Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), otherwise known as the Global Goals, are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
These 17 Goals build on the successes of the Millennium Development Goals, while including new areas such as climate change, economic inequality, innovation, sustainable consumption, peace and justice, among other priorities. The goals are interconnected – often the key to success on one will involve tackling issues more commonly associated with another.
The SDGs work in the spirit of partnership and pragmatism to make the right choices now to improve life, in a sustainable way, for future generations. They provide clear guidelines and targets for all countries to adopt in accordance with their own priorities and the environmental challenges of the world at large. The SDGs are an inclusive agenda. They tackle the root causes of poverty and unite us together to make a positive change for both people and planet. “Supporting the 2030 Agenda is a top priority for UNDP,” said UNDP Administrator Helen Clark. “The SDGs provide us with a common plan and agenda to tackle some of the pressing challenges facing our world such as poverty, climate change and conflict. UNDP has the experience and expertise to drive progress and help support countries on the path to sustainable development.
Outcome with Special Emphasis on Outcome 9
Government has agreed on 12 outcomes as a key focus of work. Each outcome has a limited number of measurable outputs with targets. Each output is linked to a set of activities that will help achieve the targets and contribute to the outcome.
Each of the 12 outcomes has a delivery agreement which in most cases involves all spheres of government and a range of partners outside government. Combined, these agreements reflect government’s delivery and implementation plans for its foremost priorities. Each outcome has been broken into various outputs that stipulate activities to be undertaken towards the achievement of a particular outcome.
The 12 National Outcome Delivery Agreements are as follows:
Outcome 1: Improved quality of basic education;
Outcome 2: A long and healthy life for all South Africans
Outcome 3: All South Africans should be and feel safe; there should be decent employment through inclusive growth
Outcome 4: Decent Employment through Inclusive Economic Growth;
Outcome 5: An efficient, competitive and responsive economic infrastructure network;
Outcome 6: There should be vibrant, equitable, sustainable rural communities with food security for all;
Outcome 7: Vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities with food security for all.
Outcome 8: Sustainable Human Settlements and Improved Quality of Household Life
Outcome 9: A responsive, accountable, effective and efficient Local Government System.
Outcome 10: environmental assets and natural resources that are valued, protected and continually enhanced
Outcome 11: Create a better South Africa and contribute to a better and safer Africa and World; and
Outcome 12: An efficient, effective and development oriented Public Service and An empowered, fair and inclusive citizenship.
The outcome as the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (National and Provincial departments) and all municipalities is Outcome 9: A responsive, accountable, effective and efficient local government system. Notwithstanding; all National Outcome Delivery Agreements talk to local government, due to an understanding that local government is where the tyre hits the road on service delivery. It is therefore crucial that there should be thorough coordination and alignment between local municipalities and sector departments towards the realization and attainment of the targeted results.
Outcome 9 has been broken down into seven (7) outputs:
Output 1: Implement a differentiated approach to municipal financing, planning and support
Output 2: Improving access to basic services.
Output 3: Implementation of the Community Work Programme
Output 4: Actions supportive of the human settlement outcome
Output 5: Deepen democracy through a refined Ward Committee model
Output 6: Administrative and financial capability
Output 7: Single window of coordination
The effective implementation of the service delivery agreement will assist in achieving the following imperatives:
- Creating a radical paradigm shift in the management of the public service by aligning service delivery with the values and needs of the public;
- Ensuring a focus on customer value proposition which should entail evaluation of service delivery through the eyes of the customer;
- Providing strong feedback mechanisms on quality and timeliness of service delivery.
- Creating of strong public/private partnerships through involvement of the private sector and civil society in the broad process of policy determination and implementation,
- Unprecedented improvement of the image of government in the eyes of the public by enthusiastically embracing and supporting the process and culture of performance.
Through the service delivery agreement; COGTA and municipalities committed to the following:
- The extension of basic services which include water, sanitation, electricity and waste Management;
- Creation of job opportunities through the Community Works Programme;
- Transformation of administrative and financial systems in the municipalities which includes Supply Chain Management and the integration and streamlining all of our internal software systems to ensure uniformity, linkages and value for money;
- The filling of six critical senior municipal posts in various municipalities namely Municipal Manager, Chief Financial Officer, Town Engineer, Town Planner, Human Resources Manager and Communications manager as the basic minimum for every Municipality;
- That all municipalities in the province will achieve clean audits by 2014; Building municipal capacity to enable municipalities to collect 90% of their revenues;
- Strengthening the organizational performance management systems for improved service delivery and accountability to the communities;
- Improving our interaction with the institutions of traditional leaders and integrating the ward-based system of planning and governance with the programme of traditional councils, where they exist.
