MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
ASSESSMENT REPORT
September 2011
Hon. A Mtsi
Chair of Chairs
Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature
Overview
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Introduction
MDG Assessment
Legislature Role in Monitoring Progress
Challenges Confronted
Conclusion
Introduction
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MDGs – measurable targets with specific timeframes for
collaborative and strategic commitment of resources towards
improvement of socio-economic lives of people
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Coordinate and streamline development policies between
countries
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Incorporated into broad planning framework of individual
countries
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Securing access to basic and socio-economic rights of citizens –
e.g. health, education, sanitation, shelter, clean water, safety and
security
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Important: particularly for African context, to create conducive
socio-political environment
MDG ASSESSMENT:EASTERN CAPE
• Departments have participated in ensuring
MDGs are realised.
• Challenges have been highlighted which states
the difficulty in achieving some of the planned
projects.
• MDG Goals 1 to 7 are outlined as follows:
Goal 1 : ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY &
HUNGER
PROGRAMMES/ PROJECTS
1. Social Development
• 55 women cooperatives aimed at combating poverty and promoting
income generation ventures benefiting 825 households are funded
• Household food production initiatives targeting 2275 poor households
are established to address their immediate need of hunger.
• 500 poor households who are social grant beneficiaries will be linked
to sustainable livelihoods and income generation initiatives towards
self reliance in this financial year.
• Funded projects are trained and mentored on issues of governance
and financial management
• Funding of 25 Youth entrepreneurship development initiatives
Goal 1 : ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY &
HUNGER
•341 Masupa-Tsela Youth Pioneers appointed as Auxiliary Community
Development Practitioners (ACDP) on a permanent basis.
•1000 out of school and unemployed youth appointed as ACDPs
Poverty Coordination
•The Department is mandated to coordinate and integrate anti-poverty
•programmes in all government departments and social partners. War on
Poverty programme was first piloted at Lubala and then extended to the 11
identified poorest municipalities.
•A programme of action was developed with rural Development and Agrarian
•Reform. The programme includes profiling and integrated delivery of services
in war on poverty areas as well as a comprehensive rural development
programme.
Goal 1 : ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY &
HUNGER
2. Health
• Key strategic activities of promoting growth monitoring
practices to communities and at primary healthcare facilities;
in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture ensure that
300 clinics and 30 hospitals have food gardens; 20
cooperatives are developed to improve socio-economic status
of their local communities; and facilitate community
empowerment and awareness on health-related issues.
Goal 1 : ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY &
HUNGER
3.
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Economic Development
Participate in and contribute to programmes that address service delivery
backlogs. Working in collaboration with the Departments of Roads and Public
Works, attention is paid to identifying mechanisms and opportunities to connect
rural villages to towns and cities through a functional road network so as to
increase access to economic activities and opportunities.
The department’s existing co-operatives programme will be intensified to assist in
organising communities to identify, create and exploit local economic
opportunities. The Department hopes that this will assist in mitigating the ravaging
effects of poverty.
Together with its public entities and other departments, the Department aims to
assist rural entrepreneurs to participate in the mainstream economy through the
provision of skills, opportunities and logistics.
Goal 1 : ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY &
HUNGER
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Roads and Public Works
In respect of Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), a target of 68 591 work
opportunities created by the end of 2010/11 financial year was surpassed as the
Province registered 82 696 work opportunities as at the end of December 2010.
The total target for EPWP work opportunities to be created by all EPWP sectors and
public bodies has increased to 94 504.
02 August 2011 saw the launch of Amathuba (Work Opportunities) Portal which is
an interactive database of the unemployed in the Province. This intervention will
also assist in matching available skills with those required by contractors in a given
locality.
The Accelerated Professional Trade Competency Development Programme
(APTCoD) Programme will contract 450 trainee artisans by the end of the financial
year. This will be complemented by the additional 500 young people to be engaged
in the NYS Programme.
