Launch of the government's Integrated and Sustainable Rural Development Programme

TOMORROW, ON JULY 6th, we will be in the Kgalagadi Cross Boundary Municipality, which straddles the two provinces of the Northern Cape and the North West.

The purpose of this visit is to launch the government's Integrated and Sustainable Rural Development Programme (ISRDP). When we presented the State of the Nation Address earlier this year, we identified various District Municipalities as the focal areas in which we would begin the implementation of the Rural Development Strategy.

These are:

• The O.R. Tambo, North East, Ukhahlamba and EG Kei District Municipalities in the Eastern Cape;
• The Umzinyathi, Umkhanyakude, Ugu and Zululand District Municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal; 

• The Kgalagadi Cross Boundary District Municipality in the Northern Cape and North West; 

• The Central Karoo District Municipality in the Western Cape;

• The Sekhukhune Cross Boundary District Municipality in Mpumalanga and the Northern Province;

• The Eastern District Municipality in the Northern Province; and,

• The Qwaqwa District Municipality in the Free State. 

In the same State of the Nation Address, we said:
 "On previous occasions we have reported that we were working on both an integrated rural development strategy as well as an urban renewal programme. 

"In both instances our central aim is to conduct a sustained campaign against rural and urban poverty and underdevelopment, bringing in the resources of all three spheres of government in a coordinated manner. 

"These programmes will, among other things, entail investment in the economic and social infrastructure, human resource development, enterprise development, the enhancement of the development capacity of local government, poverty alleviation and the strengthening of the criminal justice system. 

"The new structure of local government, in urban and rural areas, will be the focal institution of government to ensure the coordinated implementation of our programmes, with the Ministry of Provincial and Local Government acting as the national coordinating ministry. 

"Success in this work should have a positive impact on such areas as job creation, crime and violence, health and the general quality of life of millions of our people who lead desperate lives. 

"Though it took longer than we thought in fact to elaborate realistic and integrated government plans, the individual departments and spheres of government have continued with their own programmes focused on these two matters of rural development and urban renewal. 

"For example, investments totalling more than R3 billion have been made through the Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme over the last three years, with 47 per cent spent in rural areas and 53 per cent in the urban areas. 

" The work that will help us to move to a higher phase with regard to rural development has now been concluded. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the urban renewal programme except in the instance of two areas. 

"In both instances, the nodal points for the implementation of these programmes have been identified." 

It is clear from all information available to us that the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Province have the highest levels of rural poverty and underdevelopment in the country.

Working within this context, the government carried out a detailed assessment of all our rural areas to determine which were the worst affected by such poverty and underdevelopment. 

By this means, we wanted to ensure that we focus on those of our people who are worst affected by the legacy of colonialism and apartheid, as it affected the rural masses.

This is the reason that the largest number of focal areas are in the three provinces we have already mentioned, the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Province.

As the readers will remember, between them, these three provinces accounted for six out of the ten of the "homelands" established by the apartheid regime, including three of the "independent homelands."

It is appropriate that at this point we remind ourselves of the fact that these homelands were the same areas that had been determined as "native reserves" during the centuries-long process of the colonisation of our country and the land dispossession of the masses of the people.

Both the colonial and the apartheid systems in our country were based, in part, on the land dispossession of the African majority and the transfer of land into the hands of white landowners.

This process of forcible land redistribution occurred throughout the centuries when this African majority was involved in an armed struggle to resist colonialism and white minority domination.

As the colonial armies secured their victories and colonial administrations were put in place, so were the Africans driven into ever shrinking areas of our country. 

This was followed during the last century by various Land Acts. These legitimised the injustice that had occurred. They gave legal powers to the white minority state, to enforce the mal-distribution of land that had been brought about through the force of arms and the use of oppressive and repressive state power.

It was for all these reasons that as we achieved our liberation in 1994, legally, 13 per cent of our land was owned by black people, and 87 per cent by the whites. It was into this 13 per cent of the land that the African majority was confined.

As the colonial order established and entrenched itself, it worked to ensure that the "native reserves" served as labour reservoirs that would supply workers for the white farms and the mines. In other words, these "reserves" would have no means to supply the means of livelihood for the millions of Africans that had been crammed into these areas.

This situation worsened during the apartheid years, as the apartheid regime embarked on a process of forced removals and the implementation of a strict programme of "influx control" with regard to the urban areas. This added to the numbers of people who were squeezed into the desolate and poverty-stricken "native reserves", now renamed "homelands".

We must add to this the fact the majority of people to be found within these "homeland" areas are women. It is therefore true that when we talk of poverty eradication in these areas, we are talking of addressing an important element of our programme for gender equality and the emancipation of women.

