1. Introduction
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There are many and varied definitions of poverty,
but generally people are considered poor when they are unable to satisfy their
basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, healthcare and other amenities.
Various quantitative measures are also used to count
the number of people in a population falling under some thresholds (poverty
lines) and classify them as living in poverty. Some of these measures are
presented in monetary units, others relate to people’s access to resources,
hence poverty is always defined in terms of access to resources that could be
used to meet human basic needs for a decent and dignified way of living.
Since its inception the National
Development Agency (NDA) has distributed more than R640 million to various
communities located in poor areas in the following sectors: food security,
sustainable livelihoods and community health projects. More than 404 773 direct
households and 2 031 375 individuals have benefited from these projects.
In 2006 the Board of the NDA approved
commitment of R25
million to 20 non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
working in partnership with universities and accredited service providers
throughout the country to strengthen the institutional capacity of grassroots
organisations to deliver quality service and programmes to alleviate poverty.
In January 2008 the government,
through the Cabinet Lekgotla, pronounced on the importance of focusing on
poverty during the current financial year. This was also emphasised by
President Thabo Mbeki in his State of the Nation Address in February.
The President singled out the
elaboration of an integrated and comprehensive anti-poverty strategy that addresses
sections of the population most affected by this scourge as one of the
government’s 24 apex priorities for the year ahead. These sections of the
population include children, women, the youth, people living in rural areas and
urban informal settlements, people with disabilities or chronic illnesses and
the elderly. Among the key proposed interventions he listed are expanding the
public works programme and employment subsidies for direct job creation for
targeted groups, enhancing employment search capability, improving education
and training, improving services and assets among poor communities, instituting
specific interventions in poor households and ensuring the effectiveness of
institutions supporting women and other sectors.
The NDA’s 2008-2011 strategy seeks
to respond to the call by government to implement these apex priorities. The
NDA’s interventions are aimed at contributing to job creation and participation
of poor communities in the mainstream economy by strengthening their capacity
and fostering social entrepreneurship.
2. Minister’s Foreword
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The year 2007-2008 has been a busy
and challenging one for both the Department of Social Development and the
National Development Agency (NDA).
In his State of the Nation Address,
President Thabo Mbeki made mention of the “war room” for the war against
poverty. What does this mean and where does the NDA fit into the “war against
poverty”?
The “war against poverty” is a
reprioritisation of our economic strategy from a focus on growth to a focus on
caring. The “war room” is thus a plan to coordinate the work done by various
government departments, including Social Development, Education, Provincial
& Local Government, Trade
& Industry, Public Works, and Agencies such as the NDA.
The government expects the NDA to
play a pivotal role in the President’s “war room” strategy. Accordingly, the
NDA will be required to mobilise civil society and communities at large to
contribute to this strategy. Furthermore, the NDA will invest significant
resources in building the capacity of communities based on the acknowledgement
that poverty is not only about hunger, but that it is also, about a lack of
access to education and skills development opportunities.
As indicated in my speech to the
Portfolio Committee on Social Development, the department has prioritised civil
society support and strengthening of communities. The NDA will play a
significant role in the development of a framework for holistic community
development. This will assist in defining what the department and government’s
community development approach and product should be.
Finally, the NDA will continue to
provide grants to strengthen civil society and participate in a pilot project
to link beneficiaries of social grants to sustainable livelihoods.
Dr Zola Skweyiya
Minister of Social
Development
3. Our Mandate, Values, Vision and
In implementing the mandate, the NDA
has crafted the vision and mission statements as follows:
Our mandate is stated in the NDA Act
as follows:
Primary mandate:
To contribute to the eradication of
poverty and its causes by granting funds to civil society organisations for the
purpose of:
• Implementing
development projects of poor communities; and
• Strengthening
the institutional capacity of other civil society organisations that provide
services to the poor
Secondary mandate:
• Promote
consultation dialogue and sharing of development experience between civil
society organisations and relevant organs of state; debate development policy;
and
• Undertake
research and facilitate publications aimed at providing the basis for
development policy.
OUR VALUES
We subscribe to the following values:
Integrity
To be honest, trustworthy, open and accountable for our
actions and the resources entrusted to us
Excellence
To meet and exceed delivery service standards in all aspects
of the business
Dignity
To uphold and respect the primacy of the individual, group
and society in their quest to seek decent living standards
Partnering
To work in partnership with others for the common good
Commitment
To intervene with skill, diligence and dedication in the
pursuit of meeting the needs of our partners
Empowerment
Seeking and unleashing potential in all our stakeholders
OUR VISION:
A developing society free from
poverty
OUR
Facilitate development through targeted grant funding,
research and strategic partnerships
4. Chairperson’s Review
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In presenting this strategy for
2008-2011, I would like to begin by introducing the new NDA Board. It consists
of myself, Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana as Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson Mrs
This strategy is a product of the
deliberations of the new Board and reflects their inputs since their
appointment. The contribution of the previous Board, whose inputs formed the
basis of the new strategy and provided a departure point for a new document, is
gratefully acknowledged. Their work has provided a solid base on which the new
Board will build for the future of the NDA.