400 emerging contractors will be upgraded to higher levels of the Construction
Industry Development Board (CIDB) registration.
The Household Contractor Programme will recruit an additional 6000 persons,
taking the total number to 28 000 across the Province
Goal 1 : ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY &
HUNGER
5. Transport
4,588 work opportunities during 2011/12 will be created under EPWP principles and
guidelines in the following areas:
• Road Ranger project in all six Districts to chase away stray animals on the road;
150 Road Rangers will be employed during 2011/12 financial year.
• Employment contracts for 601 Road Rangers have been verified and renewed.
• Employment of 40 people for maintenance of Bhisho and Mthatha Airports
respectively;
• Employment of people for construction of Pedestrian walkways (85), bicycle
pathways(60) and parking bays for non-motorised transport;
• Employment of people for construction and maintenance of public resting places
along the national roads.
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126 training interventions conducted for beneficiaries, Road Rangers,
District Transport Forums and Junior Traffic Training Centre (JTTC)
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Already 42 Transport Forums have been trained.
Goal 1 : ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY &
HUNGER
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Sports, Arts and Culture
In the Grahamstown National Arts Festival different artists are given an
opportunity to perform and thus get exposure and consequently income. In the
same event 11 craft groups were identified as participants in the South African
Hand-made collection hosted by DTI, which further exposed them to international
markets.
Quality and standard of craft products has proven to be a challenge in the province
and this has negatively affected sales. One of the important elements was the
establishment of 3 cultural hubs in the province to further guide and market
cultural practitioners.
7. Education
• The ECD programme which is a key contributor to the Expanded Public Works
Programme had been conceived to, among others, create jobs for women in
disadvantaged communities while ensuring that the children get a solid foundation
in preparation for subsequent schooling.
GOAL 2: ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY
EDUCATION
1. Education
The Department is experiencing some challenges in programme implementation
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The Back to School Campaign that aims at mobilising out-of-school children.
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The 2009 Mid-Year Estimates from Statistics South Africa indicate that there are
approximately 1 497 739 children in the province of which 1 341 303 are in the
system. This translates to 89, 5% of children between the ages of 7 and 15
attending school. The challenge is effective and efficient implementation of the
plans to mobilise out-of-school children and to retain them in the system.
Challenge is effective and efficient implementation of the plans to mobilise out-ofschool children and to retain them in the system.
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The SNP aimed at promoting access to and attendance of school for those
marginalised through abject poverty
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In spite of systemic and management problems that tend to hinder proper
application of this programme, the Department has made some noteworthy
strides. According to the Department, in 2010/11, 1 480 907 learners benefitted
from the SNP.
Challenges include (i) provisioning of mobile kitchens, (ii) late and non-payment of
service providers, (iii) alleged collusion of officials in defrauding the Department
of funds meant for economic empowerment of poor women, and, (iv) poor
management and control of the programme.
Goal 2 : ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY
EDUCATION
1. Education
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Improving access of 6-year old children to Grade R. The idea is to ensure that more
pre-school children are adequately prepared, both socially and cognitively, for the
first grade of schooling.
• Progress : According to the Education Management Information System (EMIS) of
the Department, the 2009 enrolment for Grade R was 154 514, while the average
enrolment for Grades 1-3 was 190 863. This represents an 81% performance rate.
• Currently, the expansion of ECD provision has resulted in the number of Grade R
learners increasing to 174 723 learners thus exceeding the target of 159 375. 14%
of ECD practitioners had at least a Level 4 qualification in 2009.
• The Department aimed at achieving 26% by end of 2010.
The challenges:
(i) lack of appropriately and adequately resourced centres and the shortage of
appropriately trained teachers hinder effective implementation
(ii) the anomaly of an increased Grade R enrolment and a decreased Grade 1
enrolment, and,
(iii) the Grade 1 Repetition Rate which is still one of the highest in the General
Education and Training (GET) band,
(iv) lack of access to quality Grade R programmes.
