CURRENT STATUS REPORT FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORKERS

1. CURRENT STATUS REPORT FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORKERS PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE MEETING JUNE 2013

2. CONTENTS • Introduction • Mandate of the Programme • Context within which community development workers are operating • Programme Focus • Budget allocation • Programme coordination and location • Legal framework • Highlights of achievement for the period • Impact of community development workers programme • Key lessons from the implementation of the programme • Challenges • Recommendations

3. INTRODUCTION • Community Development Workers Programme(CDWP) was introduced by government in 2003. • They were introduced as part of the mechanisms to support Government’s objective of Access Strategy. • The programme was meant to supplement existing government programmes focused on redressing imbalances and inequalities in order to encourage development. • The CDWP is implemented in all provinces, by and large, by the provincial departments of Corporative Governance and Traditional Affairs/Human Settlement. However in the Free State Province , the programme is located in the Office of the Premier since 2012.

4. INTRODUCTION • Community Development Workers(CDWs) were created within the programme as a new category of public servants. Their purpose was to work with government departments and other stakeholders, to link government and community, and strengthen integration and co-ordination between services provided by government and access to these services by communities. • The current total number of CDWs as at June 2013 is 3233. There are 4277 wards and there should be at least one CDW per ward. The ideal situation is to have a norm and standard based on citizen segmentation according to geographic accessibility to address the allocation of CDWs.

5. MANDATE • The Mandate of CDWs is to work and support government departments to facilitate access to, and accelerate services rendered by Government. • In this context they; • Make it possible that integrated services should be delivered at community level • Report back to government on how citizens are experiencing government services and alert departments of any service delivery bottlenecks and any challenges that may result in the reduction of standards in service delivery that may slow and delay service delivery.

6. MANDATE • Link citizens to resources • Bring Government close to citizens through citizen engagement that ensures that citizens are involved in decision making • Assist communities to identify, articulate and understand their needs, and empower citizens to develop alternatives ways of dealing with development challenges

7. CONTEXT • The working environment is complex and dynamic; • It is characterised by increasing service delivery protests; • The environment is highly political, because CDWs work closely with councillors, ward committees, civic society and therefore tensions for turf are common; • CDWs work in a space where there are other officials or field workers from government departments and civil society, and CDWs are expected to coordinate activities at community level; • The environment sometimes render them vulnerable.

8. PROGRAMME FOCUS • Poverty alleviation • Social Protection e.g. facilitate applications for social grants and indigent grants • Food Security- linking citizens with government programmes focusing on food security, and food gardens • Support War on Poverty Programme initiatives, through household profiling and monitoring interventions • Early Childhood Development by facilitating creation of centers and registration of the centers with the Department of Social Development • HIV and AIDS campaign by among other things, mobilise citizens to participate in the Campaign initiated by the Department of Health on HIV and AIDS testing • Local Economic Development • Job Creation • Facilitating formation of cooperatives in collaboration with other stakeholders

9. PROGRAMME FOCUS • Deepening democracy • Mobilization of citizens to participate in and assist in Integrated Development Planning • Know your Service Rights and Responsibilities • African Peer Review Mechanism • Open Government Partnership • Other government campaigns e.g. voter education • Planning and development • Conduct ward and community profiles • Early warning • Community development • Youth support • Skills development • Link youth to projects and resources

10. Budget Allocation for 2013/2014 • THE BUDGET ALLOCATION FOR EACH PROVINCE IS REFLECTED IN THE FOLLOWING TABLE;

11. PROGRAMME COORDINATION AND LOCATION NATIONAL • Nationally, the Programme is coordination by the Department of Public Service and Administration, in consultation with the Department of Cooperative Governance • The DPSA is responsible for creating and enabling environment; creation of a legal frameworks, policy guidelines, benchmarked job descriptions and compliance and enforcement • Training of community development workers is provided by the LGSeta through the Learnership Programme

12. PROGRAMME COORDINATION AND LOCATION PROVINCIAL • The CDWP is coordinated, by and large, by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. • The responsibilities of provinces are; • Coordination of the programme at provincial and local level. • Funding and provision of other resources. • Employment and management of CDWs. • Development, implementation and Management of plans for effective and efficient functioning of the programme. • Setting up systems and provision of required enabling tools for effective functioning of the programme. • Entering into collaboration and cooperation with government departments, municipalities and other stakeholders in the implementation of the programme.

