Rural Development Framework

May 1997

Foreword

This document was written by the Rural Development Task Team in the RDP office. Following the closure of the RDP office, responsibility for its updating and finalisation was passed to the Department of Land Affairs.

It is the outcome of several rounds of consultation. The most important was the public response to the Green Paper that was published in the Government Gazette, No. 16679 of the 3rd November, 1995. In response to the discussion document, which also included the Green Paper on Urban Development, there were 29 responses to both papers, plus 32 responses to the rural paper, and 27 further responses to the urban paper.

Most responses to the rural paper were from District Councils, followed by provincial departments. There were also several from professional associations and from individuals. We would like to thank all those who provided commentary, both positive and negative. Many of the comments were incisive and useful, and widened the understanding of rural issues on the ground, and we have tried to do justice to these inputs. Some, however, were outside the scope of the document, and others we could not agree with. We hope it is clear from the text why not.

Many respondents to the discussion document requested more detail on the immense variety of local conditions in the rural areas of South Africa, and the variety of ways that these can be expected to influence the policy framework. While fully accepting the importance of local variations in conditions, it is not possible to discuss them all. This document describes the overall policy framework that is emerging. It sets out a framework for rural people to consider and to build on, bearing in mind their local conditions.

This document was prepared before the preliminary estimates of population based on the 1996 census became available in June 1997. Nonetheless, the conclusions reached about the level of poverty in rural areas remain unchanged.

Rural Development Task Team (RDP)
& Land Reform Policy Branch
(Department of Land Affairs)

Contents

Executive Summary

1. INTRODUCTION

The Rural Development Framework describes how government, working with rural people, aims to achieve a rapid and sustained reduction in absolute rural poverty. Solutions are sought to the following questions:

• how to involve rural people in decisions affecting their lives, through participation in rural local government (Chapter 2);
• how to increase employment and economic growth in rural areas (Chapter 3);
• how to provide affordable infrastructure and improve services in rural areas and resolve the problems posed by the remote, low-potential areas into which people were crowded during the apartheid era (Chapter 4);
• how to ensure social sustainability in rural areas (Chapter 5);
• how to increase rural local government capacity to plan and implement and assemble the essential information for planning, monitoring and evaluating both the process and progress of development (Chapter 6).

Rural areas

Rural areas are defined as the sparsely populated areas in which people farm or depend on natural resources, including the villages and small towns that are dispersed through these areas. In addition, they include the large settlements in the former homelands, created by the apartheid removals, which depend for their survival on migratory labour and remittances.

Rural poverty

Almost three quarters of people below the poverty line in South Africa live in the rural areas. Of these, children less than five years, youths and the elderly are particularly vulnerable; women more so than men. The poorest ten per cent account for just one per cent of consumer spending. The highly skewed distribution of incomes in South Africa goes hand in hand with highly inequitable literacy levels, education, health and housing, and access to water and fuel.

Rural development

Development in rural areas requires:

• institutional development: helping rural people set the priorities in their own communities, through effective and democratic bodies, by providing the local capacity and access to funds for them to plan and implement local economic development;
• investment in basic infrastructure and social services: the provision of physical infrastructure (eg housing, water and power supplies, transport) and social services (eg basic health care and schools);
• improving income and employment opportunities and by broadening access to natural resources (eg arable and grazing land, irrigation water, woodland and forests);
• restoration of basic economic rights to marginalised rural areas by establishing periodic markets as the organising spatial and temporal framework for development;
• resource conservation: investing efforts in the sustainable use of natural resources; and
• justice, equity and security: dealing with the injustices of the past and ensuring the safety and security of the rural population, especially that of women.

Rural development and the GEAR

The Reconstruction and Development Programme represents government's commitment to eradicate poverty. For this vision to materialise, policies must be orientated towards the provision of basic needs, the development of human resources and a growing economy which is capable of generating sustainable livelihoods. The success of government's strategy for growth, employment and redistribution (GEAR) is dependent on the maintenance of a sound fiscal and macro-economic framework. Rural development will contribute to this policy by:

• diversified job creation through local economic development;
• redistributing government expenditure to formerly deprived areas;
• an expansionary infrastructure programme to address service deficiencies and backlogs, while delivering infrastructure and essential services cost-effectively;
• social development in many fields, particularly education and health services, and through providing access to resources to improve household and national productivity;
• integrating marginal rural areas where the majority of citizens have been cut off from the national economy.

Coordination of rural development

For these objectives to become a reality in rural areas, coordination of the different sectoral initiatives is essential at both national and provincial level. Until 1996, national level coordination of rural development was carried out by the inter-departmental Rural Development Task Team. At provincial level, rural development policy and implementation are guided by inter-departmental committees which are not altogether successful in coordinating planning and development. Local government is well placed to effectively coordinate sectoral initiatives on the ground, but few rural municipalities are as yet in a position to do this.

2. BUILDING LOCAL DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT

South Africa is at present consolidating the transition of the country to democracy in all spheres. One of the most significant developments is the establishment of democratic local government; another is the adoption of the Constitution which places the responsibility for service provision on local government.

Local government in rural development
Local government is the elected government body:

• that takes ultimate responsibility for service delivery;
• with which CBOs, representatives from local fora and other stakeholders consult for the purpose of assessing needs and priorities;
• that mediates competing interests in resource management, project planning or the provision of services;
• that sets Land Development Objectives under Section 27 of the Development Facilitation Act (67 of 1995) that bind all land development decisions and policies in their area of jurisdiction;
• whose function it is to coordinate the work of the different departments and follow through requests for funding or implementation to the appropriate provincial and national bodies;
• with responsibility for ensuring that the needs of poorly organised local people are also taken into account.

Role of national and provincial government
It is the constitutional responsibility of national and provincial government to:

• help local government to recognise and define the needs of local people;
• to encourage local government to involve local people in planning and in the actions necessary to satisfy their needs; and
• to enable local people, suitably organised to access national programmes on known terms and conditions, so as to assume increasing responsibility for these actions.

In other parts of the world, these precepts have been the basis of successful rural development. The Rural Development Framework proposes how the skills and resources of councils will be strengthened through capacity building and funding.

3. BUILDING LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND RURAL LIVELIHOODS

Job-creation programmes for rural areas must tackle employment generation through the promotion of as wide a range of activities as possible. The wider the range of jobs and activities, the higher the demand for services locally, the more local markets will grow, and the more money will circulate in rural areas. Local economic development can be achieved by building on and utilising the local natural resource base and the opportunities provided by actual and potential trade links within an area. The chapter recommends the strengthening of these links through the establishment of local markets for locally produced goods and services. In this way it is proposed to restore basic economic rights to marginalised rural people.

Obstacles

Most of the constraints to rural development stem from the long period of apartheid with its discriminatory policies and neglect of the majority black population. Forced removals led to over-population of the 'reserves' and deprivation of basic needs. High population growth put pressure on family income, social services and on natural resources. Structural and legal obstacles were raised to marketing and thereby to production The major obstacles to be overcome in rural areas are:

• Landlessness and overcrowding in the former homeland areas and inappropriate farming methods on commercial farms have given rise to severe land degradation and soil erosion. Environmental management policies and practices remain sectoral and fragmented.
• Current land ownership and land development patterns strongly reflect the political and economic conditions of the apartheid era. Racially-based land policies were a cause of insecurity, landlessness and poverty amongst black people, and of inefficient land administration and land use.
• Apartheid spatial planning created a rural landscape devoid of economic opportunities for the disadvantaged majority, especially women; devoid of local markets and dependent on distant cities and towns for employment, goods and services.
• In the predominately white commercial farming areas, past government policies have led to an over-capitalised, over-mechanised farm system. The opening up of the system to African farmers faces many obstacles. Due to decades of discrimination and oppression, lack of skills and experience and rural finance; lack of markets where small farmers can trade their produce; lack of support services for sustainable small-scale agriculture farmers, eg applied research and extension.

Opportunities

This chapter describes the potential for local economic development initiatives and for job creation in several quarters: commerce; small, medium and micro enterprises; agriculture; forestry; tourism; and labour-intensive public works. It recognises the prime importance of broadening access to land resources, the establishment of partnerships between local government and the private sector and NGOs for the promotion of a wide range of enterprises. These should be built upon to utilise the local natural resource base and of the potential for trading links within an area. These should be strengthened through the establishment of rings of markets for locally and regionally produced goods and services, linking small towns into regional economies, building total production and cash circulation and a more competitive position in the wider economy.

4. BUILDING LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE

The infrastructure backlog in rural areas is immense. Sustained investment in appropriate types of infrastructure is essential for achieving the equity and efficiency objectives of the government. Prior consultation with local government structures and community fora is a precondition for all rural infrastructure projects, so also is the close cooperation of the national and provincial line departments involved. The chapter describes the policy principles and the coordinating structures which provide the framework for implementation.

Expected service levels and costs of provision

Target service levels for different types of rural areas cannot be laid down with precision. Key factors influencing the level of service provision are: speed of economic growth in the locality; how widely the benefits of that growth are distributed; the capacity of institutions responsible for delivering municipal services; and the individual and collective choices of consumers. The contrast in expected levels of service provision between urban and rural areas reflects the relatively high unit costs of installation in the latter and the fact that rural people can afford only the lowest level of recurrent costs.

