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Well directed human settlement policies cannot be based solely on economic and physical development plans. This has been recognised worldwide. The GNU subscribes to this view and has thus placed both social development and strategies to address the safety and security of citizens firmly on the national urban agenda.
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Social development is central to a sustainable Urban Strategy. Key social development policies which form part of the Urban Strategy will ensure that development is really community-based; the necessary social infrastructure is built into urban development plans; and that adequate social safety nets consisting of community-based social services are developed.
These aspects of social development in urban areas will now be discussed more specifically:
The GNU has recently adopted the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action, which emphasises the link between economic and social development. As that document points out, the most productive policies and investments are those that empower people to maximise their capacities, resources and opportunities. People are at the centre of any sustainable development. Two processes are critical in this regard: the participation of people in efforts aimed at improving their conditions; and the provision of technical support and other services which would encourage initiative, self-help and mutual help.
The implementation of urban social development begins with the provision of public community facilities. This encompasses tackling the great backlog by providing new facilities and upgrading and repairing existing ones. The RDP has given priority to social programmes by funding certain Presidential Lead Projects, such as:
The following new policies will impact on the provision of social facilities:
First, in its quest for a new non-discriminatory educational system, the National Department of Education and Training will provide facilities in terms of an approach which:
- is co-operative (with departments which share common interest);
- acknowledges demands on resources brought about by the need for redress and rehabilitation, for extending new services and for coping with urbanisation;
- ensures that resources are used wisely through such measures as planning for the multiple use of facilities;
- pursues new funding partnership's involving business, community-based and non-governmental organisations;
- will be equitable.
Secondly, the Department of Sport and Recreation's policy for the provision of facilities:
- prioritises underprivileged areas;
- promotes a co-operative approach whereby communities, experts, the private sector and sports bodies all consult;
- supports the provision of basic, multi-purpose indoor and outdoor facilities which are affordable;
- promotes alliances with the private sector for the upgrading and provision of facilities (for example, the establishment of the Sports Trust is a joint partnership between government, business and sport where the funds will go largely to addressing current backlogs). This source will not fund capital works only. half of the budgeted amount will go towards human resource development;
- notes that schools should provide sports facilities, even through investigating complementary arrangements of sharing facilities;
- wants provision of land for facilities and the construction of facilities to be integral to new housing developments.
While the RDP as a whole is expected to improve the state of health, the national Department of Health's strategy, aims specifically to:
- provide universal access to primary health care (PHC) for all South Africans;
- build on the existing public sector PHC system;
- provide comprehensive primary health care;
- optimise public-private mix in health care provision
In order to ensure equity, existing institutions will initially provide these services. With time, certain private providers may become accredited to do likewise. There is a distinctly inadequate supply and inequitable distribution of physical facilities and much of the existing stock is in a poor condition. To address this backlog the Clinic Building Programme needs to be continued and expanded. Additionally, interim arrangements can be made to borrow or sham alternative facilities. Ways to encourage private sector provision must also be sought. Measures am also introduced to ensure the adequate geographical distribution of professional staff in underserved areas.
For all of the above community social facilities, the government is attempting to strive for greater democracy, equity and co-operation. At present, government resources are stretched, requiring solutions which achieve mutual benefits for users, providers and maintainers. Government is committed to providing certain basic facilities, however, in order to make considerable inroads into the backlogs. In doing so, partnership arrangements with the private sector are essential.
Urban poverty and the social problems associated with it will not merely be resolved through the "trickle-down' effects of economic development. Conscious effort needs to be made to develop basic social services such as social grants, child and family services and deliberate job creation initiatives.
Urban poverty needs to be confronted head-on. It renders people vulnerable to ill-health, disability, child-rearing, death and old age. Poverty and social disintegration - within cities and towns, communities and families - often go hand in hand. Adequate social protection has to be provided to individuals, households and communities trapped by such negative forces. Furthermore, innovative strategies around employment creation, skills development and access to credit will form a critical part of addressing these dire social needs.
