Regional Poverty Indaba - Eden District Municipality

The Department of Social Development, as the lead department in poverty reduction, was tasked in 2004 with hosting of the first Poverty Indaba as well as with the tabling of the Integrated Poverty Reduction Strategy. Subsequent indabas and other summits related to poverty issues have also been successfully implemented.

Although political freedom was attained in 1994, extreme poverty and underdevelopment remain major challenges facing South African society. A number of uncoordinated anti-poverty interventions are executed at various places and at different levels. This often leads to duplication and wasteful expenditure. It is this realisation that compelled the lead department in poverty reduction to champion a process of re-looking at the Integrated Poverty Reduction Strategy five years on. Informed by the Poverty Indaba II, held in August 2008, the Department in partnership with Eden District Municipality will be hosting a Regional Poverty Indaba. The purpose of this Indaba is to assist the Eden DM to develop its Anti-Poverty Strategy whilst using this experience as pilot towards developing the Provincial Anti-Poverty Strategy.

It is believed that this process will go a long way in assisting the Province to realise the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) particularly Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Without pre-empting the outcomes of the Indaba, it is envisaged that it will set out immediate, medium- and long-term interventions. A team of committed professionals from various departments, business and civil society organisations will be put in place to drive and monitor the implementation of the said interventions.

Critical Proposed Questions

It is expected that the following questions should be able to give us direction towards working together in a coordinated and beneficial manner to the poor and vulnerable people of the Western Cape.

• How does poverty in the broader community manifest itself? In relation to each department.

• How does it extends to each sector.
• What are the factors that aggravate level of poverty.
• What is currently in place (resource audit).
• What impedes integration.

Themes

• Food security - dealing with hunger (lead by Dept of Agriculture (DoA)) includes Department of Social Development (DSD) , South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), Department of Labour (DOL), Department of Health (DOH), and Western Cape Education Department (WCED).

• Health - on burden of diseases in relation to poverty (lead by DOH).
• Job creation - job placement, recruitment and training (lead by Department of Public Works and Transport (DPWT) - Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) include DOL and Business sector.
• Rural development - lead by SASSA and Eden District Municipality (includes other depts. and Civil Society Organizations (CSO).
• Local Economic Development - lead by Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDT) and Eden District Municipality as well as Business sector.
• Education and Training - looking at formal, ABET, FET and skills development (Lead by WCED and DOL (Includes other depts. & CSO).

Business Sector

There is a lot happening on the business sector and their Corporate Social Investment programmes in our communities which most of them are uncoordinated or rather do not benefit the intended beneficiaries.

• What is the contribution of business sector in fighting poverty (financial and non-financial).
• How does business sector see their role in fighting poverty.
• How can we better coordinate these programmes/projects to benefit the poor.
• How do companies procurement processes accommodates emerging/small businesses (eg funded projects/programmes).