Capital subsidies

To meet the backlog in infrastructure in rural areas, government is committed to subsidise the capital costs for a basic level of service with the following programmes:

• School and clinic building programme, through the national and provincial departments, fully funded by government, with telephones and electricity;
• The DWAF Community Water and Sanitation Programme provides the platform for the implementation of internal bulk and connector water and sanitation projects.
• The Department of Constitutional Development's Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme (MIP): up to R3000 per household for the installation and rehabilitation of internal bulk and connector services, ie water and roads.
• The Department of Housing's National Housing Subsidy: up to R15 000 per qualifying person for the land, on-site infrastructure, as well as top structure; or
• The Department of Land Affairs Settlement/Land Acquisition Grant: up to R15 000 per qualifying person to acquire land and effect homestead and land improvements, through the provision of basic infrastructure as part of the Land Reform Programme.

Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme

The Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme arose from the need to coordinate the various grant funding programmes of the four national departments that provide capital for municipal infrastructure - ie, the departments of Constitutional Development, Housing, Water Affairs and Forestry and Land Affairs. The Consolidated MIP focuses on internal bulk and connector water, roads and stormwater drainage, solid waste disposal and public lighting services. It provides grant funding for new infrastructure, as well as for the upgrading and rehabilitation of existing internal bulk and connector infrastructure, to urban as well as dense and dispersed rural areas. The closer alignment of grant funding under the Consolidated MIP will help municipalities to build and manage sustainable infrastructure systems.

Water and sanitation, and energy policy

The Community Water Supply and Sanitation Programme aims to ensure that all South Africans have access to an adequate water supply and safe sanitation facility, over the next nine years.

The lack of adequate energy sources in rural areas is a major obstacle to economic and social development. The principal impediments are: the limited distribution network and the high initial costs of extending it; the recurrent cost of conventional energy supplies; and the lack of information for poor people about alternative energy sources, including possible sources of finance. The policy options currently under discussion aim to address these problems. A capacity building programme, including energy users, suppliers and facilitators, aims to ensure that local-level initiatives reflect people's needs, are rational and well informed.

Rural housing

National housing policy aims to provide access, for all South Africans, to a permanent residential structure with secure tenure, ensuring privacy and providing adequate protection against the elements; and potable water, adequate sanitary facilities including waste disposal and domestic electricity supply. However, government support to housing development tends to receive lower priority in rural areas. Rural households are often poorly organised to obtain their place in the queue for subsidies. Legally acceptable evidence of land tenure has also been a problem for applicants on communal land. This problem is in the process of being resolved.

The Settlement/Land Acquisition Grant, an alternative subsidy to that of the Housing Subsidy of the Department of Housing, accommodates rural people wishing to acquire land for agriculture as well as for residential purposes.

In the case of farm workers, living on land belonging to an employer, difficulties arise when the right to occupy is tied to employment. In these cases, the granting of a subsidy for housing improvements, has to be linked to guarantees by the land owner that the tenure of the applicant is secure.

Rural settlement programmes place great demands on government to support organisation and planning at local level. The demand goes well beyond the staff capacity of the agencies concerned. Both the DLA and the Provincial Housing Boards make facilitation funds available to assist groups to organise themselves, to ensure that their needs are being brought to the attention of funding institutions and that settlement projects are sustainable.

5. BUILDING SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

The most recent surveys undertaken in rural South Africa reveal depths of poverty as severe as in the poorer African countries to the north. They show that women, and female-headed households are particularly disadvantaged. As a result, three quarters of rural children are growing up in households below the poverty line.

This chapter sets out the constitutional rights of rural people and vulnerable groups and the ways in which they can both contribute to and campaign for better service delivery and living conditions.

Throughout, the role of NGOs and CBOs is recognised to be vitally important, both as deliverers of services and in ensuring good governance, transparency and participation. Government seeks to involve NGOs and CBOs in the policy dialogue and in decision making. In this connection, the strengthening of NGOs and CBOs as separate, specialist institutions is important. A constructive partnership between the government, NGOs and community organisations will maximise the benefit of rural development initiatives for rural people.

Safety, security and legal issues

Safety and security are a precondition for social and economic development. The responsibility for the establishment of peace and harmony in the countryside lies with all citizens, but particularly with the local leadership. Processes which will strengthen their commitment to fair administrative systems and conduct will be supported by government. A community policing forum (CPF) should link up with every rural police station to ensure active community support for safety and security. Women's groups should be well represented as part of the effort to reduce violence against women and children.

Poor rural people have little or no recourse to the legal system. They remain vulnerable to being exploited by employers and landowners. In the former homelands, the poor continue to be traumatised and exposed to inter-communal conflict. Given the shortage of funds, the problem is how to extend legal services to remote areas. An assessment of rural legal advisory offices is needed to determine how to increase their reach and efficiency.

Children's rights

A large proportion of South Africa's population are children. Most of them live in rural areas where eighty per cent of the very poorest children are to be found. Poor women are under great pressure to carry out other income earning work too and so their children are deprived of essential care and attention when they are away from home.

Under the Bill of Rights of the Constitution, every child has the right, inter aliato family care or parental care, or to appropriate alternative care when removed from the family environment; basic nutrition, shelter, basic health care services and social services; to be protected from maltreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation; and be protected from exploitative labour practice.

The most fundamental right is the right to life. Ready access to basic health care services is important for immunisation programmes, emergency assistance and routine assessment and support. The most useful overall indicator of the condition of children is their nutritional status and this should be regularly monitored and related to environmental health. This nutritional information should be central to the planning of any programme to improve the condition of children in rural areas, the steps needed and how scarce resources can be best allocated.

Rural health

Diseases of poverty, such as infectious diseases and maternal and infant illness and mortality are all too common in the rural areas. A high number of rural children die of easily prevented illnesses. All of these conditions could have been eliminated if proper health services had been provided in the past.

The target throughout the country is to have one clinic for every 5000 people, offering free primary health care and ensuring that essential drugs are available at each facility. These clinics will be supplemented by mobile units serving sparsely populated rural areas. The Department of Health is committed to the redeployment of trained staff to rural areas and to improving their working conditions, in order to encourage greater commitment to the rural areas.

As in the urban areas, the AIDS epidemic is a major concern. While strongly supporting preventive measures, government aims to address the need for appropriate social assistance for AIDS victims and their dependents as well as their medical care.

Rural education

Under apartheid, Africans living in rural areas were denied educational opportunities to an even greater extent than those in urban areas. Most rural schools are poorly resourced with buildings, equipment, and books and without electricity and running water. Children usually walk long distances to school and class sizes of 70 pupils are not uncommon. Drop out and repetition rates are high and a large number of children do not attend school at all. Opportunities for secondary education, for childhood 'educare' and adult education are scarce.

Government is committed to increase the level and availability of formal education in rural areas, and supply training and assistance to the new district and rural councils. The South African Schools Act became effective from 1 January 1997. The Act determines, in line with the Constitution, the right to basic education. The obligation to provide sufficient places in public schools lies with the provinces. The public school sector category includes, amongst others, the current community schools and farm schools, forestry and mine schools and many religious schools. The Act also makes provision for all schools to have democratically elected governing bodies in which parents, teachers and (in secondary schools) students will be represented. Public spending on education will, as far as possible, be weighted to favour the poor and historically deprived schools. Most rural community schools and farm schools fall into this category.

Security and welfare

Lack of opportunities for gainful employment is the scourge of South Africa's rural areas. The government, therefore, recognises the need for developmental social welfare and a social security system that reaches all people in need. Social welfare is more readily available to urban people. In line with the recommendations of the 1996 Lund Commission, they are to be more equitably distributed in future.

Labour intensive public works in the case of drought or other disaster, will complement the rural economy and will not undermine it. Relief, consisting of food hand-outs, which can reduce self reliance, should only be used in dire emergency.

6. BUILDING LOCAL CAPACITY TO PLAN AND IMPLEMENT

The effective performance by rural municipalities of their functions will require the establishment of a planning capacity, at least at district level. The purpose will be to provide information on the resources available and to assist elected councillors to identify the most appropriate development options. The overall objective will be the full and productive utilization of the resources available within the district - natural, human and financial resources. This chapter considers the case for decentralized planning, the issues to be resolved, and the likely scope and content of work and the type of planning apparatus. Outstanding issues are expected to be resolved in the course of the local government White Paper preparation process, currently being steered by the Department of Constitutional Development.

With the tighter fiscal environment, there will be need for better informed resource allocation based on accurate district-level data. National government expenditure will continue to be apportioned between provinces and departments, who will reallocate funds to province-level activities. Implementing departments will wish to see these allocations used rationally to achieve their particular policy objectives. Revenues raised by local authorities will be allocated to services decided by elected councillors. Efficiency of resource allocation will be improved by coordination of the work of national and provincial government and local authorities. A district-level planning capacity will therefore be essential. Local-level involvement in planning can generate increased support and commitment, stimulate self-help, and mobilise local resources. Integration and overview are essential in development work.

The following planning tasks, not necessarily in order of priority, might usefully be undertaken by a district planning unit.

Data collection: Planning for infrastructure development and improved services in rural areas requires accurate information.

Monitoring resource allocation by government departments in the district - particularly the status of projects and programmes, their impact, who has been reached and with what effect.

Periodic markets and services: planning for periodic markets that radiate to small settlements and for the delivery of government services to these points at the same time.

Drought monitoring - an essential component of a drought management strategy, requiring the collation and analysis of data to predict the location and incidence of drought-related stress.

Provision of information to councillors, local government officers and members of the public on the available government programmes and initiatives.

Environmental monitoring and impact assessment

Spatial planning and LDOs: The Development Facilitation Act requires every local government body to establish Land Development Objectives as the basis for planning of development in its area. These objectives also satisfy most of the requirements of the Integrated Development Plans provided for in the Local Government Transition Act.