These talks to the five (5) National Key Performance Areas (KPAs) and should form basis for every Municipality’s strategic objectives.
Through the service delivery agreement; the Honourable Mayors of all municipalities committed themselves to the following:
- That they will play their role as outlined in the Municipal Finance Management Act by monitoring the prudent management and utilization of their municipal finances;
- That they will monitor the execution of their municipal Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plans (SDBIPs) for improved and accelerated service delivery;
- That they will take personal responsibility and accountability for non-delivery to communities;
- That they will ensure every rand spent in their municipalities does what it is earmarked for;
- That they will advocate and actively work towards corrupt-free municipalities;
- That they will lead by example in their various communities by adhering to ethical standards and professional conduct in their public and private lives;
- That they will render unwavering support to the effective functionality of their newly established Municipal Public Accounts Committees and Audit Committees to ensure that corruption, fraud and mismanagement is uprooted;
- That, working with esteemed traditional leaders; they will work tirelessly in restoring the confidence of the people in the system of local government.
National Development Plan
The National Development Plan is a plan for the country to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030 through uniting South Africans, unleashing the energies of its citizens, growing an inclusive economy, building capabilities, enhancing the capability of the state and leaders working together to solve complex problems.
The high level on the National Development Plan focuses on issues of eliminating poverty and reducing inequality and further unpacks milestones as follows:
- Increase employment from 13 million in 2010 to 24 million in 2030.
- Raise per capita income from R50 000 in 2010 to R120 000 by 2030.
- Increase the share of national income of the bottom 40 percent from 6 percent to 10 percent.
- Establish a competitive base of infrastructure, human resources and regulatory frameworks.
- Ensure that skilled, technical, professional and managerial posts better reflect the country’s racial, gender and disability makeup.
- Broaden ownership of assets to historically disadvantaged groups.
Further to the National Development Plan the KwaZulu – Natal Provincial and Growth Development Strategy make emphasis on the issue at a Provincial Level.
The sustainable development is a development which takes cognizance of issues at a National level, down to a Provincial and It taken further in municipality through IDPs. Issues on the National Development Plan are addressed on all KPAs in the IDP.
KZN Provincial and Growth Development Strategy
In an effort to align with the PGDS goals, Jozini seeks to undertake the following actions:
Provincial Growth and Development Plan
The PGDS identifies seven strategic goals and thirty strategic objectives that will drive the Province towards its 2030 vision. The cabinet then identified a need to further prepare an implementation in the form of PGDP.
uMkhanyakude Rural Development Plan
The District Rural Development Plan aims to direct and guide Rural development within uMkhanyakude District. It outlines development programmes and plans to address the needs of people who live in extreme poverty and who are subject to underdevelopment in rural parts of the district. The Rural Development Plan identifies rural clusters where a high level of activity exists or is anticipated. These include the areas of Bhambanana, Ingwavuma and the south of Mkuze.
District Growth and Development Plan
The District Growth and Development Plan is meant to play a key role in the integration and alignment of the intentions of the NDP at national level and PGDP at provincial level on the one hand, with the activities of local government operating at the coalface of implementation and interaction with constituent communities on the other.
The aim of the DGDP is therefore to translate the Provincial Growth and Development Plan into a detailed implementation plan at a district level, inclusive of clearly defined targets and responsibilities thus enabling the province to measure its progress in achieving the accepted growth and development goals. In addition to the more detailed focus on the interventions identified by the PGDS-PGDP, the DGDP is expected to propose specific milestones that will have to be achieved per priority sectors. This will be refined in a collaborative approach with all the relevant stakeholders to ensure ownership of targets that will be set for specific time horizons.
The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Planning Commission facilitates and supports the lead departments to develop detailed trajectories to ensure that the roadmap is clear on what is required to achieve the 2030 Vision for KwaZulu-Natal. The current DGDP is due for a review as it was developed in 2014.
The District Municipality recently development a DGDP. This was done to compile a comprehensive and strategic vision and direction for growth in the District until the year 2030. The long-term vision for uMkhanyakude District as outlined in the DGDP is simply and clearly “uMkhanyakude Metro by 2030”. The vision is said to be about two things; (1) the resolve by the family of Municipalities to bridge the urban/rural divide insofar as the development of the District needs to ensure that all the people of the District need to have access to and enjoy the conveniences of a metropolitan city; and (2) to rally the people of the District around one large, long term planning idea.