Our two-fold legislative mandate is
to contribute to the eradication of poverty and its causes.
This is to be achieved through the
granting of funds to civil society organisations (CSOs) to enable them to
implement development projects in poor communities. We are also charged with
strengthening the institutional capacity of other civil society organisations
that provide services to poor communities.
We believe we have in the past few
years recorded significant successes on the road to achieving our mandate. There are, however, several areas that we
believe require more emphasis during the next three years. These are:
1. Strengthening
the institutional capacity of other civil society organisations that deliver
services to poor communities;
2. Undertaking
research and developing publications that will provide the basis for
development of policy; and
3. Promoting
partnerships to maximise the effectiveness of the resources being used to
eradicate poverty so that appropriate funding can be sourced and used to
achieve our objectives.
Our new strategy seeks to tackle
these areas by addressing the capacity of the NDA so that it is empowered to
achieve its mandate in a focused manner.
We have
recrafted our mission to reflect this new emphasis. We have moved from the
original mission, which was “to contribute to poverty eradication and
elimination of its causes”, to the latest one, which is “to facilitate
development through grant funding, research and strategic partnerships”.
The new
mission reflects a move from the generic to the specific. Instead of restating
our legislative mandate we have moved forward and placed the emphasis firmly on
what the organisation intends doing.
During the next three years we intend to effectively leverage
development resources from various stakeholders through the formation of
strategic partnerships. This will be
undertaken at national, provincial and local levels. We will target our funding interventions far
more strategically than in the past, and maximise their impact and focus by
strengthening our research capacity. We will therefore focus on increasing the
volume and quality of research in those areas to inform our funding decisions
on the ground.
We will achieve our mission by
focusing on the following goals:
1. Establishing
and promoting partnerships to leverage funds and capabilities;
2. Facilitating
research that informs grant funding decisions and policy; and
3. Building
sustainable organisational capabilities.
This strategy forms the basis of our
contract with government through the Ministry of Social Development and all
other stakeholders for the next three years.
I am therefore pleased to present
the NDA Strategic Plan for 2008-2011 to the Minister on behalf of the NDA
Board.
Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana
Chairperson
5. Chief Executive Officer’s Overview
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The eradication of poverty remains
one of
This is
exacerbated by the fact that unemployment statistics remain significantly high.
The NDA
is one of the government agencies tasked with the responsibility of fighting
poverty, our number one enemy.
Poverty
eradication is a long-term challenge for all Africans. Resources for
eradicating poverty are limited and we can only overcome this challenge through
partnerships.
The NDA
has in the last few years contributed enormously to poverty alleviation by
funding projects. We have also managed to transform the organisation by
improving systems. This has resulted in an unqualified audit in the 2007-2008
fiscal year. The focus of the NDA during this term
will be on establishing partnerships in the fight against poverty.
Our
mission at the National Development Agency (NDA) is to facilitate development
through grant funding, research and strategic partnerships. For the next three
years all our energies, actions and resources will be aimed at achieving this
mission.
In the short- to medium-term our
goals are to:
1. Establish
and promote partnerships to leverage funds and capabilities;
2. Facilitate
research that informs grant funding decisions and policy; and
3. Build
and sustain organisational capabilities.
Organisational focus
Our
focus in achieving these goals will be on gathering quality information at
municipal level about the extent of poverty, its magnitude and changing
character.
In so
doing we will obtain vital information about the flow of resources in poor
communities and the impact these resources can have on the reduction of
poverty. We wish to obtain more valid
information about the community-based organisations (CBOs) that work on the
ground with communities to fight poverty as our funding of communities is
undertaken through them as intermediaries. We must intimately understand their
strengths and weaknesses if we are to assist them to strengthen their capacity
to act more effectively on the ground within communities. We need to develop compelling information
about government policies, strategies and plans on poverty eradication for the
purpose of complementing their activities.
The same applies to the private
sector and other stakeholders engaged in poverty eradication efforts in our
communities. We will continuously
monitor and evaluate progress made in the projects we are funding so that we
can extrapolate best practices from these programmes and share lessons gained
with all other stakeholders in the field. Our aim is to be able to take
evidence-based decisions regarding the utilisation of our grant funding. This will assist enormously in determining
the types of projects we should fund by identifying the sectors in which the
greatest impact can be made through poverty eradication interventions. We
intend achieving this through our secondary goal, which is to facilitate
research that informs grant funding decisions and policy.
In responding to our legislative
mandate, that our role is to contribute to the eradication of poverty by
granting funds to civil society organisations (CSOs), we intend to focus on
facilitating developmentally oriented partnerships on the ground. By this we acknowledge that as a public
entity we cannot eradicate poverty through our efforts alone, and cannot
develop people from a distance.
We can only assist by leveraging and
using the limited funds and resources at our disposal to facilitate
interventions on the ground. Since the
funding and implementation of projects takes place through CSOs, our focus will
also be on building their institutional capacity to improve their delivery at
grassroots level. We will develop and
regularly update a database of CSOs that can be used for various purposes. We
will also focus on clearly identifying those involved in development work and
deliver services to communities affected by poverty.