1. Introduction
Aims, Definitions and Context

1.1. The purpose of the Rural Development Framework

This document is written from the perspective that rural development is the business of everyone in rural areas. It is the business of rural people, and they must set the agenda. It is government's role to support rural people in their development efforts. The Rural Development Framework sets out to define that role. It does not prescribe a specific strategy but shows where inter-sectoral planning and coordination are needed for resources to be used productively for rural development to become a reality in the next two decades. The vision of rural development set out in this document has two main aspects (see Box 1.1):

• those related to governance and the provision of physical infrastructure (water supplies, electricity, etc.) and social services (education and health care);
• those related to the enabling framework essential for rural livelihoods to expand and thrive, principally by restoring basic economic rights to marginalised rural areas.
  
  

These are two sides of the same coin. Without the first, people and their businesses will not thrive; without an expansion in production, marketing and related economic activity, people will not be able to pay for the services they need and government will be unable to provide them.

Rural development covers functional areas of concurrent national and provincial legislative competence. These functions are laid down in the Constitution. National legislation provides for a uniform set of policies and institutions (both moderated by provincial governments) which attempt, for the first time, to create equality of rights and opportunities for all South Africans, rural areas as well as urban areas. This document describes these institutions and policies, the impact of which will vary, depending on a combination of factors: history, natural resources, location, leadership, etc. It is concerned with the powers, responsibilities and relationships of local and other levels of government, as they affect rural development.

Notes:The share of poor refers to the percentage of all poor who live in a given area, e.g. 74.6% of the poor in South Africa live in rural areas. The poverty rate refers to the percentage of people in a given area who are poor, e.g. 73.7% of the rural population is poor.

This document was prepared before the data from the 1996 census became available.

(Source: RDP: Key Indicators of Poverty in South Africa, 1995, where there is an important discussion on defining poverty in South Africa. Both qualitative and quantitative studies indicate about 40% of households in South Africa are poor. Here 40% of the total number of households (having 52.8% of the population) is defined as poor and 20% as ultra poor.)

1.2 The definition of 'rural'

Estimates of the proportion of the population who live in rural areas in South Africa vary widely because there is no accepted definition of the term 'rural'. In other countries, 'rural' is often used either to indicate low density of population or dependence on farming or forestry and the manufacturing and commerce directly associated with it. All censuses and official surveys in South Africa until 1995 were based on a definition of 'rural' which is now recognised to be flawed. This included all households not living in formally declared towns. Thus, many peri-urban households and many single migrants in hostels were classified as rural. This led to an overstatement of the income of genuinely rural people and an underestimation of the contribution of agriculture to their incomes (see Box 1.2).

In apartheid South Africa, many areas, defined as rural, were in reality urban areas without services. As they had high concentrations of people who sought work in some distant city, such places were, in effect, displaced urban. There are also areas of relatively high population density with no local economic base whose inhabitants are sustained through pensions and/or remittances from migrant workers. These are sometimes called rural clusters, the term 'rural' indicating the lack of economic support and services.

A definition is required to ensure consistency for the collection of statistics. However, historical complexities and cultural perceptions cannot easily be simplified into a definition that suits all purposes. The Central Statistical Service (CSS) is working to categorise South Africa's settlements, using central place theory and a functional analysis based only on population density and existing services.

This paper defines 'rural' as the sparsely populated areas in which people farm or depend on natural resources, including the villages and small towns that are dispersed through these areas. In addition, 'rural clusters' in the former homelands, ie large settlements without an economic base except for transfer payments, are also included. For a list of areas included under 'rural', see Box 1.3.

However, a problem with this definition is that many households fall into both urban and rural categories as they derive their income from a range of sources, including labour migration to towns.

1.3 Poverty levels in rural areas

The rural landscape embraces mountains and plains, semi-deserts and humid savannas and also more temperate climes. It includes the former homelands and the large farm areas, all bearing the scars of past injustices. Throughout the rural areas, there is deep poverty and deprivation, especially - but not only - in the former homelands. The commercial farms, in the freehold areas, provide wealth to their owners, but relatively little to their employees who have the lowest incomes and standard of living of all the groups of workers in the country. Rural towns, too, show great differences in prosperity and in their interaction with their hinterlands.

In South Africa, as elsewhere, people are much poorer in rural areas than in the cities (see Table 1.3 and Figure 1). Almost three quarters of the poor live in the rural areas. Of these, rural children less than five years, youths and the elderly are particularly vulnerable; women more so than men. The distribution of poverty goes beyond the rural-urban divide. It has a sub-regional context.

The incidence of poverty also differs markedly among the different population groups. The poorest ten per cent of South Africans, of whom 77 per cent are Africans living in rural areas, are responsible for just one per cent of consumer spending in the country. The highly skewed distribution of incomes in rural South Africa goes hand in hand with highly inequitable levels of literacy, education, health and housing, and lack of access to water and fuel. Rural areas have far fewer services than the towns. All of these factors limit the ability of rural households to improve their standard of living.

1.4 The multi-sectoral nature of rural development

Rural development is the business of everyone in rural areas. This statement captures the multi-sectoral nature of the undertaking and the notion that, because rural development greatly affects the lives of the people, they should have a strong hand in setting the agenda and the priorities. A dynamic process of combined government action, with the participation of people in rural areas, must be set in motion to realise a rapid and sustained reduction in absolute poverty.

Rural development can be achieved through:

• helping rural people set the priorities for development in their own communities, through effective and democratic bodies, by providing access to discretionary funds, by building the local capacity to plan and implement local economic development;
• the provision of physical infrastructure and social services (e.g. water and sanitation, transport, health services, and schools);
• wider access to productive resources in the rural areas, especially through:

- land tenure reform, land redistribution and land restitution;
- extension of water supplies, and the reform of water laws to protect the rights of down-stream users,
- rural financial services for investment in rural livelihoods,
- periodic systems as the organising and coordinating framework for rural activities (spatial and temporal) for investment in trade, service delivery, transport and information,

thus raising incomes for rural men and women by providing opportunities for increasing farm and non-farm production in poor areas; and

• ensuring the safety and security of the rural population.

1.5  Rural development within the national policy framework

The RDP is the embodiment of the commitment of government to the eradication of poverty in a rapidly growing economy and in the context of an open, peaceful and democratic society. For this vision to materialise, policies must be orientated towards the provision of basic needs, the development of human resources and a growing economy which is capable of generating sustainable livelihoods in rural as well as urban areas. The success of government's strategy for 'growth, employment and redistribution' (GEAR) are dependent on government's maintenance of a sound fiscal and macro-economic framework.

The GEAR strategy is an economic reform programme directed towards:

• a competitive fast-growing economy that creates sufficient jobs for all job seekers;
• a redistribution of income opportunities in favour of the poor;
• a society capable of ensuring that sound health, education and other services are available to all; and
• an environment in which homes are safe and places of work are productive.

These principles form the macro-economic framework within which the Rural Development Framework is drafted. Rural development will contribute to this policy by:

• diversified job creation through local economic development, including the growth of small and medium scale enterprises;
• redistributing government expenditure to formerly deprived areas;
• an expansionary infrastructure programme to address service deficiencies and backlogs, at the same time delivering infrastructure and essential services cost-effectively;
• social and sectoral policy development in many fields, particularly education and health services, and through widening access to resources in order to improve household and national productivity.
  

1.5.1 Affordable infrastructure

South Africa needs to reduce its budget deficit. Government funding for all types of infrastructural development will therefore be scarce. The costs will have to be affordable within the constraints imposed by available budgetary resources. At the same time the expenditure must meet the need for growth in the economy.

The expansion of infrastructure plays a number of crucial roles, including the provision of basic services, increasing the level of private investment, and enhancing efficiency and competitiveness. In combination, these factors add to new economic activity and thereby increase substantially the job creation potential of the economy.

Rural areas are characterised by relatively high logistical costs, high per capitaservice costs, and poorly developed local government structures. Where services are provided, the recurrent costs of all but the most basic services must be met by those who use them. This in turn requires a viable local economy. Beyond the essential expenditure for meeting basic needs, investment must be justifiable on the grounds of its potential to raise productivity and incomes, and to generate the income to pay for services.

1.5.2 Employment and incomes

Facing possibly the highest rate of unemployment in the world, the government is forced to pursue economic growth and export orientation as its major strategy for increasing employment. There is a commitment to keep wages moderate, to avoid wage-price inflationary spirals. With globalization of the economy, wages for the majority are going to remain low for the foreseeable future.

The government will pursue a range of policies to raise effective household incomes and therefore the domestic demand for goods. This requires negotiation of a social wage and social security net, to apply throughout the country. This is central to the purpose of the National Economic and Labour Council (NEDLAC), where there will be crucial and ongoing negotiations over the kinds of policies (eg for basic health care, education, social security, and food prices) that will support South African households without raising wages to uncompetitive levels. Efforts will be made to reduce production costs and therefore increase productivity, through, for instance, education, training, and some short-term industrial subsidisation. Rural development can greatly contribute to raising the social wage.

1.5.3  Environment and rural development

South Africa's natural resources are vulnerable to over-exploitation and misuse. Many environmental problems arise in densely populated urban areas from industry and mining. In other cases, it is poor rural people who suffer the consequences of this pollution. It is the responsibility of government to ensure that pollution is brought under control and to provide incentives for better practice. For their part, local people must be helped to plan local resource use and to manage and conserve their environment for the benefit of future generations.

1.6 The need for cross-sectoral coordination of rural development

Coordination of different sectoral initiatives is essential at both national and provincial level, especially as the rural voice is not yet strong. This was recognised in the Reconstruction and Development Programme, adopted by the Government of National Unity in 1994, which was built on six principles:

• an integrated and sustainable programme;
• a people-driven process;
• peace and security for all;
• nation-building;
• link reconstruction and development;
• democratisation of South Africa.