Since we came into government, we have concentrated on a number of areas to address the challenges facing our people in the rural areas. These have included ensuring that these areas see an improvement with regard to such areas as schools, clinics, housing, water, electricity, roads and telephones.

We have also sought to address the issue of land restitution as speedily as possible. This work will continue to ensure that those who were unjustly removed from their land during the years designated in law, have their land back or receive due compensation.

The government will continue to work to ensure that the communities who get their land back are assisted with the infrastructure and the means to make a success of their lives on the land they have recovered.

We have also sought to assist those black people who want to enter the sector of commercial farming. This has included making land available and giving the support necessary to carry out successful farming activities.

Performance will continue to improve in this area as well, leading to the gradual emergence of black farmers as an identifiable and important player in the critical sector of commercial agriculture. Of special importance in this regard are the three matters of access to capital, empowerment of the farmers with the necessary skills and ensuring market access for the produce of these farmers.

It is within this overall context that we must understand the Integrated and Sustainable Rural Development Strategy. As we said in parliament:

"These (rural and urban) programmes will, among other things, entail investment in the economic and social infrastructure, human resource development, enterprise development, the enhancement of the development capacity of local government, poverty alleviation and the strengthening of the criminal justice system."

The ISRDS is an important element of a multi-faceted strategy to respond to the challenge of rural development and expediting the process towards the eradication of rural poverty and underdevelopment.

But all of us need to understand that here we are working to eradicate a deeply entrenched legacy of colonialism and apartheid. That legacy includes landlessness for the millions and the deliberate under-development of many of our rural areas. 

This was to ensure these areas served as the suppliers of cheap labour to the modern, white economy of our country and recipients of those African workers who had contributed everything they could to build up that economy. 

Accordingly, the latter were dumped in these areas without any meaningful support in the form of pensions and medical aid so that they could lead lives that were as comfortable as possible. In terms of the white supremacist doctrines and practices of the day, these rural areas were never meant to be comfortable places. It is this horrible mess that we have inherited and to which we must respond as vigorously as possible.

Obviously, government working alone cannot accomplish the task we have to achieve. It requires that all of us, the rural masses themselves, their political and community organisations, business people, traditional and religious leaders and the rest of our society join hands to address one of the most disastrous outcomes of colonialism and apartheid.

That task is to transform the "native reserves" and the "homelands" from what the white supremacists made them to be, into a happy home of peace, prosperity and progress for the millions of our people who live in the rural areas.

This will only be achieved through a protracted struggle to meet the demand for a better life for all. No short-cuts are possible. 

We will all have to work together to ensure that the Integrated and Sustainable Rural Development Strategy succeeds. It is appropriate that the government launches the Rural Development Programme in the Kgalagadi, with its challenging soils and seasons.

FREE BASIC WATER

Millions benefit as councils implement election undertaking

THE FREE SUPPLY of a basic amount of water has become a reality for around 23 million South Africans, about half the population. A major part of the ANC's 2000 local government election manifesto, the provision to every household of 6,000 litres a month free water has been made possible through the joint efforts of national, provincial and local government.

The free basic water policy is aimed at meeting the essential water needs of South Africa's poor. Households using more than 6,000 litres a month will pay for the service based on the amount used. While the policy will not have a substantial effect on wealthier households it will greatly improve the affordability of basic needs for poorer households.

There are however seven million people who live in areas where no infrastructure yet exists for the supply of water. Government will use R1.1 billion to bring water to around 1,5 million of these people this year.

A further 15 million people live in local council areas where the decision to provide free basic water has either not yet been taken, or where implementation will only take place at a later stage. Eighty percent of Gauteng's resident and 70 percent of the Western Cape's are receiving free basic water.

The effects of the policy are likely to be widespread. South Africans who have struggled to afford basic services will at least now have access to an essential amount of water for drinking and other household services. Free basic water and the accompanying extension of water provision will have a profound effect on levels of health. It will free up resources, time and energy in poor household, improving the quality of life of women in particular.

However many challenges face the provision of free basic water. It requires effective coordination and cooperation between national government, provincial government and individual local councils, improvements in metering and billing systems and ongoing maintenance of water infrastructure.

The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry is currently focusing on helping local councils still to implement the free basic water policy. In many rural areas the national department, not the local authority, is still the water service provider. Although water is provided free there is often inadequate control over actual usage. Some households therefore often use more than the basic free amount.

Water Affairs and Forestry Minister Ronnie Kasrils said the pace at which the free basic water policy had taken off was encouraging: "This kind of cooperative governance between all spheres of government is a salutary example of unity in action for change."

FREE ELECTRICITY

Making energy affordable to the country's poorest

HOUSEHOLDS IN 16 rural development areas will this month begin receiving a free basic amount of electricity as national government continues to explore ways of making energy affordable for South Africa's poorest. The provision of a basic amount of free electricity to all households is the second leg of manifesto commitments made by the ANC last year.