We believe that for any development
initiative to succeed three factors have to be present. These are ownership,
capacity and sustainability.
We intend to establish ownership by
improving the processes we use to grant funding. Requests for proposals and programme
formulation will be made more participatory and inclusive so that affected
communities identify their needs themselves.
In this way, they will own the initiatives being implemented.
On capacity, we currently provide
resources for capacity building in the projects we fund. We intend to reinforce our capacity building
programmes and extend them to the CSOs that are also engaged in providing
services other than NDA-funded projects.
We will become more focused and structured in terms of our capacity
strengthening initiatives for the CSOs. The ability to achieve sustainability
will depend on how well we fare in ensuring ownership and capacity for those we
are funding. In addition, we intend to
promote sustainability by ensuring clear criteria, appropriate targeting and
fostering partnerships that will propel a project towards a viable commercial
enterprise.
Our interventions will be geared to
facilitating ownership by the affected communities, strengthening their
capacities and ensuring that interventions result in sustainable income
generating economic activities. Our aim
is to unlock the potential of communities to realise self-development. This will be achieved through our second
goal, which is to establish and promote partnerships to leverage funds and
capabilities. We aim to make the most of
the funds and capabilities available through various players in the development
field.
How are we going to achieve these aims?
We
recognise that we have capacity challenges to address if we are to achieve our
goals. Currently our strengths are that as an organisation we receive grant
funding from government; have the ability to reach communities through our provincial offices and
have community development experience and grant funding capacity. We also have Board members rooted and
knowledgeable in the field of development and employees committed to our
mission.
Our challenges are in the areas of
appropriate business processes and skills in the areas of planning, monitoring
and evaluation and research. Through our goal to build and sustain
organisational capabilities, we intend to focus on strengthening the NDA in the
short- and medium-term.
Our focus will be on strengthening
the capacity of our provincial offices.
This will entail employing competent staff where necessary, upskilling
our current employees; making the working environment at NDA conducive to
exceptional performance and improving our business processes. We will focus on reinforcing our research capacity
through skills development programmes for our managers.
Considerable resources will be
directed towards systematic and structured skills development programmes for
all employees, especially in the areas identified as those of the greatest
need. These include planning, monitoring and evaluation project management;
research; people management and finance.
To monitor the organisation’s
performance we will focus on improving our performance management system. The
strategy has clear performance indicators and year-on- year milestones. On an
annual basis, we will review goals based on the results enumerated in our
annual report. On a quarterly basis, we
will assess performance against targets. This quarterly monitoring will
culminate in the annual report, which gets approved by the Board and submitted
to the Minister.
On behalf of executive management I
wish to thank the Board and the Minister of Social Development, Dr Zola
Skweyiya, for the clear direction they have provided through this strategic
plan.
I wish to state to all employees and
stakeholders that we are clear about how we will achieve our legislative
mandate. We are clear about our mission,
which is to “facilitate development through grant funding, research and
strategic partnerships”. The message is
that we are facilitators of development, not simply a funder. Through our interventions, we will unlock the
potential of communities to develop themselves and end
the scourge of poverty.
Godfrey Mokate
Chief Executive
Officer
8. Strategic Plan
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The Chief Executive Officer of the
National Development Agency ensures that the mandate as directed by the
Minister of Social Development and the NDA Board is executed. The CEO provides
an overall strategic vision and leadership for optimum performance of the
organisation. The CEO is supported by the Chief Operations Officer and other
Executive Members of the NDA team.
The core
functions of the NDA are programmes and research.
8.1 Development Management
The core function of the Development Management programme is to
facilitate the provision of development grant funding to CSOs to implement
integrated and sustainable community-driven projects that create employment and
income generating opportunities. Furthermore the NDA implements the capacity building mandate of developing the capability and
capacity of civil society to enable it to access and utilise developmental
resources to achieve self-reliance and sustainability.
Over the next three years the NDA plans to achieve the following
outputs:
• Income
generation and food security projects funded
• CSOs
strengthened to deliver services
• Improved
project business processes
• Projects
paid as per contracts
8.1.1 The NDA empowers communities through
funding
The NDA
will provide grants to civil society organisations to implement sustainable
community-driven projects that create employment and income generating
opportunities.
This was
informed by the Cabinet lekgotla resolutions on poverty eradication, government
programme of action on poverty as well as Provincial Growth Development Strategies
(PGDPs) and
municipal Integrated Development Plans (IDPs).
The
targets are poverty-stricken areas, including ISRDP nodes and urban renewal
programmes.
The NDA
grants funds to civil society organisations that provide capacity to other CSOs
and those that implement development projects through two approaches, namely,
the Request for Proposals (RFP) and Programme Formulation (PF).
8.1.2 The Request for Proposals (RFP):
The RFP
is a competitive grant funding approach that targets well-established CBOs,
NGOs and cooperatives in organised communities. CSOs are invited through
targeted media to submit proposals based on preset policy criteria and process.
Proposals are then reviewed and submitted to the Board for approval.