Such actions will also not merely be rehabilitative and protective: a balance will be pursued between such corrective interventions and preventive and developmental strategies and actions. Welfare policies - as the GNU understands them - are part and parcel of the constructive objectives and approaches espoused in the RDP.
The government notes the radii, gender and geographic determinants of many cases of deprivation and will take these into account when programmes are targeted.
A drastic reduction in crime is essential to:
The community policing initiative will have a major impact on safety & security of communities.
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6.3.3 Maintaining safety and security
South Africa's cities and towns cannot be made more habitable and productive without an alleviation of the crime and violence which afflicts them. A secure environment and the rule of law are necessary for a climate for investment.23 This requires more than a war on crime or "getting tough' on crime through improving law enforcement and police efficiency.
Urban violence needs to be treated as a public health epidemic. Efforts to prevent and control violence must be embedded in neighborhoods and community life. Social and economic regeneration of neighborhoods - based on improving services, education, and employment conditions - is crucial.
Solid research is needed on specific problems (e.g.. the role of alcohol abuse o of the drug trade in violence). It is also necessary to immediately strengthen existing conflict-resolving mechanisms and institutions and to devise new ones. This is particularly important where there is competition over access to urban resources.24 The breaking of the cycle of poverty with education and training programmes, especially for teenagers and younger adults, is another imperative.
The Department of Safety and Security's initiatives to develop policing programmes that include the community in the provision of safety services marks a start in this regard.
The National Commissioner's Community Policing Pilot Project has therefore been initiated as an RDP project. This project strives to create working examples of community policing by focusing change management efforts at 40 police stations nationwide. The project will concentrate on:
Ongoing monitoring will be essential and the GNU will continue to seek the support of urban residents in their efforts to manage these strategies. Success will be possible only if there is such a cooperative approach to this very severe problem.
South Africa's economic performance will largely be determined in metropolitan areas, cities and towns. The policies and programmes that operationalise the other key priority areas of the Urban Strategy all play their part in this regard.
Together, they should enhance the capacity of the urban sector to generate greater economic activity and opportunities.
6.4.1 Urban Investment and Economic Development
The provision of housing and infrastructure services, the easing of spatial mismatch and other inefficiencies, and the reduction of environmental hazards will help to make households more productive. In so doing, the capacity of our urban areas to create more economic opportunities - to achieve growth and competitiveness, as well as to address the problem of urban poverty - will be improved.
As urban development programmes are implemented, they will also provide many direct employment opportunities.
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All tiers of government must take appropriate steps to ensure that these programmes maximise economic benefits. This means greater job creation, multiplied secondary economic activities and more small and medium scale enterprises. The National Public Works Programme, which aims at maximising the job creation potential of all capital projects, will support these efforts.
Inadequate infrastructure services affect people's health to the detriment of their productivity. In similar fashion, urban infrastructural deficiencies, or the inefficient Composition of infrastructure, negatively impact on a city's economic performance. Continuous attention thus needs to be paid to infrastructure which would improve a city or town's economic ability. This means that transportation systems, telecommunications and power supplies must all be properly maintained and expanded where necessary.
Investment in human capital also cannot be neglected. Improved education, training, health, nutrition, better managed environments and the provision of family planning form a social infrastructure that is crucial to urban economic development and poverty alleviation.
6.4.2 Local Economic Development
Better functioning local government will in and of itself contribute to the heightened productivity of cities and towns. Practices like more efficient regulation are crucial in this regard, but the government hopes to encourage and develop an innovative culture which would unlock the potential of people and businesses within cities and towns. This is a precondition for South Africa's global competitiveness and will receive high priority. Ultimately, however, local stakeholders will have to take responsibility and initiative themselves: the central and provincial authorities can at most help to create conditions for economic development; they cannot drive it.
Far more purposefully than in the past, local governments must seek to mobilise private and public sector investment and resources in support of economic progress. This will necessitate assertive Local Economic Development (LED) strategies: the practices employed to retain, expand, or attract economic activity. Stakeholders in cities and towns must be made aware of the LED techniques available, and be empowered to utilise them creatively and effectively.
