DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION

1. DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION PRESENTATION ON SOUTH AFRICA’S PROGRESS TOWARDS THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MDGS

2. MDGs • The Millennium Declaration sets out encapsulates a set of seven uniquely identifiable goals, which must be met by 2015 if the debilitating situation of global poverty if to be effectively mitigated. These have been grouped into four categories, namely, (a) elimination of extreme poverty and hunger, MDG1, (b) those related to the empowerment of women and gender equality, MDGs 2,3,4 and 5 and (c) those which are health related ( MDGs 4, 5 and 6) and (d) the environment (MDG 7). • Goal 8 binds all the above goals in that it creates the requisite international environment or framework within which the above goals must be achieved. The United Nations Secretary-General has created an MDGs project team within his Office, headed by an internationally renowned Professor Jeffery Sachs, utilizing the resident expertise of the UNDP, to undertake constant appraisal on the successes and challenges, as well as the requisite interventions necessary for the achievement of the MDGs. • In the above context, two seminal appraisals have been undertaken in the form of the 2005 Millennium Review Summit as well as the 2010 High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly.

3. The statistics provided at the aforementioned Summits do not paint a good picture, especially in relation to the number (approximately 15 million) of children who die in Africa before their fifth birthdays from essentially curable diseases, including approximately 79 million stunted children in the developing world (half of whom are African). Their Early Childhood Development (ECD) significantly impacted upon. The other worrisome trajectory, especially for Africa is in the area of HIV/AIDS and child mortality. • In summary: even though much progress has been made in some areas, this has been negatively affected by lack of gains or even negative trajectories in other areas, offsetting the progress which is being registered in other critical areas. The most pertinent example in this regard, is the increase in the number of people living in conditions of extreme poverty and hunger (increasing global poverty, homelessness and unemployment). Kindly see appended template, outlining the African situation. • The essential prerequisites towards the achievement of the MDGs, involve significant increase in social spending, i.e. Provision of schools and training of teaches, acquisition of priority skills to ensure a competent and productive labour force, building of hospitals with competent medical personnel, achievement of food security, achievement of infrastructural development (telecommunications networks and ICTs, modern transport networks). The formula of social spending is not preferred by the International Financial Institutions (IFIs), because they are not economically feasible and profitable.

4. The IFIs and the Donor Community for their part, have emphasised on issues of governance, rule of law, anti-corruption measures, democracy, accountability and transparent free and fair electoral processes as some of the fundamental prerequisites and ingredients, at the national level, necessary for the creation of a conducive investor friendly environment, leading to the achievement of the MDGs. • The biggest challenge facing the African Continent is the absence of an electronic statistical database for the MDGs. The Association of African statisticians is currently grappling with this challenge.

5. SOUTH AFRICAN SITUATION • Country report on the MDGs presented to the UN during September 2010 : highlighting that South Africa will, by an large, comply with its MDGs commitments, except possibly in the areas of HIV/AIDS. Other areas of concern relate to adult literacy rates, Gini coefficient , purchasing power parity and food security (extreme poverty and hunger still persists). Efforts are ongoing to conduct country wide household surveys to determine the percentage of people living in extreme poverty and hunger , through the Anti-Poverty War Room , located in the Presidency.

6. The above mentioned country report which is predominantly statistical in its approach, must be produced in a narrative format in order to make it readable and comprehensive to ordinary South Africans, who are not statistically inclined. • The National Coordination for South Africa’s achievement of the MDGs lies in the purview of the Social Protection and Community Development (SP&CD) Cluster, including its Ministerial version. StatsSA plays a pivotal role in the support of these initiatives by providing the necessary statistics to determine and monitor the situation in the country. • The Director-General for Social Development, in his capacity as the Chair of the SP&CD Cluster regularly also briefs Parliament on developments in this regard. • It is imperative for South Africa to develop policy in the context of the SADPA aimed at assisting South Africa’s immediate neighbours towards the achievement of their commitments to the MDGs. The SADC Framework, especially its Strategic Indicative Plan for the Organ (SIPO) on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation and its Protocol are ideal for working together to achieve these objectives.

7. The option of postponement of the achievement of the MDGs to a period beyond 2015 will seriously tarnish the image of the UN System and will dissipate the hopes and dreams of the global poor who look to the UN for realisation of their plight. Thank you JM Matjila: Acting Director-General, DIRCO