to leverage third party public and private sector investment for future and more sustainable development. The NDP Unit is responsible for: The management of the NDPG, and includes a planning grant, for Technical Assistance (TA) and a Capital Grant (CG). The NDP Unit also performs support and knowledge management activities and is currently working on a programme referred to as the Sustainable Cities Collective (SCC) The NDP Unit recently joined the Inter-Governmental Relations (IGR) division at National Treasury to work in conjunction with the City Support Programme. The strategic role of urban centres in enabling the necessary conditions for achieving key government outcomes is well documented locally and internationally. During 2011/12 the NDP evaluated the performance of the NDP grant and as a result embarked on a process of strategic planning to deepen value for money and long term impact. The result was the formulation of a new strategy, known as the Urban Networks Strategy (UNS) which is a pro-poor/pro-growth investment approach. The strategy which is aimed at facilitating the eradication of spatial inequality to enable the creation of liveable, sustainable, resilient, efficient and integrated human settlements. The focus of this strategy is to shift infrastructure investments towards the creation of efficient and effective urban centres through an approach of spatial targeting of public investment, primarily infrastructure. The Urban Network is a city-wide interconnected hierarchy of strategic nodes and public transport links between and within nodes. It consists of primary and secondary networks that interconnect at strategic nodes known as urban hubs, which are located within marginalised areas, typically townships. The new strategy is reflected in the amendment of the 2014/2015 DORA NDPG Framework which states that future NDPG allocations will be focused on municipalities and projects that align with the NDPG’s prioritisation criteria. These for example include population densities, levels and diversity of economic activity, concentration of poverty and the presence of connectivity networks i.e. public transport. The application of these criteria across the NDPG portfolio of municipalities has resulted in the identification of 18 urban municipalities and include South Africa’s larger urban centres as well as key regional service centres. While the 18 NDPG funded urban municipalities are places of significant socio-economic development and growing populations they continue to suffer from severe inequality which is clearly represented in their spatial form. This perpetuates cities that are: Exclusionary (spatial patterns of access to services and opportunity) Inefficient (growing fiscal and economic costs in supporting the current spatial form and design) Unsustainable (due to severe environmental and social risks) The focus of this Urban Networks Strategy, as the name implies, is to shift infrastructure investments towards the creation of efficient and effective urban centres that will increase economic growth, create employment and increase access to urban amenities, especially for the poor located in marginalised settlement areas, such as townships. The NDP will work in partnership with other strategic spatial, transit orientated grants including the Public Transport Infrastructure and Systems (PTIS) Grant and Urban Settlement Development Grant (USDG) to support the implementation of projects across the urban network. The balance of the municipalities in the NDPG portfolio has been classified as rural NDP municipalities.

ILO

South Africa Decent Work Country Programme

With the newly signed Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP), South Africa has taken a decisive step to promote decent work as a key component of its national development. In support of the DWCP, South Africa is furthermore actively being assisted in implementing the Global Jobs Pact through a national jobs pact, which aligns its policies with the current four priorities of the DWCP: strengthening fundamental principles and rights at work; promoting employment creation; strengthening and broadening social protection coverage; and strengthening tripartism and social dialogue.

The programme, to be carried throughout 2010-2014, has four priorities and nine concrete outcomes.

Priorities

Strengthening Fundamental Principles and Rights at work

Strengthening fundamental principles and rights at work through the ratification and implementation of International Labour Standards; and improved labour administration for effective employment services

Promotion of Employment

Promotion of employment creation through an enabling environment for job rich growth, sustainable enterprises, including formalization of the informal sector and skills development

Strengthening and Broadening Social Protection Coverage

Strengthening and broadening social protection coverage through better managed and more equitable access to social security and health benefits, occupational safety and health, and improved workplace responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic

Strengthening Tripartism and Social dialogue

Strengthening tripartism-plus and social dialogue through the improved capacity of the tripartite plus social dialogue institution (and its constituent members), labour market institutions for effective social dialogue and sound industrial relations

Outcomes

1. Up-to-date International Labour Standards are ratified, complied with and reported on

Indicator(s):