(The Reconstruction and Development Programme, 1994, p.4)

Following the change of government in 1994, national level coordination of rural development was carried out by the inter-departmental Rural Development Task Team in the RDP office. This team was disbanded in 1996.

At provincial level, rural development policy and implementation is guided by provincial development strategies. There are inter-departmental committees for this purpose in most provinces, backed by the provincial planning departments, which are not altogether successful in achieving suitable coordination of planning and development.

Local government is well placed to effectively coordinate sectoral initiatives on the ground, but few rural municipalities are as yet in a position to do this. It is therefore critical that rural local government be built up speedily.

It is essential that, at both national and provincial level, government departments should be held accountable for the impact of their policies on the lives of rural people. Levels of financial allocations should also be monitored to ensure that rural areas obtain an equitable share of the budget.

A case can be made for placing the responsibility for overall rural development coordination with the office of the State President or with another cross-sectoral department, such as Finance, or Constitutional Development. If the function were to be located in the Department of Finance, it would have the added advantage of being able to oversee government expenditures on rural development, including drought relief if and when this was incurred.

1.7  The way forward

With high unemployment in rural areas, the creation of sustainable rural livelihoods must be a major objective. To plan and implement local economic development, rural councils and communities need access to funding and to capacity building for planning and implementation, for which national and provincial support is essential. Without such help, local government in the poorer rural areas will not be able to meet its constitutional obligations to promote social and economic development.

Government departments are keen to provide that support and are in the process of doing so, but their efforts are often poorly coordinated. Because there have been many recent policy developments, both the departments and the people themselves are often unaware of the incentives offered by the various government agencies. The assistance which can be made available to rural people is described in this paper.

2. Building Local Democracy and Development

2.1 Purpose

This chapter considers the role of local institutions in rural development. It recognises that, in many rural areas, the required institutions have yet to be properly established and that detailed local government policy is in the process of being developed.

South Africa is at present consolidating the transition of the country to democracy in all spheres. One of the most significant developments is the establishment of democratic local government; another is the adoption of the Constitution which places the responsibility of service provision on local government. Most municipalities do not yet have the resources or the capacity to deliver services to their people. There is a large backlog of services in most areas, particularly those which were disadvantaged in the past. The demand by the ordinary citizens living in these areas for decent services is pressing and justifiable.

The establishment of local government is a lengthy process. In most rural areas no such institution has existed in the past. People are having to learn governance skills for the first time. It is the constitutional responsibility of national and provincial government to:

• help local government to recognise and define the needs of local people;
• to encourage local government to involve local people in planning and in the actions necessary to satisfy their needs; and
• to enable local people to assume increasing responsibility for these actions.

In other parts of the world, these precepts have been the basis of successful rural development.

2.2 Powers and functions of local government

The powers of municipal government are set out in section 156 of the Constitution. A municipality (ie an organ of local government) has executive authority in respect of, and has the right to administer, the local government matters listed in Part B of Schedule 4 and Part B of Schedule 5 (see Box 6.1), as well as executive authority and the right to administer any other matter assigned to it by national or provincial legislation. Where a municipality has the right to administer a matter, it may make and administer by-laws in respect of those areas.

The Constitution sets out a very clear developmental role for municipal government. In particular, section 153 provides that municipalities must structure and manage their administration, budgeting and planning processes to give priority to the basic needs of the community and to promote the social and economic development of the community (see Box 2.1). The section goes on to state that municipalities must participate in national and provincial development programmes.

Although the Constitution confers the above powers on municipalities, the role of national and provincial government is an important one. The Constitution specifies in section 155 (6) that each provincial government must establish municipalities in its province and must:

(a) provide for the monitoring and support of local government in the province; and

(b) promote the development of local government capacity to enable municipalities to perform their functions and manage their own affairs.

These imperatives, combined with the clearly developmental role that the Constitution gives to municipalities, necessitate provincial and national intervention to ensure that municipal structures have the capacity to perform their functions.

The role of provincial government is, however, not limited to capacity building. Both the national and provincial legislatures are required to develop guidelines and policies with regard to developmental matters. In particular, national government must continue setting national policies and standards in the developmental arena as provided for in Section 146 and Section 44(2).

The Constitution provides for different categories of municipality (see Box 2.2)

Local government is the elected government body:

• that takes ultimate responsibility for service delivery;
• with which CBOs, representatives from local fora, local business representatives and other stake-holders consult for the purpose of assessing needs and priorities;
• that mediates competing interests in resource management, project planning or the provision of services (this role falls to the district level, i.e. Category C, where the priorities for the district are set and funding negotiated);
• that sets Land Development Objectives under Section 27of the Development Facilitation Act (67 of 1995) that bind all land development decisions and policies in their area of jurisdiction;
• whose function it is to coordinate the work of the different departments and follow through requests for funding or implementation to the appropriate provincial and national bodies - the most important will be the Provincial Interdepartmental Committee, chaired by the Provincial Director General;
• with responsibility for ensuring that the needs of poorly organised local people are also taken into account.

At the primary level in rural areas, there are the following local government bodies (i.e. Category A and B - see Box 2.2): Rural Councils, initially including various transitional forms; and Town Councils. These are supported by rural District Councils (i.e. Category C), called Regional Councils or Service Councils in some provinces, with indirectly elected representatives from each local council. The District Councils include the old Regional Service Councils (RCS) and Joint Services Boards (JSBs). These provide an embryonic bureaucracy to serve the District Council. The old RSC/JSB levies will become an income source to the District Council.

In some rural areas local government has yet to be established. A major effort is needed to provide the training, capacity building and the resources needed for local government to function. Such training and capacity building is the prime responsibility of the Department of Constitutional Development and the provinces. Some other central government departments (e.g. Water Affairs and Land Affairs) are involved in capacity building in connection with specific projects and programmes.

The responsibility for establishing public services, for infrastructure development, and for working with other stakeholders to promote local economic development, will be transferred to primary local government level from the existing district councils as the necessary capacity is developed.

It is only the primary level of local government which can provide on-the-ground coordination of sectoral agencies (e.g. land, housing, water). National and provincial sectoral departments should support this coordinative role.

2.2.1  Local councils in rural areas

As part of the Local Government White Paper development process, discussions are underway at national and provincial levels to identify the exact functions and responsibilities of each tier of government and to work out their relationships. Ideas are being examined for partnerships between local government, private enterprise and NGOs, which will promote development and democracy. The Local Government White Paper is expected to define the number of local authorities, how they can become financially viable, and describe an efficient model for rural local government.

With some local variation, together both District and Local Councils are expected to provide the services set out below.

It is expected that primary rural councils will have responsibility for:

• providing basic services including administration, planning and evaluation, local roads, refuse and sewerage removal, water and sanitation, electricity, storm water drainage, primary health services, protection and emergency services, security, transport, cemeteries, libraries and museums, and recreation facilities;
• for rural development; ie interacting with the various parties involved, setting priorities for access to affordable services, infrastructure and local economic development;
• identifying special local needs and applying to the District Councils and other sources for the funds to meet them.
  
  2.2.2 District councils in rural areas

It is likely that District rural councils will undertake the following:

• establish and support primary local government structures, initially in conjunction with the provincial government;
• act as a conduit for the inter-governmental grants provided by other levels of government;
• appoint and employ personnel who will serve more than one primary local authority;
• set guidelines on levels of services to be applied throughout the district according to the framework established by national and provincial government;
• establish where certain development and support services (eg periodic services on market days) should be provided in order to be of benefit to poor and remote communities in the district (and set the financing rules thereof);
• provide technical assistance to primary local government for the planning of local economic and infrastructure development, and services;
• strengthen the capacity of primary councils (as they gain wider administrative experience, they should be given more legislative and executive powers);
• establish Land Development Objectives and formulate an integrated development plan for its area of jurisdiction.

These issues are expected to be covered in the White Paper on Local Government which is under preparation and expected to be published at the end of 1997.

2.3  Upgrading the skills of councillors and council officials

Municipalities must hold the provincial governments to their obligations under the Constitution. This is essential if local governments are to receive their complement of powers and functions and if they are to work with local people to achieve rural development. Capacity building for rural local government will be critical for their development (see Box 2.3). Indeed, investment funds will not be made available until councils have shown they have the ability to manage funds and to plan and implement in a consultative manner.

As RSCs come under democratic supervision as District Councils, they will have to redirect and broaden the services they provide. Rural people will want closer control over services and the speedy devolution of responsibility to primary local authorities. Yet RSCs will have little experience in these matters. A number of initiatives are underway to resolve these deficiencies.

2.3.1 Help with financial management

The Department of Constitutional Development recognises lack of financial management as the key weakness at the primary level. Measures are needed which make the best use of available personnel and are cost effective. The department is also setting up a scheme whereby retired town clerks and other consultants will assist new councils.

2.3.2 Council offices

RDP funds have been allocated for the Rural Administrative Infrastructure Development programme to build and equip simple offices for all new councils. Some of the funds will be used for the training of rural local councillors.

2.3.3 Training

A restructuring of the Local Government Training Board (LGTB) and the 15 provincial training centres is in process. The LGTB has to ensure that rural councils benefit and that all training fits the National Qualifications Framework. Many NGOs have developed materials and skills for training new council officials and councillors. Provinces should ensure that they utilise these already existing services speedily.