The immediate need for urban economic growth and employment creation, then, requires the design of a multifaceted strategy for urban economic development. It will have to involve a wide range of roleplayers. As a matter of urgency, government is resolved to:
To make an immediate start on the promotion of urban economic development, the policy formulation and programme design process is currently housed within the LED Workgroup of the Masakhane Campaign. This provides a base for immediate cooperation between several government departments. Following the completion of the Masakhane Campaign, it is envisaged that the LED Workgroup will evolve into a more permanent structure. The role of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in LED policy potentially holds particular significance in the longer run.
The specific objectives of the LED Workgroup are:
The LED Workgroup is currently completing a Position Paper on LED. The paper is intended, firstly, to act as a promotional device to elicit support for LED. It will therefore be extensively workshopped with stakeholders at national, provincial, and, local levels. This will allow local-level participants to take the lead in initiating LED through further research and/or workshops. These procedures will emphasise the identification of pilot projects that can be implemented as rapidly as possible.
Government will also continue to investigate appropriate fiscal mechanisms and other incentives to promote local partnerships for growth and development. This will be linked to the review and restructuring of the current Regional Industrial Development Programme (RIDP).
The Urban Strategy - EKE the entire RDP - requires considerable change in the way South Africans have gone about their business. In the public sector it means more goal-orientated and better monitored management and development-focused priority setting. Interdepartmental and intergovernmental coordination will have to be improved. It also requires a partnership approach between the public and private sectors and communities. In short, the institutional implications - and requirements - of this strategy are far-reaching and challenging. Significant transformation and change are required.
This section looks at these aspects, notably with regard to the transformation of local government within a wider context of public sector transformation, refocused and reshaped fiscal and financial arrangements and public-private sector partnerships. Finally, the roles of the key roleplayers within and outside of government will be broadly indicated. In this regard, arrangements to enhance coordination and cooperation within the public sector and between government and other roleplayers will receive some specific attention.
WILL ENSURE:
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6.5.1 Transforming and Strengthening Local Government
Local government is the key delivery and coordinating agent for the implementation of the Urban Strategy, in close partnership with the private sector and community interests. In particular, integrating our urban areas and investing in our cities and towns, especially lower-income areas, will depend on continued local government transformation and integration.
Current local authority problems of fragmentation, inefficiency and lack of citizen participation should not be allowed to continue. New local governments must strive to improve administrative, planning and implementation functions through the more efficient utilisation of resources. Local government should therefore be consolidated and strengthened as the crucial tier of government responsible for urban development. The provincial and national tiers should facilitate this consolidation process.
LOCAL GOODS SHOULD BE FINANCED AND DELIVERED AT LOCAL LEVELS
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This requires a reorientation of staff towards a more facilitative and implementation-orientated approach. Given the new configurations of local government and the resultant pressures to deliver a range of services, particularly infrastructure services, ways must be sought to deliver efficient and cost-effective services. A range of public/private sector partnership options must be explored which could range from creating independent business units within a local authority, to leasing and concessionary arrangements, through to the privatisation of certain services.
Local authorities Will also need to become more responsive to the needs of all the communities they serve. To do this effectively, they need to establish user-friendly communication channels. In the past few years a fairly robust tradition of citizen participation has developed with civic associations, ratepayers and nongovernmental organisations (NGO's) being the key role players. A healthy and co-operative style of participation needs to be developed where citizens can easily make their needs known, participate in planning and implementation and voice their concerns about service delivery. Local governments in turn will have to create dear channels of communication and respond to citizens in an efficient, open and transparent way.
Such reinforcement procedures should encourage citizens and local government to begin to take co-responsibility for governing and managing cities and towns." In this regard, citizens will have to accept their responsibility to pay for rents and services. But they will also be equipped to participate more effectively in local processes. Capacity-building initiatives at the local level will therefore be focused on the citizenry as well.
