Development, Republic of South Africa, at the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA)
Social Issues Working Group meeting
12 October 2007
You're Excellencies, ambassadors and high commissioners
Government officials from Brazil
Government officials from India
Government officials from Republic of South Africa
Civil society organisations
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
All protocol observed
Good morning
Buenos dias
Namaste
On behalf the people and government of South Africa I would like to extend a
warm welcome to the various delegations of the governments and civil society of
Brazil, India and South Africa. We are truly delighted that you are able to
participate in another meeting of this Working Group. As developing nations we
share a vision of creating a world that is democratic, peaceful, prosperous,
caring and a defender of human rights, including the rights to basic social
services and sustainable livelihoods.
It is indeed fitting that we gather here in October which is earmarked as
Social Development Month. It is a period that is marked by intense outreach by
taking social services to the poorest of the poor. As IBSA countries we still
face many challenges associated with poverty and underdevelopment. These are
challenges we face together and which we need to overcome together.
Our presence here today is the culmination of events that began in 2003 with
the launch of the IBSA initiative. This resulted in the first IBSA Summit in
Brazil in 2006. As you are aware, South Africa hosts the second summit which
begins on Monday, and the third one will be held in India in 2008. The IBSA
Social Development Working Group was established with the purpose of
facilitating a process towards ensuring that knowledge, lessons and best
practices are shared to address the social development needs of IBSA countries.
The Working Group met soon after the IBSA Summit in 2006 and its work was
informed by the Seminar on Economic Development and Social Equity.
This first meeting proved to be an invaluable experience in terms of
knowledge sharing. Brazil's Fome Zero Strategy framework and its Bolsa FamÃlia
(Family Grant) Programme, South Africa's comprehensive social security system,
and India's Swaranjayanti Gram Swarozgar Young (SGSY) self employment programme
for the rural poor laid the groundwork for our second interaction.
The second meeting held in November 2006 identified three main areas for
trilateral co-operation: poverty alleviation, micro-finance and the application
of indigenous knowledge systems for social development. It also highlighted the
importance of social inclusion, gender equality and women empowerment and on
poverty eradication. The conference also agreed on a Plan of Action that would
facilitate the cross-pollination of knowledge across the IBSA countries and
those projects targeted for implementation by the IBSA Fund.
These meetings have laid the basis for our work here over the next three
days. The theme for this year's IBSA Summit is "Deepening South-South
Co-operation for Sustainable Development".
The main focus of this seminar is the development of an Integrated IBSA
Poverty Eradication Strategy. Our three countries have commonalities in
relation to poverty challenges, arising from income, asset and capability
poverty as well as related problems such as drug abuse, teenage pregnancies and
youth high school drop out rates. We can also share community development
strategies such as sustainable livelihoods and micro financing programmes, with
the aim of assisting each other to realise the Millennium Development Goals, in
particular that of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger.
The Heads of State and Government during the Presidential Summit held in
Brazil indicated the importance of the Social Development sectors to work
together towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This
statement was also reiterated during the Fourth Ministerial Summit held in New
Delhi, where the three ministers of foreign/external affairs emphasised the
importance of the Social Development Sector to work together. During this
meeting it was mentioned that the achievements of other sectoral groups rely on
the success of the Social Development Working Group.
The following thematic areas were agreed upon as the basis for an IBSA
Integrated Poverty Eradication Strategy: Social Policy, Sustainable Livelihoods
and Comprehensive Social Security. In addition to government officials, this
seminar will also be attended by academics experts and civil society
organisations from the three countries. Civil Society has a major role to play
with regard to the eradication of poverty and hunger as well as in the
development and implementation of policies. It is therefore important to
involve them in all policy development processes including the monitoring and
evaluation of the impact of programmes. This will also strengthen partnership
between all key social development role-players within and between the IBSA
countries.
An important outcome of this seminar will be the signing of a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU). The memorandum of understanding is meant to start the
process of exchanging policies and strategies for poverty eradication. The
Department of Social Development of South Africa was requested to take a lead
in the drafting the MOU. It was further agreed that South Africa should
circulate the draft of MOU to India and Brazil. The MOU includes the following
issues that were adopted as the key priorities for the sector: Poverty
Eradication; Social Security; Social Inclusion; Social Policy; Monitoring and
Evaluation; Institutional Capacity Building; and Micro-finance.
Human development is about putting people at the centre of development. It
is about people realising their potential, increasing choice and enjoying the
freedom to lead the lives they value. Poor countries and people face daunting
challenges, but their constraints have been defined and are to a great extent
solvable. With national commitment and international support, we can realise
more equitable economic growth and achieve the human development goals broadly
articulated in the MDGs.
In conclusion, I wish you well in your deliberations in this working group,
as we seek to create a better future and a better world by promoting sustained
economic growth, sustainable development, and global prosperity for all.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Social Development
12 October 2007