2.3.4 Project and programme-related capacity building

The Municipal Infrastructure Programme provides capacity building relating to infrastructure development. Councils receiving MIP funding for infrastructure development will thus also obtain funds for capacity building. There are other programmes run by national and provincial departments that either already support capacity building, or should be asked to do so when local-level planning and implementation are required, and/or recurrent costs and responsibilities, arising from the infrastructure investments, will fall on local government or other local bodies (see Box 2.4).

2.4 Meeting community priorities

Organised groupings of people can lobby local councillors directly, or apply through a local coordinating committee, for funding to improve service delivery or infrastructure (see Box 2.5). After negotiation in the local coordinating committee, requests that cannot be funded by the council should be submitted by the primary council concerned to the District Council. In turn, the District Council can look to its own resources or approach the appropriate provincial or national department. In either case, the provincial inter-departmental committee would be expected to make the final decision on the allocation. Requests from coordinating committees can also be placed by the primary council before an NGO, a donor, or a parastatal body. Local and foreign donors, parastatal or statutory bodies, or any government body should look to the committees for guidance on local priorities. This should ensure that funding is geared to genuine local needs.

Once agreement has been reached on an investment project, implementation might be supervised and/or carried out by national or provincial departments, by the primary local council itself, or through a contract with a small or medium-scale enterprise from the area. All implementation should be as labour intensive as possible. The local council should seek to ensure that this stipulation is observed.

2.5 Funding rural development

Rural development is funded by all three spheres of government, partly by rural people through payment for services and local taxes, and partly by the private sector through collaborative partnerships with government.

National government contributes through sectoral programmes, such as the Community Water Supply and Sanitation Programme, or the Housing Subsidy or Settlement/Land Acquisition Grants, or more generally through the Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme. Central government also provides funds to Councils, as Inter-governmental Grants (IGGs) which are currently being restructured to ensure that essential services are provided. These very limited, revenue-sharing funds are meant to favour areas with a low revenue base. This is important for effective rural development, given the well-established link between discretionary funds made available at a local level and the appropriateness and speed of rural development. Provinces will contribute to rural development through sectoral programmes, such as for health and education.

2.5.1 Funding of local government

Issues relating to the funding of rural development are intimately linked to those of funding local government. Funds are required in rural areas for running local government, providing services, improving and maintaining infrastructure and generally promoting local economic and social development. A municipality may impose rates and taxes, levies and duties on its constituent population. It may also raise loans from banks. Municipal councils are supposed to be self-financing, but many rural councils will not be able to raise sufficient revenue locally or be able to provide adequate guarantees to obtain such loans.

Currently the tax base consists of the old RSC levies, now going to the District Councils, plus any levies and service charges. The Katz Commission is considering the levying of a land tax as a source of revenue for local government.

2.5.2 Affordability issues

The level of services which can be provided by rural local government will depend on a number of factors including technical and financial feasibility, population density and the location of the nearest bulk supplies (eg potable water, electricity). Service provision will also critically depend on the potential of the local tax base. A basic level of services will be made available as an entitlement; thereafter, any improvements must be paid by the local population through levies and rates. It is a requirement of the Constitution that municipal councils create a level of services that is affordable to the local population, and that they set up effective systems for obtaining payment for them. It will be necessary to set tariffs in a manner which will ensure cost recovery in the longer term.

2.6 Local structures for land reform and land administration

Government attaches great importance to placing land administration services as close as possible to the local level. Decentralisation is necessary, first to speed up the process of land reform and to obtain strong grassroots support, and secondly because local government bears the primary responsibility for the provision of supporting services to land reform beneficiaries. Without this support, land redistribution and settlement cannot be viable. Important land administration functions, particularly those relating to land development control, are already vested in urban municipalities. This decentralisation of decision making must be extended to the predominantly rural municipalities as well, although the present capacity of local government to take on these functions in many rural areas is recognised to be limited.

The long term vision is that each district should eventually have its own District Land Office within the municipal structure, staffed by officials and guided by the council and the provincial office of the Department of Land Affairs.

The functions of the District Land Offices would include the confirmation of user rights (in the case of communal and public land); imposition of restrictions on the use of land, authorisation of change of use and land subdivision, and assistance with the preparation of Land Development Objectives (LDOs) consistent with the Development Facilitation Act ( 67 of 1995), as well as the administration of the government's land reform programme.

Local government has an important role in the acquisition of land for leasing in small plots to poor people for intensive cultivation, close to towns with other income opportunities, schools and health facilities. The Department of Land Affairs recommends that the concerned local authority be consulted on the disposal of all state land within its area. This is in recognition that local government authorities are best placed to take into account local needs and requirements.

In the context of land tenure reform, District Land Offices would assist communities to make decisions about the content of local tenure rights and administration of land rights at the village level. They would provide a facility for the registration of existing rights, would ensure that rights systems were consistent with constitutional protections and provisions, and would assist with adjudications of rights. They would also link to the Deeds Registry in ensuring that all rights are registered within the framework of a unitary, non-racial system.

It is in the problematic area of land tenure reform in communal areas that the issue of decentralisation of decision making is most pressing. Administrative reform has to grapple with the issue of group rights versus individual rights and democratic control versus tribal authority control. It is the Department of land Affairs view that higher levels of tenure security in areas which remain under communal tenure are most likely to be delivered where the local system is administered by a statutory local government authority within the framework of national policy and legislation.

3.  Building Local Economic Development and Rural Livelihoods

3.1 Purpose

Following a review of possible local economic development initiatives, this chapter describes job creation opportunities in several sectors: commerce, rural industrialisation, agriculture, tourism and public works. It recognises the importance of partnerships with the private sector and NGOs at local level for the promotion of a wide range of enterprises. These should build on and utilise the local natural resource base and the opportunities provided by actual and potential trade links within an area.

The chapter recommends the strengthening of these links through the establishment of local markets for locally produced goods and services. The Rural Development Framework seeks to:

• re-introduce the drivers of the modern economy (scale, low unit costs, a greater diversity of economic, trade and service activities and enhanced cash circulation) which were removed to central places so that other areas would become marginalised, dependent upon them and unable to compete with them;
• do so within an "economy of participation" that allows local residents to produce and to sell competitively small and irregular amounts of produce and wares into both local and regional markets;
• lower the presently very high citizen transaction costs to undertake daily tasks of buying and selling, gaining services, meeting and finding information;
• provide TLCs and economic actors with an organising and co-ordinating framework of urban centres, public places and markets, within rotating rings of markets, in which to discipline and to deliver effectively and efficiently economic activities and services.
  
  3.2 Current obstacles

Most of the constraints to rural development stem from the long period of apartheid with its discrimination, forced removals and neglect of the majority black population. Forced removals led to over-population of the so-called homelands and deprivation of basic needs. High population growth put pressure on family income, social services and on natural resources. Structural and legal obstacles were raised to marketing and thereby to production (See Box 3.1).

3.2.1 Poor rural-urban linkages

Small rural towns should be a focus for development, providing input and output markets, mechanical and other workshops, financial services, and social services such as schools and clinics which will be of benefit to people in the surrounding area. For historical reasons, these functions and links to the rural hinterland often do not exist or are poorly developed. Inter-district transport routes serve migrant labour routes, not the needs of intra-regional trade. Output from the large farms passes through cooperatives to distant markets without serving the needs of small towns. Stores and supermarkets bring in food products over large distances rather than attempting to establish local suppliers. There is need to integrate economic activity in order to generate income from added value at a local level.

3.2.2 Migration, remittances and unemployment

Migration of labour to distant urban areas and to mines has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, migrants' remittances remain an important source of income, most of which is used for daily needs, leaving no surplus for investment.

Labour migration has long been a cause of family breakdown and disruption. It has led to a host of social problems both in the rural areas and the places of in-migration and employment. However, more recently, there have been problems of increasing numbers of young people in rural areas, unable to find work anywhere. Without productive employment they face a lifetime of poverty, lack of fulfilment and exposure to increasing levels of crime and violence.

3.2.3 Constraints on entrepreneurial activity

Property rights are important for obtaining capital for investment in entrepreneurial activity - either through selling the asset or getting finance on the strength of it. For many decades, the African population was deprived of this economic opportunity as a result of discriminatory laws which prevented them from owning or leasing land or marketing produce. Among other things, this has stifled business related opportunities (see Box 3.2).

These difficulties have been compounded by the failure of government to encourage the development of financial services in the rural areas and by the particularly conservative nature of the banking system. Commercial banks which might have offered financial services in the former homelands have been discouraged by parastatals offering credit at uneconomic rates to a privileged few. The very poor access to education and training, the limited natural resource base, and monopolistic ownership of marketing chains have also deprived local people of business openings.

3.2.4 Restrictions on women

Women face additional hardship as a result of customary marriage and inheritance laws, which have reduced their ability to take up economic opportunities. They have restricted access to land, finance, information, training, and markets. They face most of the drudgery of collecting water and fuel wood and they shoulder the care of children, the old and the infirm without access to adequate social services.

3.2.5 Obstacles to the expansion of the small farming sector

In the predominately white commercial farming areas, past government policies have led to an over-capitalised, over-mechanised farm system. With the withdrawal of subsidies and drought relief, they are financially vulnerable and ill-equipped to withstand the marked variations in rainfall normal in a semi-arid environment. Many agricultural towns and villages have withered as processing industries have moved closer to national and international markets. The standard of living of 1,2 million farm worker households in South Africa is notoriously low. They constitute one of the poorest and most insecure sections of the population.

Widespread departures from existing systems of agriculture are rarely immediately feasible. The change to small-scale farming is expected to be gradual, due to the many institutional and capacity constraints (see Box 3.3). A move from capital-intensive production on relatively few large farms to labour intensive techniques on many smaller farms will take much longer than many perhaps envisage. Nonetheless, the benefits in the long term are expected to be significant.

