The National Development Agency in collaboration with the University Of Johannesburg and Stats SA to host a Public Policy Dialogue - Poverty, inequality and social exclusion in South Africa.
“Poverty eradication’’ is a central and critical component of the National Development Agency’s (NDA) mandate. As a government agency, the NDA is tasked with the responsibility of contributing to the eradication of poverty and its causes in South Africa. The NDA in discharging its mandate has to empower and enhance the capacity of the civil society sector.
Despite notable gains in poverty reduction since 1994, the country continues to face the challenge of high poverty, inequality and unemployment. Many indicators have improved over 10 years but worsened or stagnated over the last 5-year period. The reversal in the trajectory of poverty reduction between 2011 and 2015 has threatened to erode some of the gains made since 1994. In the past five years, poverty has increased and over half the population is poor and unable to meet its basic needs. Despite policies that have led to improvements in income poverty, South Africa has become a more unequal society after 1994, rather than a more equal one. Furthermore, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focus on equity specifically identifies those who are excluded because of their age, gender, race, ethnicity, disability or migrant status, lack opportunities, resources and influence. Concerning South Africa, the SDGs find expression in the Africa Agenda 2063 and national monitoring targets, with a focus on the most vulnerable and the extremely poor.
The NDA, with research support from the centre of Social Development in Africa (CSDA), University of Johannesburg (UJ), has conducted a systematic assessment of key policies, strategies and flagship programmes to address poverty, inequality and equity issues in South Africa. The overarching aim of the study was to assess whether the key social, economic, environmental and administrative policies, strategies and programmes adequately address and prioritise reduction of poverty and inequality; and whether they inclusively provide a basis for mainstreaming equity considerations.
It is with this background that NDA will, on Thursday, 29 October 2020, host a virtual public dialogue to launch its latest Poverty and Inequality Report and its accompanying Policy Brief with other stakeholders such as the CSDA and Stats SA.
The policy dialogue aims to:
- summarise the evidence about the state of poverty, inequality and social exclusion in South Africa ;
- present the study’s findings regarding the mainstreaming of poverty, inequality and social exclusion across policy documents in all sectors;
- Provide South Africa’s progress towards measuring SDGs on poverty and inequality (SDG 1 and SDG 10); and
- facilitate a discussion regarding factors that could be developed to ensure that equity issues are mainstreamed and fast-tracked in policy so that no-one is left behind.
The public dialogue will be hosted Live on Zoom, and Registration will be required beforehand.
Members of the media are invited to cover and attend the public dialogue scheduled as follows:
Date: Thursday, 29 October 2020
Venue: Livestream via Zoom
Time: 11h00-13h00
Media can RSVP and send media enquiries:
Lonwabo Ganelo
Cell: 073 2950547
E-mail: lonwabog@nda.org.za