8.1.3 Programme formulation:
Programme
formulation involves reaching out to pre-identified/targeted impoverished
communities to undertake activities that build “social capital and strength” at
community level. In essence, this approach targets areas and sectors based on
primary research on priority poverty pockets.
This
entire process is driven by NDA staff in provinces based on the assessment of
the institutional capability and competencies of CBOs and NGOs in identified
localities. This approach is premised on the observation that in certain
communities, CBOs and NGOs will not be able to access developmental resources
on their own without external assistance.
8.1.4 Adding value to the Jobs for Growth Initiative
The government, through lead
departments of Agriculture and Trade and Industry, is spearheading the Jobs for
Growth Initiative. This is a second economy ASGISA intervention programme. This
programme plans to identify and develop 15 000 sustainable micro and small
enterprises across nine provinces in 2007.
The NDA plans to continue playing a
pivotal role in implementing the Jobs for Growth Initiative. In 2008-9, this
role will entail the following:
1. Mobilising
communities, CBOs, NGOs, FBOs and traditional leadership to participate in the
programme;
2. Strengthening
the capacity of community structures to access developmental resources and
facilitate linkages with viable markets to enhance sustainability;
3. Providing
seed funding for cooperatives and self-help groups to establish enterprises
that have the potential to create jobs and increase household income; and
4. Providing
on-going coaching, mentoring and technical support to participating
enterprises.
8.1.5 Strengthen the Capacity of
Civil Society Organisations to Deliver Services to the impoverished
communities.
The NDA 2010 strategy acknowledges
the potentially significant role that CSOs can play in strengthening community
building and cohesion for developmental action. In fact, the NDA believes that
capacity building of the sector should receive prominence because it is only
through grassroots capability, competencies and collective action that we will
realise the common goal of sustainable development.
The preliminary analysis of data and
information emanating from the past implementation of the capacity building
programme reveals that:
• The
weak institutional capacity of NGOs and CBOs does not facilitate effective
service delivery at local level and therefore limits the potential to partner
with government at national, provincial and local levels. The CSOs require
development of capacity in the area of project management, financial
management, community organising, resource mobilisation, public policy
analysis, public participation and technical skills in specific areas such as
agriculture and provision of water and sanitation.
• There
is enormous “social entrepreneurship” in communities. However, this needs to be
organised and nurtured through targeted capacity enhancement interventions.
• NGOs,
CBOs and cooperatives are well positioned to drive and complement the
government-wide programme of “massifying” community-driven initiatives that
create jobs in the second economy. However, the institutional capacity of these
groups needs to be strengthened to enable them to add value to the programme.
• Communities are unable to engage
effectively with public policy processes given limited research capabilities
and weak leadership.
• The
NDA’s capacity building programme will systematically address the constraints
mentioned above. However, given the magnitude of the challenges, the NDA will
take a long-term view in implementing targeted interventions.
8.2 RESEARCH
The role of Research and Development
(R&D) is to provide high quality, credible research data, knowledge and
information to internal and external National Development Agency stakeholders
at the right time that informs programme and
policy decisions and improves
understanding of poverty eradication processes, challenges and potential
interventions.
With regards to research, the NDA
intends to achieve the following in the next three years:
• Establish
and maintain a strategic national database of CSOs and other key developmental
role players;
• Measure
the socio-economic impact of NDA strategic programmes and government policies
on the poor;
• Establish
and maintain strategic partnerships with development agencies, research
organisations and institutions of higher learning nationally and
internationally;
• Link
the NDA with other knowledge partners to ensure accountability, build networks
and promote dialogue and public participation; and
• Carry
out knowledge sharing and learning networks.
8.3 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Good governance and best practices
are strategic to organisational success. The NDA, as a Schedule 3 organisation,
is obligated to carry out the following strategic functions to best strengthen
the organisation:
• Internal
Audit
• Legal
and Risk
• Company
Secretariat
8.3.1 Internal Audit
• Providing
assurance that management processes are adequate to identify and monitor
significant risks;
• Confirming
the effective operation of established internal control systems;
• Providing
credible processes for feedback on risk management and assurance;
• Reviewing
the reliability and integrity of financial and operating information and the
means used to identify, measure, classify and report such information;
• Reviewing
the systems established to ensure compliance with policies, plans, procedures
and legislation that could have a significant impact on operations and such
information;
• Reviewing
the means of safeguarding assets and, as appropriate, verifying the existence
of such assets;
• Reviewing
operations and programmes to ascertain whether results are consistent with
established objectives and goals, and whether the operations and programmes are
being carried out as planned; and
• Reviewing
specific operations at the request of the Audit Committee or management as
appropriate.
8.3.2 Legal and Risk
The
implementation of an enterprise-wide Risk Management process is an integral part
of good governance. In the next three years it is envisaged that the Legal and
Risk function will focus on the following:
• Good
corporate governance;
• Full
compliance with all legislation, policy and regulations;
• Improved
business process systems to detect and mitigate risk; and
• Review,
register and attend to all legal matters.