3.2 6  Vulnerable environments

South Africa has a rural environment made vulnerable by low and erratic rainfall and by the poverty of many of its people. Regulatory mechanisms have not recognised the rights or constraints on poor people, nor the ease with which they are flouted by the rich and powerful.

Landlessness and overcrowding in the former homeland areas and inappropriate farming methods on commercial farms have given rise to severe land degradation and soil erosion. Although there is a lack of data on the extent and rate of land degradation, there is sufficient evidence to indicate that South African soils are deteriorating rapidly due to poor management practice and inadequate monitoring and enforcement. There is a serious risk of increased land degradation if preventive measures and better management do not accompany the land reform programme and land development in general.

The management of land resources is spread over different national and provincial ministries, each carrying out their jurisdictions as specified by the specific Acts. This means that the institutional framework, as well as the legal system, generally fails to integrate their approach to land use, including the protection of the natural environment. The Physical Planning Act (125 of 1991), the Environment Conservation Act (73 of 1989) and the Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act (43 of 1983) assume integration of environmental management in land use planning. However, at the administrative level, environmental management practices remain sectoral and fragmented.

3.2.7  Land tenure and ownership issues

Under colonialism and apartheid, various restrictions were placed on land rights. Black people were prohibited from owning or leasing land in most of the country. Today, even in the 'reserved' areas, rights or interests in land are insecure. Over the last few decades, these so-called communal systems have been characterised as 'backward' and unproductive and government has attempted to individualise communal tenure. The way in which this privatisation or 'individualisation' has taken place has often been a cloak for corruption. It resulted in large-scale dispossession of the land rights of the poorest and most vulnerable people.

Because legal prohibitions created severe shortages of land in the areas where black people were allowed to live, some people established homes where they had no legal rights. These settlements need to be brought within the ambit of the law with a proper system of administrative support.

One of the major challenges of tenure reform is to de-racialise the system of land rights in a way which brings pre-existing vested rights in land within a non-racial unitary system. Tenure reform must set in place viable institutions and tenure forms which address and resolve the current problems of insecurity, inequality, lawlessness and uncertainty regarding land ownership which discourages public and private investment in services. It must resolve current tenure disputes, overlapping tenure rights, and conflicting claims. A major problem in communal areas is the lack of adequate administration to support communal land tenure. This is partly due to the breakdown of traditional institutions and partly to the fact that law enforcement agencies have been reluctant to intervene in disputes over land rights.

3.2.8 Women's land tenure rights

Communal and traditional tenure systems do, in some instances, operate in ways which deny the basic human rights of their members. Discrimination against women is well documented, as is the fact that certain of these systems deny members the right of democratic participation. A balance must be obtained between respect for the values and beliefs which underlie communal tenure and the need to guarantee basic human rights.

3.2.9 Obstacles to provision of infrastructure on communal land

The issue of how to accommodate physical infrastructure in areas of communal land tenure also has to be tackled in order to ensure that land is set aside for service and development purposes and that it is appropriately owned and registered. An agreement has been reached between the Departments of Housing and Land Affairs that the national housing subsidy can be made available in communal areas provided that the right to occupy is legally registered, for instance by the local land office under the auspices of the local authorities, thus circumventing the requirement of formal land ownership (see Chapter 4).

3.3 Incorporating environmental concerns in rural development

Sustainable development is development that delivers basic environmental, social and economic services without threatening the viability of natural, built and social systems upon which these services depend. Above all, concern for the environmental sustainability of rural development in South Africa should be a socio-economic concern, which is ultimately an issue of social justice. Its principal goal should be the preservation of people and the enhancement of their standard of living. It is about improving the quality of life of poor people in rural settlements and creating long term income from even the most barren of surroundings.

A wide range of possible environmental impacts must be taken into account. Environmental management should not be restricted to conservation of natural resources, the preservation of ecosystems, the maintenance of biological diversity. It should also include: measures to help the poor to use and manage the environment sustainably; the management of the human living environment; and the understanding of the cultural, social and economic forces that define our relationship to the environment. Environmental concerns therefore embrace concern for human rights.

In many parts of South Africa, the natural resource base is overexploited because of extreme poverty, lack of access to land, water and energy sources. Structural economic change is therefore a basic requirement for sustainable development. The new democratisation of the state and of local government provides an ideal opportunity for the implementation of local integrated environmental management.

3.3.1 Environmental rights

Section 24 of the Constitution (in the Bill of Rights) states that:

Everyone has the right -

(a) to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being; and

(b) to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that:

(i) prevent pollution and degradation;

(ii) promote conservation; and

(iii) secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development.

Section 24 of the Constitution acknowledges the connection between the environment, health and well being. Section 24(b) introduces the notion of inter-generational equity by guaranteeing the right for citizens to have the environment protected for the benefit of both present and future generations. The Constitution places an obligation on the State to take reasonable legislative and other measures to ensure that the issues listed under Section 24(b) are attended to. (See Box 3.4 and Box 3.5)

3.3.2 Institutional support

Local government is responsible for containing negative impacts on the environment and for adopting measures to improve environmental management (see Box 6.1). Assistance from national and provincial departments is required for the capacity building, information and monitoring that will allow local governments to discharge their obligations in this area. Interest in environmental management should be localised as far as possible. Civil society should be encouraged to engage in environmental policy development and management.

3.4 Local economic development (LED)

Internationally, the failure of deconcentration strategies, such as attempts to relocate industry to depressed areas, has led local government authorities to seek their own solutions to their economic problems. This approach has come to be termed 'local economic development (LED). It refers to locally inspired efforts to increase growth and employment and to develop markets. The strategy is also applicable in rural towns (see Box 3.6).

If local efforts are to succeed in the rural areas, local government, the private sector and communities must come together to explore opportunities for growth and development.

Such an approach may stumble initially because of the distrust and enmity in this racially divided population. On the other hand, South Africans have shown that much can be achieved through negotiation. Local level negotiation is crucial to the development of a stable society and for economic progress.

There is always scope for building local economies based on the development of resources in the surrounding rural areas, such as in the large and small farm sector, agro-industries, forestry, other resource-based production and tourism. This needs to be done for the towns in farming areas which have often lost their connections with rural communities as more and more farm production is moved directly to the national market. It applies in the former homelands where towns were built to accommodate the increasing numbers of displaced people, or were created for purely administrative reasons.

The feasibility of this strategy will depend on local agro-ecological conditions and settlement patterns. It is more likely to succeed in the more intensive farming areas like, for example, Mpumalanga than in the Free State. There is no blueprint for the development of towns, but small towns can do much to activate employment and growth, provided that their efforts are complemented by a wider macro-economic and sectoral policy environment and the development of transport routes and industrial corridors (see Chapter 4). The necessary infrastructural development will require funding or part-funding from outside the rural areas.

The one ingredient which cannot be provided from outside is leadership, which must emerge from within the communities. If this can be identified and brought to the fore, and reconciliation within the area can be achieved, then district councils and local rural councils will be able to lobby for the kinds of investment that will lead to growth.

All of these paths will be enhanced if active steps are taken to increase the availability of information, encourage community organisation and agreement on development plans. The Department of Constitutional Development's LED Directorate is playing a key role in this work. With strong national competition for limited resources, communities will have to rely on their available resources and exploit their own comparative advantage.

3.5 Markets, spatial integration and regional economic development

The apartheid spatial divisions were a costly legacy, isolating so many communities both geographically, socially and economically. Most citizens ended up in economically marginalised areas from which the drivers of the modern economy were stolen back to central places. Obstacles to marketing inhibited production. Remote services and administration raised the costs of daily life. The rural poor became dependent upon the central modern economy for work and pensions which, in turn, they helped to build with their labour and their spending in towns. The central issue for the economy is how to reintegrate those areas where most people are now trapped as economic prisoners. Re-integration is urgently needed to raise their standard of living.

New life can be injected into these impoverished settlements and communities with the establishment of regular markets, moving from place to place according to a fixed rota. Periodic markets are traditional in most countries and have, more recently, been promoted with good results in Kenya and Zimbabwe and more recently in South Africa (see Box 3.7).

Weekly markets provide local producers and crafts people with opportunities to trade their goods and skills. By attending all the market days within a region, producers and service providers can gain a full week's earnings. The markets can generate economies of scale, lower unit costs and thus provide a greater diversity of goods and services.

Until now, agencies of all kinds have promoted small-scale production in South Africa. People themselves have tried to make a living through vegetable gardens, small trade and manufactures. Without organised local markets, their failure rate has been high. Over 80 per cent of families have no value added activity. They spend remittances and pensions largely in established and often distant white towns because what they wish to obtain is not available locally. The main reason for the failure of small initiatives is that there is little cash circulation in rural areas. On the other hand, regular local markets would call forth production and generate employment in the locality.

Provincial and local government departments can promote their own efficiency and the success of such a strategy by taking services to markets on a weekly basis, keeping overheads down and scaling up delivery. Pension pay-outs are an obvious example. Mobile post offices could follow the same route and schedule. If the Department of Health mobile clinics did likewise, a good attendance would be assured. All of these would serve to 'take the town to the countryside. Other services, public and private, are possible and should be encouraged by the provincial authorities (see Box 3.8).

Even greater synergy can be achieved if markets are arranged in tandem with the proposed multi-purpose service centres (MPSCs) that are now being promoted by several departments (eg the Post Office, ESKOM, TELKOM and the police) and local and regional service providers. The Post Office intends to provide not only well situated postal services, but also information centres and rural financial services. Careful community liaison will ensure that economic activity and service provision develop hand in hand and work to the advantage of both. With services being provided on a regular basis, trading in goods and skills will be sure to follow.

