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The Impact of the Community Development Worker Programme

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

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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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