· OBJECTIVES

· PROGRESS

· KEY CHALLENGES

· STRATEGIC INTERVENTIONS FOR 2003/4

The programmes (URP and ISRDP) were launched In February 2001 by the President during his State of the Nation Address, with the aim articulated as being:

"...To conduct a sustained campaign against rural and urban poverty and underdevelopment. bringing in the resources at all three spheres of government in a co-ordinated manner

To address poverty alleviation and underdevelopment:

· To achieve equity,

· To ensure inter-sphere and inter-sectoral integration and co-ordination,

· To attain social cohesion,

· To enhance local government capacity to deliver.

· Nodal /spatial targeting (21 nodes)

· Incremental/Phased Implementation (10yr time-frame)

· Foster real partnerships & citizen and community participation

· Use IDPs as a tool to inform planning and investment decisions across all spheres of government.

· Pilot approaches to inter-governmental fiscal re-engineering.

· To pilot approaches to inter-sectoral, inter-sphere co-ordination and integration

· Do things differently - planning, design, implementation and financing.

- Assessment and expectations of progress must be mindful of this and not make pre-emptive conclusions based on the formative years of the programmes.

- Understand that the initial years have been spent on putting in place institutional capacities and inter-governmental mechanisms on which the two programmes rest (i.e. preconditions for sustainable development):

+ All nodal municipalities have IDSs;

+ All rural nodes have PIMS Centres;

+ IDT is active as a support agency in all nodes;

+ Co-ordination structures have been established across all three spheres at government:

+ Political and technical champions ore in place at national. provincial and nodal levels: and

+ Most national and provincial departments are active in the nodes.

· Presently the programmes are in the implementation and delivery phase.

Most anchor projects have a strong relationship to the lDPs

Anchor projects

· 155 anchor projects, total value R 343 million - compared to 260 anchor projects in January 2003,

· The reason for the decrease Is a more pragmatic reprioritisation, focusing on the viability and impact of anchor projects,

· Rates of Implementation have remained constant at 60%

Increased emphasis on social development projects. for instance of the current anchor projects,

50 % are social development,

30 % are Infrastructure,

· 20% are economic development.

· Estimated 357 permanent jobs created and 51,769 (through CMIP) temporary jobs of varying periods.

URBAN NODAL POINTS
[Map not included]

The urban nodes are: Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain; Motherwell; Mdantsane; Inanda and KwaMashu Alexandra and Galeshewe

RURAL NODAL POINTS
[Map not included]

Some of the rural nodes are: Central Karoo; Chris Hani; O.R.Tambo; Ugu; Umzinyathi; Umkhanyakude; Sekukhune Cross Boundary; Kalahari-Kgalagadi; Thabo-Mofutsanyane; Ukhahlamba and Alfred Nzo

· CONTEXT: When assessing progress a number of which militated against a dramatic take off of the programmes must be borne in mind:

- Local government which is supposed to be a front line player was a mere 2 months old when the nodes were announced in February 2001;

- Resources from the national and provincial spheres to support implementation were not lined up;

- Departments had already made their medium term resource commitments:

- Municipalities were only busy with interim lDPs, many of which did not even feature the two programmes;

- Anchor projects, which were to be used to demonstrate progress were wish lists,

Anchor projects

· 79 anchor projects valued at plus - minus R 1.3b compared to 90 projects In December 2002

· BUT notable qualitative Improvement - Implementation Increased from 30 to 54 %

· Significant Increase in "softer" projects (non-Infrastructure. i.e crime prevention. youth development. social cohesion. etc ) 21% compared to 6% in December 2002.

· Nodal strategy documents being adopted as ward-level plans (i.e Alexandra)

· Introducing a paradigmatic shift to a governance system that supports a truly bottom-up approach to development (Response: IDP-PGDS alignment and COW Programme)

· Immense pressure on the developmental local government which is currently in its consolidation phase (Response: PCC endorsed local government transformation programme – 15 areas of intervention)

· Inherent tension In the pursuit at sustainability vs. fast-tracking delivery, the programme seeks to do both. (Response: Financing Protocol, institutional capacity and continued focus on anchor projects linked to lDPs)

· Fiscal predictability

- The nodes do not have the lull spectrum of resources to fund the URP an ISRDP, and

- There is no enforced link between the capital planning process/capital expenditure plans between spheres.

- Equitable Share Fund;

- Amending conditionalities of grants in DoRA,

- Matching grants:

- Increased partnerships with parastatals, private sector and non-governmental stakeholders

1. Community Development Workers at local level (Leanerships begun; Roll-out planned for 4 provinces in 2004)

2. Skills Development Programme in the nodes (Skills Audits underway in all nodes).

3. Support key anchor projects (234 projects Identified -majority in implementation phase)

4. Align and consolidate IDPs and PGDS (Pilot completed In Mpumalanga; All PGDS currently being updated)

5. Sustainable information management system (for M&E, planning, policy and baseline data)

THANK YOU