13. PROGRAMME COORDINATION AND LOCATION MUNICIPALITIES • In municipalities the programme is located in the Office of the Municipal Manager. In some Provinces it is located in the Office of the Speaker • Provinces enter into agreements and sign memorandum of understanding with municipalities on the type of support and collaboration required in the implementation of the programme at this level • The support from Municipalities are mainly on provision of work space, assistance with transport, access to landline telephone and stationery. They also provide mentors in the provinces where there are no supervisors employed. • CDWs also operate in the Thusong Service Centres

14. LEGAL FRAMEWORK • The programme was introduced as part of the basket of services to support Government, in service delivery improvement and access and therefore no legal framework was established • In the absence of specific legal framework for CDW’s, a Handbook for CDWs and Master Plan were developed to guide the implementation of the programme. • The programme was established to promote integrated service delivery in collaboration with the Thusong Service Centre, and achieve Government’s objective of closing the distance between services rendered and the service delivery points as set in the accessibility study on citizen segmentation. • Furthermore, the programme was developed to support Government in meeting the Millennium Development Goals. • Public Service Act ( 1994) , Public Service Regulations(2001) and the White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service ( 1997) are some of the important legislations regulating and supporting the Programme

15. HIGLIGHTS OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR 2012- 2013 REPOSITIONING OF THE CDW PROGRAMME • Several consultations had been held with provincial stakeholders about the repositioning of the CDWP in response to the location, reporting lines and accountability lines to ensure effective functioning of the programme.

16. HIGLIGHTS OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR 2012 2013 E-SKILLS TRAINING • Department of Public Service and Administration has partnered with the Department of Communications in developing an e-Skills Curriculum to equip community development workers with the relevant knowledge, skills and tools to use IT to improve their functioning at community level. • This training will help CDWs to ensure efficient access to information relevant to service delivery.

17. HIGLIGHTS OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR 2012- 2013 CONSULTATIVE WORKSHOPS • Consultative workshop which were held in each of the nine province were conducted. The workshops were attended by about 100 participants, which included CDWs and other officials from provincial government departments. The aim was to identify challenges experienced by CDWs in the implementation of the programme

18. HIGLIGHTS OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR 2012- 2013 NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR CDWS • The National Conference for Community Development Workers was attended by over 500 participants representing national and provincial departments. The conference was a culmination of the consultative workshops and it focused on empowering CDWs and other participants in the following areas; priorities of government and important projects that emerged from the State of the Nation Address, educating participants on how to communicate these priorities to citizens. How to link communities with resources such as National Lottery Trust that fund community projects.

19. HIGLIGHTS OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR 2012- 2013 WARD PROFILES • A ward profile is an important tool that can assist in monitoring progress made to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and other service delivery targets • They can also provide progress made and information available about levels of employment and unemployment, educational facilities, literacy rates, social services , basic services such as water, sanitation, electricity, housing structures, transport, security and recreational facilities at ward level. • Ward profiles for 3 provinces were conducted using Superstar and particular focus was on individual income, educational facilities focusing on early childhood centres.

20. HIGLIGHTS OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR 2012- 2013 • RESOURCE BOOK FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT • Draft Resource Book for community development workers which is a tool to assist community development workers to carry out their duties. • GRASSROOTS INNOVATION BOOKLET • Grassroots innovation, a booklet that encourages Community Development Workers to share success stories in the area of unblocking service delivery, support to youth, early childhood development and local economic development. The Booklet is also meant to advertise community development workers. • INDIA TRAINING PROGAMME • During the last financial year, 10 community development workers received training in India through the India Technical and Economic Cooperation ( ITEC).

21. IMPACT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORKERS • CDWs are making impact in the following areas; • Assisting in the elimination of service delivery backlogs and bureaucratic bottlenecks • Strengthening the democratic social contract and deepening citizen participation • Advocating for an organised voice of the poor • Strengthening government community networks • Serving as a channel of communication between government and people in communities • Linking communities to resources such as food, medical and access to social grants • Ensuring that communities are aware of and participate in various advocacy campaigns around current issues • Ensuring that communities are participating in budgetary planning through platforms such as integrated development plans

22. KEY LESSONS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAMME • The implementation of the programme is complex because of the following; • Community Development Workers play a combined role which involves extending services, social planning and community development. This is different practice compared with what is happening internationally . • Their work is interdepartmental as well as cutting across the three spheres of government and this is a unique situation to CDWs.

23. CHALLENGES • Lack of alignment and insufficient budgets which affect operations and goods and services function in most provinces. • Absence of legal frameworks that create fragmentation in the implementation of the programme. • Management challenges in some provinces. • Blurred reporting lines in some provinces because of the location of the program within the municipal space. • Lack of wellness and security measures for Community Development Workers at operational level. • Vast wards and insufficient numbers of community development workers in some provinces. • Monitoring activities of CDWs at the ward level to assess the change they are making at community level. • Relationship problems with other stakeholders at community level.

24. RECOMMENDATIONS • Finalisation of regulations for CDWs will narrow the gap created by the lack of legal framework. • In view of the complex environment in which community development workers are operating and the problem of increasing service delivery protests, it is crucial to reposition the CDWP to ensure that they have clear roles and responsibilities and are located a suitable location that will enhance their functioning. • Increasing the roles that CDWs play in Complaint Management and improve the reporting system. The Complaints and Compliments Management Framework created, will strengthen this function. • Strengthen the capacity initiatives for community development workers and ensure that they are able to communicate government priorities, projects, achievements and challenges to communities.

25. THANK YOU