3.6 Partnerships with the private sector

In rural areas, the 'private sector' consists mainly of white commercial farmers. In small towns it consists of banks, agricultural-input suppliers, small retail firms and large retail chains and various machinery and building contractors. With the growth of small farms, and with a much wider range of entrepreneurs wanting to engage in development, it will be in the interests of the established private sector to participate in new ways, such as by joining the debate at the local development fora and collaborating with their rural neighbours. Progress may be slow, but it will be hastened where knowledge and experience in skills are shared.

Established business people can offer hard-headed evaluation of proposed projects, taking account of current budgets and of the opportunities for expanding resources through grants, loans, and own contributions. They can work with councils on the development of facilities and services that will attract other investors and small-scale enterprises. They can be encouraged by the council to look beyond the boundaries of the towns for customers, markets and inputs, and to develop commercial and financial services for the expansion of other sectors, such as farm production and tourism, and the marketing and processing of products from the area.

In formulating a long-term plan for the area, the above-listed partners will want to examine the different options, including spatial development of the area to integrate businesses, residences, the transport system and the area's resources. Some towns may see an advantage in setting up a development agency, run on business lines, interacting closely with the council and all groups in the community.

3.6.1  Private-sector finance initiatives

The private sector may also invest in the construction and management of infrastructure and in service delivery (eg water supplies). Private-sector financing of state projects can transfer risk to the private sector, reduce budget deficits and improve value for money. At the same time local government can retain control of their assets while getting the benefits of private sector discipline and finance.

However, national and provincial departments remain responsible, within their own sectors, for the effective provision of services by the municipalities. Regulations will be developed by some departments governing the involvement of private sector firms in the provision of services. These are likely to stipulate that contracts should be awarded on a competitive basis, that standard forms of contract be developed, and that service provision be extended to poorer sections of the population. While such regulations are being developed, interim measures may be introduced. The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, for instance, has already prepared interim guidelines for the provision of water supply and sanitation services by the private sector.

3.7 Land reform and agriculture

In many countries, policies to encourage labour-intensive production as well as incentives to small farmers to invest in suitable agricultural technology have increased production and employment. By contrast, South Africa has supported the development of large farms, thereby displacing people to marginal areas, and increasing rural poverty. This process will be reversed by the new policies to broaden the base of land ownership. The promotion and support for labour intensive agricultural enterprises, should help increase rural employment, production and income.

Redistributive land reform and the provision of support services are central to the government's employment strategy. There are vital economic benefits for rural society generated by land reform. More households will be able to obtain sufficient food on a consistent basis and will be able to raise cash incomes through the sale of surpluses.

Empirical evidence from land reform the world over has demonstrated that many farm operations on smaller scales can be more efficient, furnishing higher returns to the scarcest factors of production (land and capital). An area of high potential arable farm land normally produces considerably more livelihoods if divided into small family-operated farms. Intensification can also have a favourable impact on off-farm employment through the multiplier effect on the local economy.

3.7.1 Land reform and increasing the social wage

Incomes could be augmented if local councils sought opportunities to redistribute and/or lease small parcels of productive land around small towns. This could complement other efforts to increase access to resources and to reduce costs, for example by helping with the provision of affordable housing and enabling workers to live near their places of work.

Grants may be obtained from the Department of Land Affairs to enable primary local authorities to acquire land or extend or create a commonage for the purpose of establishing agricultural or other productive lease schemes for use by poor and disadvantaged residents.

Land reform is crucial for rural industrialisation in proximity to the huge concentrations of population which owe their existence to the brutal process of dispossession; for example, in northwestern KwaZulu Natal, and adjacent to the Border region of the Eastern Cape. The so-called buffer zones, designed to maintain racial separation between white towns and black townships, represent major opportunities for land reform. These areas are richly supplied with infrastructure, so that the costs of supplying water, electricity and transport links are likely to be relatively low compared with remote rural regions. In these situations, there are large areas of state and public land suitable for lease by councils to support small-scale, part-time, intensive cultivation. In addition, freehold areas may be purchased for this purpose by municipalities with government grants.

In the past, increases in agricultural production have had positive effects on other sections of the economy, most notably manufacturing. The manufacture of agricultural products is considerably more labour-intensive than in the rest of the manufacturing sector. There are comparative advantages to be exploited in agricultural trade with countries in the region.

3.7.2 Land reform and the environment

The land reform programme aims to reduce the levels of environmental destruction associated with over crowding on poor land, but the risk of informal housing spreading on prime agricultural land must be avoided. Both residential development for poor rural households, using Settlement/Land Acquisition Grants for land and basic services, and the allocation of space for food production in community gardens should be subject to environmental standards. If communities themselves understand the necessity for conservation and can be involved in the planning of the required conservation measures, they are most likely to support them.

3.7.3 Employment in agriculture

On large farms, operations are normally centrally managed with low management:labour ratios. Work is often seasonal, providing employment only to migrant labour which run the risk of remaining unemployed for part of the year. Large farms emerged under conditions of lower population density and are increasingly difficult to justify in the face of changing factor combinations (i.e. increasing land scarcity and unemployment). For land reform to succeed in creating many livelihoods, the move to small-farm systems has to be supported by reorienting institutions and by providing rural finance and market access.

Thus government's agricultural policies promote greater diversity of scale and type of farm production in South Africa. This is expected to increase the efficiency and vitality of the sector. The promotion of small farm and forest production is expected to increase employment and provide products for the immediate local market and for local agro-industry. It is therefore part of an integrated strategy for local economic development.

3.7.4 Support services for small and medium-scale farmers

Land reform has the potential to boost employment and raise incomes by increased agricultural production in both the large and small farm sectors. Appropriate research will be needed if this potential is to be fulfilled in the small farm sector, in addition to public and private investment in other support services.

Small-scale agricultural enterprises and agri-businesses are regarded as Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) by the Department of Trade and Industry, and will be able to profit from its services. But the major support for small-scale agriculture should come from the provincial departments of agriculture, into which the Department of Agriculture's Broadening Access to Agriculture Thrust (BATAT) programme has now been integrated. The objective of BATAT is to develop the potential for assisting small and medium scale farmers, emphasising market orientation, developing the capacity for participatory research and technology development, and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of government and the Agricultural Research Council to the benefit of all farmers.

A major reorientation of research and extension has been started to benefit all types of farmers. There is ample international evidence to show that the returns to agricultural research for the small farm sector are high and that this is an important way to invest in the poor. There is potential to improve both crop production and livestock production. Box 3.10 provides an example of the sort of innovations that are required in the Eastern Cape.

3.7.5 Agricultural marketing

A greatly amended Marketing of Agricultural Products Act (1996) restricts the extent of government intervention according to specified and much more limited aims. There will no longer be single channel marketing and no marketing boards, so prices will follow stronger market orientation. This provides new opportunities for entrants into marketing and processing, for instance through establishing local maize mills, which has been an important stepping stone for emergent businesses in many other African countries. It also reduces overall food transport costs as grain moves from farm to mill to consumer, avoiding long distances to major towns for processing.

3.7.6 Irrigation

Irrigation policy is being formulated in a consultative process initiated by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry to be presented to parliament in 1998. There are three important issues to be resolved.

• the parallel process of developing a new Water Act;
• the imperative to reduce overall water use in agriculture, improve efficiency of use by charging for its real cost and switching to higher value crops that can pay for the use of such a high cost input;
• the broadening of access to irrigation farming, eg small scale irrigators - mainly women - in community gardens who use water very efficiently in countless small-scale schemes around the country, contributing widely to household food security.

3.8 Forestry

Industries producing timber and wood products from the sustainable use of natural resources can be developed more widely and thus provide more jobs in the rural areas. Large-scale commercial forestry has a bad name arising from conflicts with local people over land, water use, adverse environmental impacts and labour practices, although these are in the process of being resolved through negotiation at the local level (see Box 3.11). Conflicts over water can be mediated through the Afforestation Permit System. Authority over water is being transferred from the forestry to the water affairs branch of the department and the forestry industry has drawn up a voluntary code of practice that should ensure that some of the worst abuses, such as planting trees on wetlands or on the margins of indigenous forests, do not recur.

Forest management has tended not to involve local people, being the preserve of the individual land owner. Until recently, social, or participatory, forestry received little attention in South Africa. Internationally, there is increasing evidence of the benefits of shared forest management (see Box 3.12). It can promote local institutional capacity, better relations among stakeholders, and improved flow and diversity of products and access to markets. Shared forest management requires a coalition of interested parties.

3.9 Tourism

South Africa has a diverse heritage and a wide variety of cultures, in addition to the wildlife, scenery and coasts for which it is better known amongst domestic and foreign tourists. In times of peace, the potential for tourism is considerable. South Africas apparent superiority in infrastructure provides an advantage over other parts of Africa in the eyes of international tourists. Until recently, tourism has generally followed a narrow path, keeping within former white South Africa and national parks and protected areas, providing incomes largely to the major hotel chains and transport companies. The 'trickle down' to local economies has been negligible. Most of the income has gone to the cities. This is reflected in the negative attitudes to the parks among local people who have little reason to protect wildlife or tourists.

Internationally, the trend is towards forms of tourism which educate the visitor about history, environment and culture (see Box 3.13). This should encourage the re-evaluation of the opportunities for diversifying the industry and attracting visitors to areas of South Africa that have not been visited. However, tourists cannot be attracted into areas which are not safe or secure and are without basic facilities. The development of tourism in South Africa will depend upon private investment, underpinned by a government framework which encourages the channelling of benefits to local people through their constructive involvement, including their participation in sustainable environmental management and commerce.

