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The Impact of the Community Development Worker Programme

Explore the impact of the Community Development Worker Programme on social upliftment and local economic development in South Africa, highlighting successes, challenges, and future strategies.

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The Impact of the Community Development Worker Programme

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  1. The Impact of the Community Development Worker Programme Portfolio Committee Cape Town 14 November 2007

  2. Background • CDWP 5 years old • 2954 CDWs deployed to approx 76% of country’s wards • Target to place CDW in all wards across country • Major focus: Social upliftment • Growing focus: Local economic development

  3. Background (2) • CDW coordinating units housed in departments of local government (LG) and LG & Housing • One exception: Limpopo – Premier’s office • National programme office – MPSA and • DPLG

  4. Impact: An overview CDWs - • Address development deadlocks • Strengthen social contract • Advocate for the poor • Strengthen government-community network • Facilitate and stimulate participation in local economic development for disadvantaged communities

  5. Impact: An overview (2) • CDWs are making an impact in many respects and this is more noticeable • Relationships at local government sphere uneven – an important focus going forward • Lack of common understanding of programme across government • M&E framework with national indicators being created to draw provinces into a centralised commonly understood reporting framework

  6. Impact overview (3) • CDWP moving from incubation to consolidation • CDWs cadres a ‘special type’ • Intergovernmental relationship very central to success of CDW outputs • Presently insufficient intergovernmental awareness of programme • Tensions exist because of poor understanding of the programme

  7. Impact overview (4) • CDWs feel excluded from IGR structures where they need to channel information • ‘Know Your CDW’– broad based awareness campaign targeted at officials on one hand and on the core constituency on the other • Where CDWs formally introduced - tensions are lessened

  8. Impact overview (5) • Introducing CDWs into local sectoral landscape will lessen negative perceptions • Tensions and negative perceptions weakens impact on the ground • Perception of impact is variable across provinces for eg: WC and EC - less impact on lives of ordinary citizens perceived Limpopo and Mpumalanga - very positive impact perceived

  9. Impact overview (6) • General consensus is that CDWs have made a differenceto lives of ordinary citizens through: - offering a door to door service in their communities - providing information about government services - assisting with disaster mitigation - promoting government campaigns • Impact has two dimensions: - normal functions of government - specific community projects managedor assisted by programme

  10. CDWs Government services and service delivery • DPLG survey found significant impact • Findings at all three levels • Examples of impact: - facilitation of services and service delivery - helping communities better communicate needs - fast tracking of basic services delivery - enhancing effective participation in local governance (integrated development) • Citizens have become more confident to engage government as a result of interaction with CDWs

  11. CDWs and social development • Social welfare child support grants; housing; access government benefits • Child security registering orphan households for benefits • Education Bringing plight of poorly resourced schools to attention of authorities • Food security support creation of food gardens; registering indigent for food parcels

  12. CDWs and LED • LED has crosscutting (interdepartmental) implications • Master Plan being worked on to map an inclusive, practical process to optimise CDW availability for facilitation and communication of government programmes in communities • Important to avoid duplication and recreation of projects

  13. CDWs and LED (2) • Examples of LED initiatives to date: • Cooperative training by DTI • Taking the DTI to the people – CDWP facilitating community access • Cooperatives that register qualify to apply for government tenders • Limpopo includes LED as key performance area for CDWs

  14. What CDWP reveals about government processes • Insufficient political championship of developmental programmes • intergovernmental operability – seamless government – needs to be improved • communication lines – need to be strengthened • Turf issues across all spheres CDWs bear the brunt of these difficulties

  15. Lessening impact: Contributory factors • Enabling working environment for CDWs not optimal • No connectivity – need wireless communication expected to be mobile agents of development • Unable to contact their stakeholder community • Obstacles frustrate their mandate and contribute to tensions and difficulties at the municipal level

  16. CDWP: A programme at the edge • CDWP straddles and cuts across all of government • Uneven budgetary arrangements in provinces • Cuts against grain of traditional government structuring • Bold solutions needed to strengthen CDWP as a sustainable instrument of government that assists in improving and accelerating service delivery

  17. Thank you

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