8.3.3 Company Secretariat
An effective Company Secretariat is
essential for the NDA. The objectives for the next three years are as follows:
• Act
as an advisory body to the Board on corporate governance;
• Schedule
Board meetings and prepare Board packs, minutes and action lists;
• Register
and recommend the review of policies within the NDA; and
• Guide
and orientate new Board members on Board Charters and terms of reference.
8.4 ADMINISTRATION SUPPORT
• Finance
• Communications
and Marketing
The purpose of the Human Resources
(HR) function in the NDA is to support the organisation in its mission by
attracting, motivating, developing, rewarding and retaining its people.
HR will focus on the following
interventions to achieve organisational excellence:
• Recruitment,
Induction and Retention
The Recruitment and Induction Policy
will be reviewed to ensure continuous alignment with best practice and
legislation. The induction process will be strengthened to ensure a positive
and thorough introduction and integration of all new employees. Performance agreements will be entrenched and
the probation period will be used to assess suitability of the new
incumbent. Finally a retention strategy
will be developed and progressively implemented over the next three years.
• Performance
Management
Although a performance management
system has been implemented, there is still work to be done in terms of
ensuring that performance agreements are in place and aligned with strategic
objectives. In addition to this, the
practice of conducting performance agreements needs to be enforced and
monitored to ensure that it is inherent in the culture of the organisation.
• Organisational
Review
A priority for the organisation will
be to conduct a review of the flow of work, particularly in the projects directorate,
to ensure that the work is directed appropriately and that the capacity to
manage the workflow exists. Roles need
to be clarified so that there is a clear understanding of what is expected and
how each one’s role is integrated to ensure that the organisation’s objectives
are achieved.
• Training
and Development
The NDA’s Training and Development
Strategy is focused on ensuring that we promote personal and career development
for all employees so they can reach their potential and contribute fully to the
achievement of the NDA’s strategic and business objectives. The Training and
Development Policy will be reviewed and learnerships, interns and volunteers
will be considered in the process. The
implementation of training and development plans will be reinforced and
facilitated and specific focus will be given to, among other things, Management
and Leadership Development, Customised NDA Project Management, IR Training,
Planning and Advanced Report Writing Skills.
• Strengthening Partnerships, Consultation and
Employee Relations
The NDA will ensure full
consultation on most people-related matters and policies, and will ensure
training is provided to all managers with respect to conflict management,
dispute handling and grievance and disciplinary management. The Employee
Relations Policy will also be reviewed and the Human Resources Department will
ensure that it provides the necessary advice and support to line management in
respect of managing these processes. An employee participatory forum will be
initiated to promote active participation and improve consultation in an
attempt to seek consensus on people matters.
• Promoting
a Values-based Organisation
It is critical for the NDA to ensure
a good understanding and knowledge of its values by all its
people. This will be achieved through the
internalisation of the values and linking them to visible behaviours that will
be monitored and measured.
• Wellness
and Health & Safety Management
Focus will be given to the
development of the Employees Assistance Programme (EAP), Safety and Health,
Sexual Harassment and HIV/Aids policies.
Alignment with the Occupational Health Safety Act will be ensured. The
wellness programme will focus on education and awareness on issues such as
men’s health, mental health, women’s health, TB, stress, heart illness and HIV/Aids
interventions.
• Remuneration
The Remuneration and Job Evaluation
policies are in the process of being reviewed.
The purpose is to ensure that “cost-to-company” is implemented in line
with best practice to ensure that the job evaluation process is owned by the
NDA. Exec-eval (independent job
evaluation) for EXCO members will be introduced to ensure the integrity of the
process and prevent any subjectivity or biases in the process.
• HR
Policies
HR will
continue to review policies and processes to identify areas for improvement and
ensure alignment with legislation and best practice. An annual programme will be implemented and
policies clustered to ensure this is effected in a
progressive manner.
• Improve
the quality of reporting to enable management to make timeous interventions;
• Improve
internal controls and processes to safeguard the entity’s assets;
• Build
and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders through compliance;
• Provide mobile access and enablement of
core processes via a web-enabled widely accessible collaborative project tool.
The NDA has selected Microsoft Great Plains as its
• Support research knowledge portal/hub that
requires unique configuration to meet NDA requirements to address gaps
identified related to knowledge and information sharing.
Marketing and Communications’
strategic plans for the next three years are:
• Communicating credible and relevant
information to all NDA target publics and stakeholders;
• Building a strong reputation for the
organisation through effective brand management; and
• Building
and maintaining strong relationships with key stakeholders and potential
partners.
13. Human Resource Implications
The implications of the 2008-09
strategy on HR are the following:
12.1. There
is a need to develop specific skills in the NDA since capacity building with
respect to the Projects Directorate is a priority if the NDA is to meet its
objectives successfully. The specific skills identified are:
12.1.1 Project Management in the context of
development funding institutions. This implies that we need to focus on
the methodologies, tools, practices and processes used in project management as
an example of the content of the training that needs to be considered
12.1.2 Report
writing skills need to be developed to improve the compilation of Request for
Project Funding reports.
12.1.3
12.1.4 Industrial
Relations (IR) Training and Dispute Management skills
12.1.5 Performance
Management Skills
12.1.6 An
in-depth understanding of capacity building as a factor of sustainable
development and the NDA’s particular role in this regard.