Goal 2 : ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY
EDUCATION
1. Education
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The adoption of the no-fee and fee exemption school policies is an endeavour by
the Department to support learners from poorer backgrounds to access education
opportunities.
Progress : Currently 81.7% of schools benefit from the No-Fee School and School Fee
Exemption policies.
The challenges are
(i) Eradicating the huge socio-economic barriers to education and ensuring all children
have an equal opportunity to schooling.;
(ii) low systems capacity,
(iii) staff shortages at district level;
(iv) lack of administrative capacity in Section 21 schools – poorer schools often cannot
properly utilise their full allocation; and,
(v) continuous school quintile contestations by communities.
Goal 2 : ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY
EDUCATION
1. Education
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The School Infrastructure Recovery Plan aims at providing suitable school
infrastructure by eradicating inappropriate and mud structures in the province.
Progress : A series of interventions has been implemented to respond to the complex
crisis of infrastructural backlogs, and these include: the ASIDI Programme in
conjunction with the Department of Public Works; the National Treasury
commitment of R6.36 billion to eradicate these structures, and the Department’s
own budgetary arrangements that include private donors.
Challenges The extent of challenges confronting these efforts are exacerbated by:
(i) the sheer number of these inappropriate and/or mud structures,
(ii) the backlogs,
(iii) the lack of capacity to manage processes related to this problem,
(iv) alleged fraudulent and corrupt practices, (
(v) ‘tenderpreneuring’,
(vi) poor financial management, planning, control, and monitoring, and,
(vii) governance, management, and leadership tensions and conflicts.
Goal 2 : ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY
EDUCATION
2. Safety and Security
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The Department started to implement the Safer Schools Programme in 2008/09
financial year.
The key elements of the programme are to establish School Safety Committees
and formulate School Safety Plans.
In most instances the targets have not been met. Where the School Safety
Committees have been established, they are not functional. The School Safety
Plans have not been formulated for the schools in the programme.
One of the challenges of this programme has been the lack of co-operation
between the Department of Safety and Liaison and the Department of Education
However, the South African Police Services has conducted search and seizures in
most of the schools within this programme.
GOAL 3: PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND
EMPOWER WOMEN
1. Education
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The ECD programme which is a key contributor to the Expanded Public Works
Programme had been conceived to, among others, create jobs for women in
disadvantaged communities while ensuring that the children get a solid
foundation in preparation for subsequent schooling.
Progress and challenges:
(i) Monitoring of this programme is not as effective as required
(ii) Other social needs cluster departments like Health and Social Development, do
not adequately assist in offering relevant services to this programme, and,
(iii) the impact on poverty alleviation among women is not properly monitored and
measured
GOAL 3: PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND
EMPOWER WOMEN
2. Safety and Security
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The Crime Awareness Campaigns are held in communities to teach, inform and
discourage the commission of crimes against women and children. In most
instances the targets have been met by the Department.
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The main challenge confronting this programme is to gauge whether it is
making the necessary impact on communities and the levels of such impact.
GOAL 4: REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY
1. Health
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The Department identifies a number of annual indicators related/responding to
infant and child mortality targets. These include, inter alia:
Immunisation coverage for under 1 year-old (EC = 90.6% measured against a national
average of 95.5% as at 2009/2010) – the 2011/2012 target is 92%;
Vitamin A coverage for 12 to 59 month-year olds (EC = 93.1% measured against a
national average of 36.6% as at 2009/2010) the 2011/2012 target is 67%(page 140
APP);
Measles first dose under 1 year coverage (EC = 93.9% measured against a national
average of 98.8% as at 2009/2010) – the 2011/2012 target is 95%;
Pneumococcal Vaccine (PCV) 3rd dose coverage (EC = 38.5% measured against a
national average of 23.1% as at 2009/2010) - the 2011/2012 target is 60%;
Rota Virus 2nd dose coverage (EC = 35.2% measured against a national average of
34.7% as at 2009/2010) – the 2011/2012 target is 60%;
Babies testing PCR positive six weeks after birth as a proportion of babies tested at
six weeks (EC = 9.7% measured against a national average of 11% as at 2009/2010) –
the 2011/2012 target is 8%; and
Facilities equipped with 60% health professionals trained in IMCI targeted at 70 out
of a total 580 facilities targeted to be implementing IMCI.
