Department of Social Development, Republic of South Africa
An address on behalf of the Director General
To the public dialogue on Africa's democracy: is the environment enabling or disenabling?
Hosted by the Southern Africa Trust and Trust Africa
23 februry 2011
Thank you Programme Director.
Honourable guests, my Director General, Mr Vusi Madonsela pass his regards to all of you. He would have love to here with you today. However, as you all know that today is Budget Day, he has been summit to parliament and submit his apologies for not be with you here with you today.
Programme Director, Ladies and Gentlemen, I have therefore being asked to fit into the shoes of the Director General and hopeful will be able to meet your expectation accordingly.
My name is Mapena Bok.
As you know, ladies and gentlemen, Civil Society in South Africa is well developed third sector in our country and is characterized by a wide variety of organisations of different sizes and shapes across the political, economic and social spectrum of society. These range from faith and community based organisations, charities (welfare), traditional organisations like social and sports clubs, and a host of other development and social forms of organisations working tirelessly on the social fabric of society. These organisations are also referred to Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), community based organisations (CBOs) and faith based organisations (FBOs). The collective legal term for all these organisations is nonprofit organisations (NPO) as they share the same value system of being nonprofit in nature.
I will therefore henceforth use these terms interchangeable.
Literature on the subject of civil society posits that the sector plays an important role in societal change and stability that is critical for a functioning democracy. Other studies advance a notion that it is difficult to conceive a society without social forms of organisations or to ignore the impact it has on the functioning of society. It is also argued that civil society plays a critical role in the nurturing of social capital and that says something of the health of society in social, political and economic terms.
CSOs often play an intermediary or linking role between the poor and marginalized, and government or donor organisations. Some of the activities range from providing direct services to poor individuals and communities; advocacy or related activities such as research and policy analysis and; support work such as capacity building, technical assistance and funding to communities and other organisations.
In South Africa, the acknowledgement of the historical value of this sector is found in the volumes of South African policy documents that amongst others includes the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) and within the Constitution of the country.
The Johns Hopkins University International Comparative Study on Civil Society rated South African Civil Society 18th after Italy and as the leading country within Africa and among other emerging growing economies because it has a relative sizeable civil society sector that is worth R9.3 billion contributing 1.2 % to the country's gross domestic product in 19981. Sometimes, in March 2007, the Business Day, projected the economic value of the sector to be R12, 5 billion of which national and other foreign governments contributes a revenue of R10 billion2.
There is no doubt that in South Africa, civil society plays a very significant role in nourishing our young democracy and addressing the needs of vulnerable communities and groups. The 2003 Government Ten Review report acknowledge the importance of community organisations in building the social fabric of society that is crucial for government programmes to success. 'Stable community organisations have been found to increase efficient service delivery as well as improve market performance and economic growth'3.
Recognizing this, South Africa, like any other democratic government has created an enabling legal environment for civil society to support and encourage the formation of organisations. This legal framework is rooted in the fundamental human rights culture of the country's Constitution. The right to freedom of religion, belief and opinion; of expression and; of association as contained in the Bills of Rights is essential for the civil society formations. This means that everyone has the right to associate with other people and form organisations and express themselves in what ever way they choose provided that this is done in compliance with existing laws.
Based on these fundamental principles of the Bills of Rights, the current legal framework on civil society organisations serves mainly three purposes. Firstly, it enables organisations to establish themselves as legal structures. Secondly, it regulates the way in which such legal structures operate. Part of this includes the registration of a legal entity with a government registration authority. Thirdly, it provides tax and other incentives for the sector to financial and otherwise sustains itself. This compare fairly well with internationally best practice accepted norms and standards for regulating the nonprofit sector.
The Nonprofit Organisations (NPO) Act, that the Department of Social Development is administering, is perceived to be the entry point in the regulatory framework for organisations to derive benefits from the enabling environment as it provides a registration facility for all public nonprofit entities4. These benefits includes, but not limited to, the tax exemption provisions as enlisted in the Taxation amendments laws and exemption to pay skills levies as stipulated in the Skills Development Levies Act 9 of 1999. Furthermore, the National Development Agencies (NDA) Act and the Lotteries Act were enacted to establish government institutions for funding organisations.
The primarily purpose of the NPO Act is to create an enabling environment in which NPOs can flourish and to establish an administrative and regulatory framework within which organisations can conduct their affairs. Specifically the Act aimed at encouraging NPOs to maintain adequate standards of governance, transparency and accountability and to create an environment within which the public may have access to information on registered organisations5.
The registration and reporting of organisations has increased substantially since the inception of the Act in 1998. Currently there are more than 74 000 registered NPO that operations in different areas.
The NPO Act is one of the most significant pieces of legislation to attempt to create an enabling environment of organisations. It was conceived during the 1990's as part of the project to transform society and is a result of a length process of policy and legislative reform initiated by government and negotiated with CSOs. In fact the initiative of the enabling environment for CSOs goes back to 1992 when a group of prominent people from the nonprofit and business sectors, undertook a study on several policy areas affecting NPOs in South Africa which led to a draft Discussion Document towards a Nonprofit Organisations Bill6.
It is therefore not surprising that the NPO Act is very ambition in its aim as its main objects are to create an enabling environment for organisation; establishing an administrative and regulatory framework within which NPOs can conduct their affairs; Encouraging NPOs to maintain standards of governance, transparency and accountability, and improving those standards; creating an environment within the public may have access to information concerning registered organisations; and promoting a spirit of cooperation and shared responsibility within government, donors and other interested persons7.
There is still much to be done to making the environment more enabling. The NPO Act was one of the first mechanisms introduced by government to provide an enabling environment for civil society. To assess whether this mechanism makes a difference in the sector, the Department conducted a study on the impact of the NPO Act on the sector.
This study highlighted a number of achievements and shortcoming of the current legislation. In the main it concluded that indeed there is an enabling environment for the sector; however are also opportunities to improve and consolidate the current gains achieved.
To this end the study recommends that the Department should embark on a process to review the current legislation with a view of improving certain administrative requirements to make easier and simpler for organisations to get registered. In any event, it is also good public policy practice to periodical review existing policy frameworks as the terrain has also changed.
We hope to continue with the legacy of yesteryears of popular participation in this review process. Very soon our Minister will make pronouncements on this process.
To further promote the sector, the Department is also currently working with STATS SA to incorporate the nonprofit organisation's stats within the country's national accounting system as part of calculating its GDP contribution to the country. We trust this will begin to demonstrate, not only societal contribution of the sector in terms social cohesion but also the real economic value of the sector to country. Thus we will be able to building arguments and motivate for greater resource flow to the very important sector of our country.
We can do better in creating a more structural dialogue process with civil society and the Planning Commission is a step in the right direction.
I thank you!
Salamon, L. el al. (1999:3). Global Civil Society- Dimensions of the Nonprofit Sector. The Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society. Baltimore, MD.
Renee Bonochis article on BoE gives advice NGOs can bank on. Business Day, Monday, March 5 2007.
Policy Co-rodination and Advisory Services (PCAS). 2003:27. Towards a Ten Year Review. Synthesis report on implementation of government programme. Discussion Document. The Presidency.
In terms of section1 (x) of the NPO Act, a nonprofit organisation is defined as a trust, company or other association of persons- (a) established for a public purpose; and the income and property of which are not distributable to its members or office bearers except as reasonable compensation for service rendered.
The objectives of the NPO Act are enlisted in section 2 of the NPO Act.
Development Resource. 1992. Independent Study into an Enabling Environment for NGOs. A participatory experience in public policy formulation. Johannesburg.
Section 2 of the Nonprofit Organisations Act 71 of 1997.