National, provincial and local government share responsibility for tourism development. They will be assisted by the new National Tourism Organisation (NTO) which will be in charge of international marketing and promotion, setting industry standards, and managing research, market intelligence and information. The NTO will assist provincial and local agencies. It will facilitate the growth of the industry through community education, and the development of SMMEs in the tourism sector.

The development of tourism can thus attract consumers to new areas, bringing in outside funding in the process. However, local rural communities have also to consider the problems that accompany tourism. Income from tourism is usually seasonal and can be unreliable. Local ventures to promote tourism can be stressful to local people, if not well planned and properly understood.

3.10 Rural industries

Before its reformulation in 1991, the Regional Industrial Development Programme (RIDP) sought to subsidise industrial development in or near the borders of the crowded former homelands. However, the policy failed both to reduce economic disparities between regions and to stimulate economic linkages. The newly formulated strategy of the Department of Trade and Industry seeks to promote development on the basis of regional resource endowment, comparative advantage and demonstrated economic viability. It will include a package of incentives, including investment incentives, depreciation allowances and development finance, as well as other assistance such as training and information.

In an effort to identify bankable projects, the DTI has been analysing regional comparative advantage as part of its Regional Industrial Location Strategy and it will provide such information to prospective investors. It has also been carrying out analyses of industrial clusters, some of which are based on agro-industrial linkages: forestry products, including pulp and paper as well as timber industries; footwear; food processing and beverages; and textiles. Previously the National Economic Forum carried out studies into tourism, sugar and fruit juice production, among other things. In appropriate locations, all of these, and many others, could provide the basis for local economic development.

If local authorities wish to attract industries, they will need information on the assistance available from the RIDP or the DTI's Centre for Small Business Promotion (see Section 3.14). Local authorities should also consider complementary investment in facilities to improve living conditions in order to raise the social wage.

3.11 Promoting Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs)

The Department of Trade and Industry has set up new structures of support for emerging business. These include a national network of Local Business Service Centres (LBSCs) operated by local NGOs, the Khula Enterprise Finance Company for financial services, and the Ntsika Enterprise Promotion Agency (NEPA) which will provide entrepreneurial training (accessible through the LBSCs) and carry out research and policy development in support of entrepreneurs. NEPA is currently examining the possibilities for the expansion of a variety of agricultural activities, such as silk production, aquaculture and bee keeping, as well as handicrafts. It is also investigating market structures, sub-contracting issues, and the feasibility of teaching entrepreneurial skills at school.

LBSCs will be accredited NGOs. The LBSCs in rural areas will be subsidised by government. Some activities in all LBSCs may be subsidised to help single out deserving clients. Each centre will be governed by a local committee and will need to be accountable and transparent to maintain its accreditation. The LBSCs will help entrepreneurs to obtain training, for which they must pay, and will provide continuing support to new businesses until they are firmly established (see Box 3.14).

Khula will also work with NGOs and banks to provide financial services at local level, providing loan capital and some coverage of initial operating costs. In addition to ensuring that all local entrepreneurs learn how to obtain the information, advice and other programmes available through the nearest LBSC, local government and other organisations should be committed to procurement from local suppliers and to the contracting of local entrepreneurs.

3.12 Financial services

Financial services are needed, not only by employers and small scale business people, but also by farm workers, the landless, pensioners and smallholders. Financial services need to be readily available to make a real difference to people and economic development.

In 1996, The Presidential Commission on Rural Financial Services proposed that the Land Bank retain its primary purpose of providing both wholesale and retail finance for land purchase (an important adjunct to the land reforms) and for agricultural production. The bank will be required also to provide project financing and to increase its lending to small-scale farmers, and it will be required to adopt a 'best practice ethic' for lending. Some of its lending will be at province level and through development corporations. Some will be through agency agreements with the Post Office. There are also proposals to promote a third tier of banking through NGOs, credit unions and other retail organisations.

The Land Bank is one of five National Development Finance Institutions (NDFIs), which will have complementary functions (see Chapter 4). Finance and support services for rural non-farm enterprises will be available through Khula Enterprise Finance Limited, an NDFI set up by the DTI. Both the Land Bank and Khula will on-lend to local intermediaries.

Major attempts are being made to extend the outreach and accessibility of financial institutions to benefit farmers and entrepreneurs who have not previously had access to formal financing systems. Banks, post offices and a variety of non-government organisations are likely to become part of a broad web of financial institutions falling within a regulatory framework still to be established. The framework will promote the growth of pluralism, including, for instance, less formal organisations, such as savings clubs and stokvels, which will remain important to entrepreneurs who are starting out in business.

3.1.3 Promoting labour intensity

The funding principles of the RDP require all departments to promote labour intensive techniques in infrastructural development. These are now well entrenched through contractual obligations and established criteria for business plan approval (see Chapter 6). These procedures must be adopted by local government too, so as to help increase local employment and at the same time improve infrastructure and services for local people.

The National Public Works Programme (NPWP) is responsible for assisting with the formulation of policy with regard to the way in which infrastructure is delivered by departments at the national, provincial and local government levels (see Box 3.15).

Government spending on infrastructure is now directed strongly towards areas of the country that have suffered from years of neglect. The identification of projects is in the hands of local and provincial government line function departments. It will soon be in the hands of communities themselves in so far as they can propose projects for the Community Based Public Works Programme (CBPWP) (see Box 3.16). This programme is in addition to normal local government infrastructure provision. It aims to both build useful infrastructure and provide a basic income to unemployed people as a matter of urgency.

Following the identification of a project, a project steering committee should be formed, which should be fully representative of the beneficiary community. The committee members themselves will be offered training in order to improve their ability to carry out their responsibilities. The committee will need to address a number of critical issues with regard to labour intensive construction including the following:

• the extent of labour-intensive work to be carried out by community members and the rate to be paid per task;
• the manner in which community members will be selected for work on the projects;
• the extent to which local emerging entrepreneurs are to be given the opportunity to work on the project.

The use of task-based working gives the workforce greater control over the use of their own time and ensures that labour-intensive construction is carried out efficiently.

The employment of community members on labour-intensive civil engineering construction projects is now controlled through the New Framework Agreement of Labour Intensive Construction in Civil Engineering - Criteria and Guidelines. This document is intended to protect communities from exploitation, whilst providing the opportunity for people who might not yet have entered the formal job market to do so through employment on a government project. The entitlement to education and training is clearly stated.

Whilst the Framework Agreement does not apply to building projects, the aims of the NPWP will apply to building projects as well as to civil engineering projects. The main difference between civil engineering and building projects is that the latter are labour intensive and well suited to execution by local contractors.

The education and training to be provided in association with labour-intensive infrastructure projects will depend on the needs identified in the beneficiary communities. It is expected that it will include the following:

• vocational or skills training, recognizing skills levels already attained and providing documentary evidence of the level of attainment to assist with subsequent employment;
• capacity building for steering committee members and, where appropriate, for local emerging contractors in such areas as business and financial management and estimating and tendering;
• adult basic education and training in literacy and numeracy and in other life skills.

The NPWP is also engaged in a fundamental transformation of the way in which government controls and commissions construction works. This will enable emerging contractors to undertake work for government. It will remove the financial and organisational obstacles that they have hitherto faced and provide more regular work for them

3.13.1 Relief employment

The public works programme has the potential to provide the basis for social security in rural areas, both by tackling structural unemployment and by providing relief following a natural disaster. There is ample evidence in South Africa and internationally that public works programmes offering survival wages generally provide relief effectively to those most in need; only people genuinely in need offer themselves for work. Provided the problem of 'ghost workers' is guarded against, labour-intensive work programmes are generally free of corruption and easy to monitor by local government authorities. They can also be expanded rapidly in emergencies, as happened for instance to meet the drought relief needs in South Africa in 1992/93.

4. Building Rural Infrastructure

4.1 Purpose

The RDP places specific emphasis on the development and upgrading of household infrastructure as part of a basic needs programme. It is widely acknowledged that sustained investment in appropriate types of infrastructure is essential for the achievement of the equity and efficiency objectives of the government. The national and provincial departments concerned have a constitutional obligation to support local government in ensuring an "environment that is not harmful to health". Current service levels decline from the urban core to scattered settlements. This chapter describes the policy principles and the coordinating structures which provide the framework for implementation. Prior consultation with local government structures and community fora is a precondition for all rural infrastructure projects, so also is the close cooperation of the national and provincial line departments involved.

4.2 Local government and service provision

The constitutional role of local government in service provision is described in Chapter 2. The building of the capacity to carry out this role in poor rural areas will necessarily be gradual. The provision of services includes all activities such as needs assessment, planning, budgeting, the appointment of consultants, the adjudication of tenders and awarding contracts, the commissioning of services, the employment of staff for administration, operations and maintenance. Service provision is a complex process requiring both human and financial resources. Most local governments, particularly those in poor rural areas, do not have the resources to engage in infrastructure development, operations and maintenance, and require outside support. In the interim, local governments will require support from the provincial and central governments.

4.3 The backlog in services

The backlog in infrastructure in South Africa is immense. Northern Province, Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu Natal have the greatest backlog. Meeting this backlog requires large investment, institutional development, training and technology development. More cost effective alternatives must be found in rural areas where bulk services are costly (see Box 4.1).

There are strong economic arguments for building infrastructure to support production and equally strong ethical arguments for the provision of essential infrastructure in area