The areas which will benefit from the initial investigation are among the rural development nodes identified by government for the first phase of the Integrated Rural Development Strategy announced by President Thabo Mbeki at the beginning of the year. Households in these areas will receive 50 free kilowatt-hours of electricity a month. This would give them access to energy for lighting, ironing, limited cooking, water heating and use of a radio and black and white television.

Announcing the programme, Minerals and Energy Affairs Minister Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said significant administrative and technological challenges existed. Leaving municipalities to devise their own means of providing free electricity could lead to chaos unless effectively coordinated. It would also be difficult for municipalities to find sustainable ways of financing this service. Cross-subsidation, where richer households pay more for electricy and poorer households less, tend to work best in municipalities with substantial numbers of wealthy households. Poor muncipalities, by contrast, have no source from which to cross-subsidise poor communities. Another option is to use part of their allocation from the National Treasury.

This phase of the programme will continue until March next year, when a strategy would be developed for the next set of development nodes and decisions taken on the best ways to provide affordable electricity across the country.

Other initiatives include an operation and maintenance subsidy to households using solar energy, a project by Eskom to test the benefits of energy-saving light bulbs and exempting paraffin from VAT. Mlambo-Ngcuka said the experiences of the various pilot projects would help government with the final roll-out of free basic energy start in 2002/3.

LAND 'SALE' SCAM

Opportunists abuse Gauteng's homeless and landless

THE PAN AFRICANIST CONGRESS' brand of political opportunism reached new lows this week when it 'sold' to homeless people pieces of land it did not own. The land, most of which belongs to the state, was earmarked for low-cost housing by the Ekurhuleni metropolitan council in Gauteng.

According to the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) around 2,000 people had occupied the land by mid-week, while a further 20,000 people had paid the R25 fee. The organisation has at different points claimed the money paid by the homeless people is an administrative fee, would be used to contest evictions and would be used for the provision of services to the area. Whatever the destination of these people's money, the PAC has wilfully abused the plight of homeless people to pursue its own political objectives.

Far from speeding up the process of land reform, such illegal occupations hamper government's efforts to house the country's poor. Land identified for low-cost housing cannot be provided with the necessary infrastructure and services when occupied in such a manner. Government cannot be expected to overlook housing waiting lists - of people equally desparate for homes - to accommodate people who have forcefully jumped the queue.

"Grabbing of land by anybody, be it a political organisation, any groups or individuals is illegal and immoral because government has set up a process by which land redistribution is taking place," Land Affairs Minister Thoko Didiza said. As the land redistribution process gathers momentum, government has made enormous strides in meeting the housing backlog in the country. Since 1994, over 300,000 houses have been built in Gauteng alone.

The action of the PAC has demonstrated not only contempt for the law and constitution but a fundamental failure - or unwillingness - to understand the complex and demanding process of identifying and developing land for human settlement. It has once more shown its willingness to sacrifice the interests of the poor and vulnerable of South Africa on the altar of political self-promotion.

SA WOMEN'S MOVEMENT #2

Towards a movement for transformation of gender relations

SOUTH AFRICA needs a broad movement for the transformation of gender relations which embraces different kinds of women's movements, as an integral part of the broader movement for transformation in South Africa.

The struggle for gender equality has always been part of the struggle for national liberation in South Africa. There have always been strong women's movements expressing the different aspirations of women defined among others by, their class, race and geographic location. These did not always act as one movement primarily because of their immediate needs and primary demands, different forms of organisations and different methods of organising and struggles.

Particularly in the 1980s there was a convergence of aspirations in the defeat of apartheid and creation of a democratic, non-sexist South Africa. It was a period of heightened mass mobilisation and mass activism with different organisations engaging in different sectors, but united under what became known as the Mass Democratic Movement (MDM. At the centre of this mass activism was women's activism expressed in different organisations and engaging a range of issues, emerging as a coherent and cohesive movement through united action.

These women's actions were not isolated from the general mass struggles, but had a specialised focus on women's struggles particularly around gender related demands. These were led by a variety of organisations - ranging from women's groups demanding access to services through to feminist kinds of organisations addressing both matters of access to basic services for women and qualitative changes in power relations between women and men in society.

The 1990s ushered in a new era. Many organisations in the MDM were dissolved and incorporated within the ANC. The Congress-inclined women's organisations were integrated into the ANC Women's League (WL). While debate continues about the advisability of this process, the ANCWL has played a critical role in the mobilisation and articulation of women's interests in the transition to democracy.