Government is wholly committed to the creation of a culture of local governance. The value of local government must come to be better appreciated. This requires an educative process to strengthen public awareness of the importance of local government in a democracy, as well as support to enable local government to deliver in such a way that its credibility is strengthened. A successful local government transition process, transforming local governments into effective and representative institutions which can properly serve all the citizens of integrated cities and towns, is thus vital. This process of transition is now well underway. Following the provisions of the 1993 Local Government Transition Act, by the end of January 1995 some 700 transitional metropolitan, local and rural councils had been established throughout South Africa. The formation of these councils marks the end of racially-structured local government. Puny democratic, non-racial town and city governments will emerge from the forthcoming nationwide local government elections. In the meantime, the transitional structures are tasked to maintain services, collect revenues and begin the process of the amalgamation of the up to now divided structures and functions of municipal government.
The establishment of the Fiscal and Financial Commission (FFC) signals the importance of reshaped and reformed intergovernmental fiscal relations between the different levels of government. From an urban development perspective, such clarification of the fiscal relations between local government and the provincial and national levels is a matter of great urgency. It is also imperative to streamline the flow of funds and rationalise the wide range of funding channels.
Key areas of concern here are housing funding, infrastructural funding (including transportation), passenger transport subsidies and support for regional economic development. As a matter of urgency, government will investigate and make recommendations regarding the long-term financing of local, government. This will include the potential devolution of additional tax power to local government. Such institutional and fiscal restructuring - including predictability regarding central to local transfers - will greatly enhance the ability of local authorities to attract private sector investment in urban development.
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\/ Fiscal & Institutional change in order to access markets & commercialisation of service provision with pledging revenues to capital markets |
In this regard, government is also paying priority attention to the development finance system. The financing of local government comes from a number of sources. Where local authorities have a strong rates base, all efforts should be made to leverage finance from the capital markets for development initiatives. Even certain medium sized towns will have some attractiveness to capital markets if ways are sought to reduce risk for investors. Mechanisms are being explored, to do this, eg. the use of public intermediaries and debt pooling. Direct grants from government will be necessary for some medium and smaller towns but the principle of leverage will still apply to ensure that local governments make a contribution towards their local development. Moves towards greater financial accountability and reliance on capital markets will also impact on local government restructuring. It is recognised, however, that local authorities may face some constraints in this regard. Hence institutional initiatives, like the restructuring and reorientation of the Development Bank of Southern Africa and the Local Authorities Loan Fund, are critical.
6.5.3 The Public and Private Sectors in Partnership
The Private Sector has an important role to play in managing service delivery, investing in service delivery companies and in financing infrastructure investments. The GNU believes that the possibilities offered through innovative arrangements which could bring the private sector into these functions, should be explored.
The government is firmly committed to a partnership approach to development. Public-private sector partnerships represent in important union for more effective service delivery. These partnerships may take many forms and should not be confined to the private sector simply being represented on fora, committees and commissions or tendering for certain contracts. In terms of service delivery, a range of creative partnerships can be established to the mutual benefit of both parties and the consumer. Partnerships can be formed to manage and administer certain services on behalf of the Local Authority, to invest in service delivery companies (often jointly with overseas investors) or to finance infrastructure investments. Such arrangements could vary between corporatisation of local government departments into independent, business units, service contracts, lease arrangements, "build-operate-transfer (BOT)", "build-operate-own (BOO)" arrangements through to full-scale privatisation. Not all these options will be viable everywhere - at least not in the short-term and possibly not even in the long-term. Care must therefore be taken to ensure that the choice of delivery mechanisms does not effectively curb the ability to deliver. The choice of a particular option requires careful consideration by a local authority as a number of factors and influences need to be weighed up.
Donors should assist local authorities and utility companies to leverage private resources and so extend and hasten their delivery of services Market relations between local authorities and private sector should result in the development of financial instruments that facilitate lending |
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The GNU does therefore not believe that it should adopt a rigid position either in favour of or in opposition to privatisation. The aim is rather a pragmatic and realistic approach to allow for innovative delivery - in the belief that the government should never be seen as the sole provider of services. The public sector should seek practical ways to make this possible.