- Government and social partners apply international labour standards, and in accordance with issues raised by the supervisory bodies
- Up to-date conventions are ratified including those regarded as significant from the pointof view of governance

2. Labour administrations apply up to-date labour legislation and provide effective services

Indicator(s):

- Labour administration institutions apply up to-date labour legislation and provide effective services
- Labour inspection system is strengthened in line with international labour standards

3. More women and men, especially youth and persons with disabilities, have access to productive and decent employment through inclusive job-rich growth

Indicator(s):

- Macro-economic policies establish a conducive environment for job-rich economic growth
- Labour market information and analyses systems generate and disseminate decent work related labour market data
- National capacity for employment intensive programmes that integrate aspects of decent work is increased for local development
- Labour market is reviewed to address decent work deficits in any forms of employment where there are decent work deficits
- Legislation, regulations or policies are adopted that improve minimum wage regulations (national or sectoral) whether established via statute or through collective bargaining
- Improved institutional capacity to develop and implement sound wage policies

4. Sustainable and competitive enterprises (including cooperatives) create productive and decent jobs especially among women, youth and persons with disabilities

Indicator(s):

- Enabling policy and regulatory reforms exist for sustainable enterprises and a conducive environment for sustainable enterprises
- Programmes that foster the adoption of responsible and sustainable enterprise level practices are implemented
- Government and the social partners undertake initiatives in policy areas that facilitate transition of informal activities to formality

5. Skills development increases the employability of workers and the inclusiveness of growth

Indicator(s):

- The Government of South Africa in consultation with workers and employers make skills development policies and programmes responsive to the labour market
- Capacitated skills development institutions

6. More people have access to better managed and more gender equitable social security and health benefits

Indicator(s):

- Existence of policy reform to improve and extend social security coverage, including the informal sector
- Legislation exists to improve performance, management and governance for extended social security system coverage

7. Workers and enterprises benefit from improved safety and healthy conditions at work

Indicator(s):

- Policies and programmes are adopted to promote improved safety and health at work
- Tripartite constituents implement programmes to promote improved safety and health at work

8. The world of work responds effectively to the HIV&AIDS epidemic

Indicator(s):

- Tripartite constituents take significant action to implement HIV&AIDS programmes at the workplace
- HIV/AIDS monitoring and evaluation systems are in place

9. Strengthened labour market institutions and capacitated social partners (tripartite-plus) contribute to effective social dialogue and sound industrial relations

Indicator(s):

- Social dialogue and labour market institutions strengthened and mechanisms function in line with international labour standards
- Machinery for collective bargaining, and labour dispute settlements are strengthened
- Employers and Workers’ Organizations extend services to respond to the needs of existing and potential members
- The capacity of social partners (tripartite plus) is enhanced to participate effectively in the development of socio-economic policy

SA News

Home-based community based care (HBCBC) 

The Department provides funding and support to organizations that offer a range of services to individuals and families infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. These organizations provide Home-based/Community-based care services to ensure that the basic needs of people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHAs) are met. 

WHAT IS OFFERED

The services provided include:

1. Care, counselling and support to people living with HIV/AIDS.

2. Provision and distribution of condoms.

3. Addressing the needs of child-headed households.

4. Linking families and caregivers with programmes that address poverty

5. Providing food parcels and food supplements.

6. Establishing support groups and promoting information sharing.

7. Providing trauma and therapeutic counselling.

8. Encouraging PLWAs to maintain memory books, family stories and personal articles,    as well as to draw up wills

9. Providing information to improve access to social, educational, housing, material and    healthcare services.

10. Encouraging young people, women and men to become involved in the fight against     HIV/AIDS.

11. Identifying and treating Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).

12. Voluntary confidential counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV.

13. Comprehensive mother to child prevention (MTCT), including short course antiretroviral therapy and breast milk substitutes.

14. Identifying and managing opportunistic infections, including TB.

15. Providing effective anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs)

16. Providing palliative care including home based care (HBC) programmes. 

WHO QUALIFIES

• Children, youth, women, older persons and people with disability.
• HIV/AIDS-infected and affected groups
• People living with HIV/AIDS and their families
• Child-headed and adolescent-headed households
• Households headed by older persons and orphans