The shift from mass mobilisation against a repressive regime to building a new democratic society brings its own challenges. The state is an important instrument for transforming power relations in society including gender relations, but is also patriarchal and needs to be transformed. Patriarchy -the system and ideology of the domination of women by men - permeates all spheres of life and is extremely resilient.

Revolutionary gains since 1994

A number of revolutionary gains have been made since 1994 in relation to changing the lives of South Africans the majority of whom are black and are women.

• Constitutional. Clause 9 of the Constitution guarantees equal rights for all South Africans. It stipulates that neither the state nor any individual can discriminate against anyone on the basis of sex and gender.
• Legislative. A body of laws including the Maintenance Act, Domestic Violence Act and Choice on the Termination of Pregnancy Act have been passed. Other laws such as Employment Equity, Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination have positively impacted on the lives of women.
• Institutional. Structures established include the Office on the Status of Women in the President and Premiers' offices; gender units in government departments; the Parliamentary Committee on the Improvement of the Quality of Life and Status of Women; the Women's Empowerment Unit; and the Commission on Gender Equality (CGE).
• International. South Africa is a signatory to international conventions such as the Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Platform for Action.
• Access. Almost 30 percent of members of parliament and 38 percent of ministers and deputy ministers are women.

Transformation is taking place both at the practical and strategic gender needs levels. Access to basic services such as water, electricity, health improves the quality of life of women. Women are beginning to regain their dignity and taking responsibility for their lives and societal patriarchal attitudes are beginning to change as evidenced by, for example, the growing anger towards violence against women.

The new context meant that there was a shift towards political parties in society and redefinition of identities. Women's interests were articulated through the political parties' policies. Diversity and difference tended to supersede commonalities in the parliamentary sphere.

The unintended consequence of the movement of many women into parliament may have been the weakening of structures in the Tripartite Alliance and ANCWL at leadership level. As a result the ANCWL leadership is spread very thin. Which impacts negatively on its capacity to play its leadership role in the gender movement.

What gender activists both in and outside parliament have also bemoaned is the weakening of structured relations between those gender activists in parliament and government and those outside. And yet, experience elsewhere has shown the importance of links between all gender activists and a strong gender movement engaging on all fronts.

Academic feminists and gender activists also began to withdraw into their areas of expertise. Many feminist activists acted as if unsure of the role that they can play in a democratic society.

The context, demands and challenges of our times makes it difficult for gender activists located in the various spheres to connect, interact and create effective linkages for the gender agenda. There has also been a weakness in our ability to theorise about and engage in current discourse on gender.

There is, especially after the semi-collapse of the Women's National Coalition (WNC), a decline and fragmentation of the women's movement. But this must not be mistaken for the collapse of women's activism around gender related issues. New centres and micro-organisations with a degree of specialisation and professionalism have emerged. For instance, there is growth of organisations and networks against violence against women. Women in rural areas and townships continue to mobilise and organise around their economic and socio-political needs.

Though there may be lack of coordination, cohesiveness and coherency, women and indeed gender activists are organised and organising towards gender equality, even though some of them may not define their objectives in those terms. This in itself is not bad, but needs a better understanding of how the different struggles can and should be effectively and efficiently woven in action to a coherent and vibrant movement.

Towards a broad movement

The objective of a broad movement for transformation of gender relations would be to:

• eradicate the oppression, suppression and subordination of women and create a non-sexist society,

• break down patriarchy as a system based on and reinforcing the ideology, practices, values, culture, stereotypes and all the manifestations of the unequal power relations between women and men,

• redefine and reorient all socialisation institutions in society starting with the family as agents responsible for creating the new person with real non-sexist values.

This agenda is not for and by women alone. It would be informed by an understanding of the intersection of class, race and gender, and the relationship and interdependence of practical gender needs and strategic gender needs. It would be firmly located within the broader struggles for transformation in South Africa.

Such a movement would not necessarily be launched or formed but would emerge from below and from the experiences and struggles for gender equality. The driving force behind such a movement would of course be the Alliance with its record and commitment to struggle and its historic mission to create a democratic, non-sexist and non-racial South Africa.

Networks, such as a reorganised WNC, could play a meaningful role. It could, for instance become an "enabler" using its resources located in its affiliates to empower the less skilled women and their organisations so that they can speak for themselves and participate effectively in changing their own lives.

An agenda and programme around which to unite will act as the glue that will help bind the movement together. However, without the will and ability to organise and struggle we are unlikely to progress far in achieving whatever shining vision we have of a non-sexist society.

This is an edited version of an article by ANC Deputy Secretary General Thenjiwe Mtintso which appeared in the June/July edition of Umrabulo, the ANC's quarterly discussion journal. It is the second in a series of articles on the South African Women's Movement. The next article in the series will appear in the September edition of Umrabulo and will be summarised in ANC Today.

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