12. 2. In
addition to the above there is a need to conduct a full assessment of the flow
of work and clarify a number of current roles within the organisation. Once
this assessment has been conducted the NDA will be in a position to consider
how to optimise existing human resources without necessarily increasing the
staff complement.
The Projects Directorate has, however, identified the
need for five additional Development Managers (DMs) in the following
provinces:
The Finance Directorate has an approved junior IT
function that still needs to be filled. Provision has already been made for
this within the salaries budget. Strong consideration must be given to the need
in the Finance Department for the position of a Management Accountant to handle
all the internal finance and budgeting matters and processes so that there is
sufficient segregation of duties.
The R & D Directorate has an approved position of
Senior Researcher: Socio-Economic Development. This position will soon be filled.
Other needs identified by R&D will form part of the overall workflow
assessment being conducted.
12.3
Finally the NDA needs to continue to
develop a high performance culture by implementing a sound performance
management system with high levels of accountability that need to be filtered
throughout the organisation to ensure effective delivery of the strategic
objectives.
Monitoring and
Reporting
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The NDA is required to submit
quarterly progress reports to the Minister on the implementation of the strategic
plan.
The NDA Executive Management,
together with the Senior Management team, meet to
discuss progress every quarter. A report is formulated and presented to the
Board for approval. Thereafter the approved report, together with the financial
expenditure trends for the quarter, is submitted to the Minister.
Directorate Heads/Executive Managers
submit monthly progress reports to the Executive Committee (Exco). These
reports are used when performance agreements are assessed on an annual basis.
Examples of some of the CSOs Funded by NDA
Tswelang Pele Bomme,
Established in September 2001, this
agricultural development project almost collapsed during its embryonic stages
when some of its original members left in droves as soon as they realised they
would not be able to reap immediate material benefits for their efforts.
The R414 585 funding it received
from the NDA did not only rescue it from extinction, but it also helped it to
boost capacity and become an important income-generating initiative making a
positive difference to the lives of scores of families in Free State’s
impoverished Xhariep District Municipality.
Specialising in
the growing of vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, spinach, mealies, beetroot
and tomatoes, the project counts among its major clients a group of local
businesspeople, who regularly buy its produce in bulk. The success of Tswelang Pele Bomme,
Sesotho for “get ahead, ladies”, has also attracted interest from Potato SA,
which is seeking to build a partnership with the women with a view to using the
project to pilot an innovative potato planting programme in the area and other
parts of
Botshabelo Creations Community
Development,
Botshabelo Creations Community
Development (BCCD) has been offering skills training in areas such as
garment-making, embroidery, upholstery, curtain-making and fabric-painting in
Botshabelo – one of the most
disadvantaged areas in the
Although it conducted its courses
professionally right from the start, its lack of a financial viability and
coherent sustainability plan almost forced it to close its doors.
A cash injection in the form of a
R620 440 funding from the NDA rescued the project from collapse and enabled it
to continue providing training interventions mainly aimed at women and the
youth, two of the most vulnerable groups in the region.
This helped BCCD, formerly known as
the Foundation for Entrepreneurial Development (FED), to, among other things,
secure two major contracts from the Small Enterprise Development Agency (seda)
and the Department of Labour.
Khomanani Project in Vhembe
District,
The project creatively recycles
discarded paper to make valuable products such as conference folders,
notebooks, photo albums and photo frames, sold mainly to tourists visiting
exotic destinations in the district.
The project and its innovative
members, who honed their skills at the
The NDA’s funding of R683 859, which
it shared with five other like-minded poverty alleviation projects in the
impoverished district, went a long way to making the project come alive again.
Project members believe the funding
has created a solid platform from which they can build their unique business
into a sustainable enterprise with access to lucrative international markets.
Kodumela Area Development Project,
The Kodumela Area Development
Project (ADP), a World Vision-funded project operating in six villages in the 65 000-strong
Sekoro community, where it implements development activities aimed at
alleviating poverty and improving socio-economic development, had its hand
strengthened when the NDA funded it to the tune of R603 900 recently.
The project consists of established
beadwork groups that sell their wares internationally. Other groups of women
work in communal vegetable gardens.
The funding from the NDA was used to
help the beneficiaries grow their businesses by providing buildings for
beadwork groups, supplying its garden project with seeds and making money
available for training.
The food garden project already has
markets in faraway places such as
The project is also involved in
raising HIV/AIDS awareness, imparting farming and life skills, improving
education and upgrading community infrastructure.
Sister Love Incorporated of
Sister Love Incorporated of South
Africa (SLISA) is a Section 21 organisation established in 2002 to enhance the
ability of non-governmental and community-based organisations in the delivery
of quality HIV/AIDS prevention services in
In March 2007 the organisation
received R769 128 from
the NDA to help it bolster its income-generation initiatives, such as milk
production, poultry and vegetable-growing on a 249-hectare farm, on behalf of
three of its partners – Reach For Life, and Sifunokuhle and Nomakhaya
home-based care centres. The three NGOs look after the interests of people
infected with or affected by the disease.