The uMkhanyakude District Growth and Development Plan (2014) is intended to translate the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy into a more localised and implementable plan at a district level. It identifies several strategic objectives and then details the strategic programmes and key intervention areas required to ensure the realisation of those objectives. Furthermore, it also maps out a spatial vision for the district and details the various key elements forming part of the spatial vision and notes the following strategies within Jozini:
- Agricultural development in the irrigated areas mainly located in the east and southeast of Jozini Town (Mjindi Area, Qokolwane, and to the north of Mkuze).
- Establishment of Regional Innovation and Technology Hubs in major centres including Jozini and Mkuze.
- Development of formal rental housing opportunities in the Lake Jozini Precinct.
- Establishment of a Hydro-electrical scheme at Jozini Dam wall which generates about 5 – 8 MW power.
These spatial development elements identified at a district level will inform the Jozini MSDF.
The Alignment of the PGDS and UMkhanyakude DGDP can best be summarized as follows:
PSEDS
The first PSED was adopted in 2007 but nearly a decade later it is necessary to review and update the first generation PSEDS for the following reasons:
- The strategy was simply “out-of-date” as much of the previous strategy focused on time bound events such as the FIFA World Cup.
- The policy context has changed as many of the development frameworks have evolved.
- At a global level, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have replaced the Millennium
- Development Goals (MDGs) and nationally the New Growth Path (2010) and the
- National Development Plan (NDP) at a provincial level, the Provincial Growth and
- Development Strategy (PGDS) of 2012 has been updated in 2016.
- The need to guide the economic cluster of provincial departments as to “where to intervene?” and “what to intervene in?”
- There is a need to revise the original nodes and corridors framework to match changes in the province and region since 2006.
- This strategy document therefore seeks to address the four issues outlined above as follows:
- First identify development corridors and nodes;
- Devise an objective criterion for geo-referencing and mapping: mapping the corridors, nodes, PSEDS regions and catalytic projects;
- Ensure stakeholder involvement in the development of the strategy; and
- Outline the roles and responsibilities of the various implementation agencies.
The first step in developing the second generation PSEDS is to objectively identify the nodes. Four types of nodes may be identified based on the justification for the intervention, namely: (1) Provincial Priority Nodes that consist of (a) Economies of Scale Nodes (b) High growth / Strategic Nodes, and (c) Local Influence Nodes and (2) Poverty Intervention Nodes.
Provincial Priorities
Provincial Priority interventions are defined as government interventions that have a province wide significance, i.e. interventions that either impact the province or multiple districts within the province. Provincial Priority Nodes are therefore nodes where interventions may be conducted that have a province wide impact.
Economies of Scale
Economies of scale interventions are conducted in areas with a large population or high population may enjoy economies of scale advantages in that the benefits of a small investment can potentially be enjoyed by a disproportionately large number of people. Economies of Scale Nodes therefore typically have a large population. The economic activities that are most suitable in Economies of Scale Nodes are mass production processes that are labour intensive and require a broad skills base.
High Growth / Strategic
High growth /strategic interventions occur in locations that do not necessarily have a large or concentrated population but have a population that is growing rapidly. The economic activities that are most suitable in High Growth / Strategic Nodes are largely socio-economic in nature i.e. infrastructure spending etc. to deal with the growing population.
Poverty Intervention:
Poverty Priority interventions are government interventions targeted at addressing poverty, low employment and spatial isolation. Poverty Nodes are therefore essentially poverty hotspots. To identify and characterize the nodes for KwaZulu-Natal, the following information was taken into consideration:
Local Influence
Local influence interventions are interventions that only have an impact on the local economy at district or municipality level. Local influence nodes are therefore nodes that provide services to a sub-regional community. The focus of investments should therefore be in promoting integration, transport linkages and service delivery infrastructure.
PSEDS Development Strategies
The government’s role in socio-economic development and transformation is that of providing leadership and acting as a catalyst by creating an enabling environment. There are several intervention mechanisms at the government’s disposal. Some of the main ones are:
- Investing and providing support to targeted economic growth sectors;
- Providing support to small and medium enterprises;
- Developing the skills base of the labour force;
- Economic empowerment of the historically marginalized;
- Expanded public works programme (EPWP);
- Intergovernmental relations within South Africa and sometimes across the region;
- Integrated Development Plans;
- Mainstreaming transversal issues such as HIV / AIDS.
These mechanisms need to be co-ordinated. The inclusion of the results of the Comparative Advantage Study as well as the District Economic Drivers report in the new generation PSEDS is an endeavour to provide some guidance around what development projects to invest in within each district, node and corridor.
The New Growth Plan
The main thrust of The New Growth Path is identification of strategic areas where employment is possible, then it analyses the policies and institutional developments required to take advantage of employment opportunities. The Municipality through EPWP is ensuring that it aligns itself with the proposals for the New Growth Path.