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In this way, the notion of partnership will assume real meaning. If the public and private sectors mutually seek creative ways to work together and to bring their respective strengths to the delivery and development processes, efficient allocation of resources and maximum benefit to specific urban communities will become more achievable. It will furthermore be essential to build such partnerships around effective community and labour participation as well. This will facilitate greater consensus on local priorities as well as greater satisfaction. Through joint effort, planning and monitoring mechanisms will be developed which will enhance the prospects of having satisfied consumers and consumer orientated deliverers.
There can be no uniform model for such partnerships; local role players will have to develop their own means to secure a partnership culture of local development which would be sustainable in their communities. The GNU believes that this is essential and commits itself to developing a broader institutional context conducive to partnerships involving government, the private sector, labour and communities. Meanwhile, public and private sector institutions at the national and provincial levels will have to seek areas for effective cooperation to strengthen such an environment.
6.5.4 Roles and Responsibilities of Government Tiers
It is important to reflect on the roles of the different levels of government in the planning and implementation of the Urban Strategy.
Through ongoing consultation with provincial and local governments as well as other stakeholders, the government will seek to create a climate friendly to investors, reconciliatory between government, business, labour and communities and supportive of innovation in urban areas.
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Clarity about these roles will, however, not be achieved merely through constitutional or legislative means. The way in which the different levels of government approach the joint challenge of reconstruction and development will be critical both to outputs and to the institutional framework. From the central government's point of view, the most important issue for local governments is to be systematic and to refrain from ad hoc interventions. It respects the constitutional rights of the other tiers of government - and believes in the political and developmental worth of them having distinct powers. It is also recognised that the quality of sub-national government will be a telling factor - the weaker it is, the greater will be the need for intervention from higher tiers. This is why capacity-building is such a priority. This is, however, not merely the responsibility of the central government. All levels of government have to work together to develop capacities within each level and in the management of the relationships between the central, provincial and local levels.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
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The GNU does not wish to control every single aspect of the Urban Strategy. In fact, it firmly believes that implementation can only succeed if a diversity of role players is enabled to freely contribute their shim. However, the government is equally determined to avoid duplication and wastage. Conscious effort will thus be made to streamline and coordinate public sector departments and agencies in the interests of a focused and concerted urban development strategy.
The implementation of an integrated Urban Strategy will thus require a fundamental reorganisation of the way government works. Greater emphasis will be placed on interdepartmental coordination, and on cooperation between these national line departments and their counterparts through the different tiers of government. A dear structure of authority and accountability in the process of implementation will be created.
At national level, the following government departments will perform key - although not exclusive - roles in policy formulation, setting norms and standards and the design and implementation of programmes: National Housing; the Reconstruction and Development Ministry-, Constitutional Development and Local Government; Regional and Land Affairs; Transport; Water Affairs and Forestry, Environmental Affairs and Tourism; Trade and Industry; Education; Health; Finance; Sport and Recreation; Mineral and Energy Affairs; Welfare and Population Development, and Public Works.
To design, coordinate, and drive the strategy, the existing Urban Development Task Team will be repositioned as a standing intergovernmental committee. This will include line departments, provincial departments and local authorities.
Technical support for this UDTT will be mobilised from the appropriate departments. It should be noted, however, that specific steps have been taken in the Department of Housing to enable it to perform its leadership role in the UDTT more effectively. A Subdirectorate: Urban Settlement in the Chief Directorate: Human Settlement will specifically focus on the ongoing development of urban development and reconstruction strategies and their implementation. In this way, the Department of Housing is in the process of equipping itself properly to support the promotion, monitoring and evaluation of the urban development strategy. This does not mean that this department will be solely responsible for the strategy, but that it is well placed to play a pivotal role in the unfolding strategy through die UDTT.
Collaboration between the tiers of government will, in turn, hinge on the alliances that are formed between government and neighbourhood and community interests at the local level. To implement the Urban Strategy successfully, it is essential to tap local initiative and to create local-level partnerships between public, private and community sectors. These partnerships will be actively supported by government.
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