Working in partnership with the
Department of Land Affairs, which made R2,2 million
available for the purposes of purchasing the farm, livestock and equipment; the
Department of Agriculture, which provided training on farming; and the
Department of Labour, which provided the training needs of 56 beneficiaries,
SLISA is seen as a breath of fresh air in the fight against the pandemic in the
province.
It has always been emphasised that
partnerships are a key to the success of poverty alleviation and economic
development projects in
The Tsomo Valley Agricultural
Cooperative, a project that seeks to improve the productivity of local farms
and give support to the beneficiaries of the government’s Land Redistribution
and Agricultural Development (LRAD) Programme, is an example of such success.
Established with the assistance of
the NDA, which injected R761 238 into the initiative; Department of
Agriculture; National Cooperative Association of South Africa and Sakhizwe
District Municipality; the project has capacitated 12 local emerging farmers
who had acquired land through the LRAD programme with access to farming
expertise, farming inputs and mechanisation and mentoring services.
As a result of these partners’
intervention, the farms are now being managed professionally, 20 farmers have
been trained in farm management and technological skills, and production has
improved by 20%.
Delindlala Farmers’ Cooperative,
Delindlala Farmers’ Cooperative was
established in December 2001 when 40 people – 23 women and 17 men – acquired a
2 029-hectare commercial farm through the Land Redistribution for Agricultural
Development (LRAD) programme. The association, in the Emalahleni Local
Municpality in the
The
cooperative also acquired a used tractor, an old irrigation system and a small
dairy with antiquated machines when it bought the farm.
The farm
supplies local shops with fresh produce and neighbouring villages with
vegetables and milk. But it was unable to cope with the increasing demand
because of capacity constraints.
The NDA funding of R752 450 was
aimed at assisting the group to expand its activities. These included training
of members on farm management, financial management, governance, technical
skills, sustainable agricultural methods, improvement of the dairy, utilisation
of 100 hectares, purchasing of a new tractor, improvement of livestock quality
and development of a business plan.
Through
the funding all 40 members of the cooperative have already been trained in
various skills. A bankable business plan has been developed, livestock quality
has improved, and the dairy has been rehabilitated and is now fully
operational. Twenty dairy cows and a bull have also been purchased.
Community Plough Back Movement,
The aim of the Community Plough Back
Movement (CPBM) is to, as the name suggests, plough back into disadvantaged
communities whatever skills their members acquire in life’s journey.
The project was started in 2002 by a
university professor who has a passion for community development when she
brought together a group of professionals from Gugulethu, Langa and Nyanga in
an effort to use their skills and spare time to empower the communities they
grew up in.
CPBM is involved in HIV/AIDS
education, school enrichment programmes, and food security and beading
initiatives.
Surplus People Project,
The Surplus People Project (SPP)
works in the area of pro-poor agrarian reform – including land, water and
agricultural reform – to address challenges brought about by rural poverty and
to stimulate local economies.
Under the auspices of the
initiative, a group of women have proactively pooled their resources to start a
piggery and a poultry initiative to generate much-needed income for its
members.
Another group of women has developed
tunnels for vegetable production while another, consisting mainly of elderly
women, regularly makes its fresh produce available to the local hospital.
SPP has forged a number of
partnerships, which are seen as critical to the success and sustainability of
the project. One such venture is a guest farm that integrates elements of
conversation and tourism into an existing project.
To enable SPP to sustain its
activities and turn them into successful ventures, the NDA recently made
funding to the tune of R940 000 available to the project. The funding was used
to disseminate relevant information to members, facilitate the identification
of land and support capacity initiatives, among other things.
Venus Susters,
With the Southern African Large
Telescope (SALT) in the small
A number of guesthouses and
restaurants have sprung up in the area over the past couple of years.
Unfortunately, all of these are owned by “outside investors”, at a great
disadvantage to local economic development.
When the South African Astronomical
Observatory (SAAO) introduced night tours to the facility as interest continued
to soar, a group of local women decided to enter the fray.
The women approached the Karoo
Hoogland Council with a proposal to buy an old farmhouse with a view to turning
it into a bed-and-breakfast establishment. The council, which was optimistic
about the idea, agreed to the proposal provided the women acquired funding for
the guesthouse.
Situated 3km from the SAAO, the
farmhouse is an ideal overnight facility for tourists wanting to visit the
Observatory.
Because of its potential to
eradicate poverty and contribute to local economic development, the NDA
approved funding to the tune of R538 385.
Gauta e
The fast diminishing subsistence
diamond mining and the resultant growing unemployment in
But a group of resilient residents
refused to wallow in self-pity.
They put their thinking caps on and
came up with a skills development project called Gauta e Sedwileng, a Sesotho
term for “refined gold”, to enable locals to improve their socio-economic
status.
The initiative is aimed at creating
employment for beneficiaries by establishing hydroponics and
compost-manufacturing projects. It also intends establishing three
cooperatives.
The NDA agreed to fund the project
for R2,5 million.
