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A New Response to Informal Settlements
10 March, 2010

Government should address informal settlement housing backlog in the country. Addressing challenges posed by informal settlements will help government to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals such as providing access to basic water and sanitation. Underlying socio-economic causes of informal settlements should be tackled. When addressing challenges posed by informal settlements, government should provide the urban poor with cost effective access to urban environments. Relocating informal settlements is not always a solution; government should provide some form of ‘interim servicing or emergency relief’ including water, sanitation and solid waste removal.

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NPOs and King III: How to Apply?

The King III report on Governance Principles for South Africa unintentionally overlooks the distinctive values on which the South African non-profit sector is based. It is not true that the King III report covers for profit and non-profit entities regardless of their founding constitutions. The non-profit sector should explore the development of a Good Governance Code or Charter that speaks to the specific governance and risk management needs of NPOs. Integrated reports, audit committees, corporate citizenship policies and business rescue proceedings will be meaningless to community-based organisations (CBOs) since they do not have the resources or the technical-know-how to distinguish which of the King III principles apply to them.

The Matric Results Debate: Transforming Our Education System

The majority of poor pupils attend school in the rural areas and townships in South Africa. These schools lack resources and are unable to produce learners who can compete with those who come from former Model C schools. These schools struggle to produce matriculants who meet the university admission requirements. Transformation of the education system cannot happen without ‘dedicated, hard-working, motivated and well-educated teachers’. Township and rural schools need to be capacitated to be able to provide education to a satisfactory standard

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TAC Priorities for 2010: Working Toward the NSP Targets

The National Strategic Plan set the 2007-2011 target to reduce HIV infections by 50 percent. Currently, less than half of those infected are able to access antiretroviral treatment. Considering these targets are not being met, how should South Africa go about fighting HIV and AIDS? For the Treatment Action Campaign, focusing on these targets is a high priority. In this article, the TAC offers advice on, amongst other things, how government should improve access to treatment and strengthen its HIV and AIDS education programmes. The TAC also believes that civil society and developing countries should unite to challenge cuts in AIDS funding
Poverty Can Be Eradicated

The country requires ‘holistic and multi-facetted’ anti-poverty strategies that will ensure the poor are liberated from hunger and other forms of sufferings related to poverty. Government should go ahead with its plan to establish a National Council on Poverty. 

South African Companies Can Lead the Rest in CSI

This article looks at how the global economic downturn is making it difficult for companies to contribute to the development of communities through CSI initiatives. The author argues that corporate philanthropy will disappear as companies struggle to emerge from the crisis. Corporate partners can co-donate with their customers and staff to community-based projects implemented by NGOs and other potential beneficiaries. Poverty, inequality and questionable democracy - some of the realities we live with - could be partly addressed through integrated CSI programmes. Apart from CSI, numerous surveys suggest that South African consumers are increasingly influenced by companies’ environmental and social policies when selecting products and services.

NGOs Comment on 2010/11 National Budget

The newly-appointed Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan presented the 2010/11 National Budget to Parliament on 17 February 2010 in Cape Town. As in the past few years, SANGONeT is pleased to present you with the comments and perspectives of various NGOs in response to the budget.Issues covered by the NGO comments range from general observations about the budget to key development priorities such as education, social services, gender, urbanisation, children and health.
Polygamy, Promiscuity and Progressive Leadership

People, including politicians, should not use polygamy as an excuse to justify having multiple relationships. The admission by President Jacob Zuma that he fathered a child out-of-wedlock contradicts his commitment to the fight against HIV and AIDS. “It is as dangerous to have a hypocrite as it is to have a denialist leading the country in the fight against HIV and AIDS.” The African National Congress (ANC) and Zuma are correct in saying the president, like any other citizen, has the right to privacy. Both the ANC and Zuma forget that ‘leaders answer to a higher set of standards than even the courts may set’. Our country is deeply patriarchal and requires progressive leaders who will ‘push the envelope, not take us back in time’.
NGOs, Business as Agents of Social Change

Businesses should not view their role in corporate social investment (CSI) as that of backing or supporting the initiatives of others as opposed to playing a proactive role. The generalisation that only grassroots-based organisations, institutions and individuals can be effective agents of social change is baseless and unfounded. Apart from NGOs and other players, good governments can also be agents of social change. In this article, Andile Ncontsa explains that companies should not always look at NGOs to implement their CSI initiatives, as some of these organisations are not ‘closer or better attuned to societal issues than the private sector or government’.
Avoiding Poverty Pornography

Companies are increasingly involved in the economic, environmental and social well-being of communities. This involvement takes many forms, including sponsorships, cause-related marketing, social responsibility and corporate social investment (CSI). It is advisable for companies to partner with community projects to give them a measure of exposure and credibility. Corporate social responsibility is driven by business interests, while CSI should be about the role that business play in supporting community initiatives
Land Redistribution: A Case for Land Reform in South Africa

South Africa should speed up the redistribution of land to the black majority. There is a need for the government to review the current laws that govern how land should be redistributed. Government, land owners, CSOs and citizens should work together to make land reform a success. The ‘willing buyer willing seller’ principle and the exorbitant prices charged by farmers when selling land for redistribution frustrates government’s ability to speed up land reform. Lack of land prevents poor communities from participating in the mainstream economy.
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