Ikusasalethu Trust received R772 218
from the NDA to help it establish a distillation plant in Inkandla, one of the
most impoverished areas in the northern region of
The plant provides processing
facilities for existing and future herb farmers within a 15km radius of the
town of
Part of the money the trust received
from the NDA will be used to strengthen its corporate governance processes.
Regarded as one of the key civil
society organisations fighting poverty in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, the trust has
also received funding from Gijima
Jikelele Ingwavuma assists
poverty-stricken women, orphans and vulnerable children as well as small,
medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in Ingwavuma, a 2 100km2 impoverished area bordering Mozambique to the
north, Swaziland to the west and the Pongola River to the south and east.
The area is part of the
The funding requested from the NDA
was expected to assist the project to turn around the dire circumstances of
women, orphans and vulnerable children. Already there are an estimated 3 000
HIV/AIDS orphans in the area.
The project trains women in arts and
crafts and buys their designs to create, brand and market the products.
It also creates healthy and safe
environments for orphans and vulnerable children by, among other things,
providing support, completing and maintaining cluster homes for those who
cannot be placed with a family and creating food gardens. It also assists
SMMEs, particularly those owned by women, with capacity building.
GreenHouse Project,
The GreenHouse Project is a
non-governmental organisation based in the
With the City of
The project provides information and
practical demonstrations on “green” building and design, sustainable energy,
sustainable water and sanitation management, zero-waste culture and organic
food, medicinal plants and landscaping.
A portion of the funding it received
from the NDA was used to organise 22 participants of the Wesbank Barrel
gardening project into a cooperative selling organic fresh produce and
seedlings to generate income for themselves and their families.
The Eesterust Care and Training
Centre,
The mission of the Eesterust Care
and Training Centre, established in 1985, is to improve the quality of life of
people with physical and mental disabilities to enable them to reach their
potential.
The centre serves historically disadvantaged
areas such as Eersterust, East Lynne, Mamelodi and Nellmapius by providing
basic job skills and social services to children, youth, elderly and terminally
ill, abused, disabled and uneducated people. Job training and creation will
ultimately provide education, self-sustainability and community upliftment.
The centre’s main activities include
caring for profoundly and severely handicapped children, providing pre-school
training, delivering interventions for Down Syndrome,
autistic and cerebral palsy children, offering protective work centre for young
adults, and providing life and job skills, as well as support and counselling
services.
In 2001 it established a vegetable garden project to provide
young people with disabilities with food and income.
15. Projects Funding Criteria
Adjudication Criteria for Funding of
projects used by the Projects and Programmes Steering Committee, include to:
Promote
eradication of poverty and its causes, a project should:
• Serve the population of a targeted poverty pocket
area
• Address economic and social inequalities,
including gender inequalities
• Promote tangible
quality of life improvements by facilitating the satisfaction of basic needs
for the targeted population and/or
• Generate opportunities for employment and
income earning
Promote
community ownership of the development process, a project should:
• Ensure self-initiative and participation
during project planning, management and implementation phases
• Promote balanced
gender involvement including active participation of women in decision making
structures
• Present opportunities for the
community/beneficiaries to voice poverty related issues
• Facilitate a high level of awareness of the
project within the local community
• Facilitate adoption/acceptance by the
community of project proposals
• Promote community ownership of the project
benefits
• Demonstrate project accountability to
beneficiaries and governing structures
• Provide opportunities for capacity
building, skills transfer and other measures to address obstacles that prevent
or limit community participation and self initiative
Adopt a broad
based approach in addressing poverty and its causes, a project should:
• Consider a multiplicity of community needs
• Provide an opportunity for other development
initiatives within the community
• Where appropriate, make reference to
existing Government and/or other relevant development initiatives
Optimise the
effective use of resources / skills through a partnership approach, by:
• Indicating opportunities for cooperation
with other relevant parties
• Proposing relevant partnerships with other
parties on the basis of clearly defined competencies and roles
Build
sustainability and quality development into the project, a project should:
• Demonstrate appropriateness of project
solutions and results in relation to problems identified
• Provide objective
and project purpose indicators reflecting the social and economic impact of the
project on the community
• Demonstrate the
project’s suitability in terms of the social, cultural and environmental
characteristics of the area
• Demonstrate long term feasibility in
technical, financial and organisational terms
The NDA does
not fund:
• Workshops and conferences,
unless they are integral to the functioning of a project or programme to gain
or renew a mandate or to consult a recipient community about the project design
and implementation.
• Research
for individual gain or profit
• Once-off
activities
• Large-scale infrastructure
projects that are the responsibility of national, provincial or local
government, including schools, offices, water, sanitation and road works
• Capital expenditure such as
land, buildings, vehicles or other major capital, unless they are in support of
project implementation
• Disaster
relief
• Educational
institutions, schools, universities or colleges
• Local,
provincial or national government or parastatals, directly or indirectly
• Capital
for small, medium or micro enterprises
• Bursaries
• Political organisations or
activities or any activity that promotes party political division, sexism,
racism or regionalism
• Museums
and conservation projects
• Projects
outside
• Denominational
activities
• Activities
that may cause environmental degradation
• Organisations with a history of misuse of
funds or whose grants have been suspended by the National Development Agency