GOAL 5: IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH
1. Health
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According to the Department, the number of women dying due to
pregnancy related conditions (maternal deaths) had been increasing over
the years (Figure 10).
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A 15% decrease was observed in number of maternal deaths reported
during 2010.
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A total of 229 maternal deaths were reported against 269 reported in
2009; this translates to a facility-based maternal mortality ratio of 188 per
100,000 live births.
GOAL 6: COMBAT HIV/AIDS, MALARIA AND
OTHER DISEASES
1. Health
TB
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The TB programme has for the first time achieved and exceeded the set target for
the TB cure rate of 65%; the latest cure rate in the EC Province achieved during
2010 under review was 66%.
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Five out of seven districts achieved 70% cure rate and above, with Chris Hani
District having the highest rate of 76.2%. With this highly promising and motivating
performance coupled with the provision of adequate resources and strong political
support, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation of achieving an
85% target to overcome the burden of TB in the Province could be realized.
HIV and AIDS
• The percentage of pregnant women infected with HIV in the Eastern Cape Province
had been increasing over the years and reached a peak at 29.1% in 2006. The
prevalence trend has reached a plateau with the latest prevalence of 28.1%. The
Nelson Mandela Metro had the highest prevalence of 30.7% followed by the OR
Tambo district with 29.8%.
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In spite of this performance, critical challenges remain. These relate to the underexpenditure of HIV/Aids allocations, lack of effective ventilation protocols and poor
infrastructure, particularly in TB hospitals, and infrastructure backlogs in terms of
upgrades, revitalisation, etc.
Goal 7: ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL
SUSTAINABILITY
1. Human Settlements
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Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality – Zanemvula project – Progress to date include
installation of solar energy to a thousand houses. A community capacity building
programme in partnership with the Sustainability Institute of the University
Stellenbosch has commenced.
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Ndlambe –Thornhill project – 509 housing units have been completed and handed
over to rightful beneficiaries. In addition, energy efficient external windows achieving
a good daylight factor have been installed. The Ndlambe -Thornhill mixed-mode
development puts emphasis on low and middle income integration through
significant Private Sector investment in this project.
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Mbhashe – Elliotdale project – The Development Bank of Southern Africa has been
appointed as an Implementing Agent to construct 1000 housing units. Government`s
Breaking New Ground (BNG) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)
Sustainable Development respective programmes have been merged to model a
Rural green building housing concept for South Africa in this area.
Goal 7: ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL
SUSTAINABILITY
1. Human Settlements
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KSD – Ngangelizwe project – Planning for 200 units is at an advanced stage. The
establishment of an Innovation Hub which promotes a range of alternative
construction technologies is apace. A community capacity building programme in
partnership with the Sustainability Institute of the University Stellenbosch has
commenced.
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BCM – Duncan Village – This project has been escalated to a Presidential status
project, with the National Department of Human Settlements and the Development
Bank of Southern Africa providing programme and project management support
Goal 7: ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL
SUSTAINABILITY
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Local Government and Traditional Affairs
The department monitors backlogs eradication on a quarterly basis.
Sector departments provide data on a quarterly basis to DLGTA, with DWA
responsible for Water, DHS for Sanitation, DEDEA for Refuse removal and DoE
(ESKOM) for Electricity. DLGTA is responsible for consolidation of the 5 Year Local
Government Strategic Agenda (5YLGSA) which is escalated to DCOG for reporting to
Cabinet Legkotla.
The challenge with this programme is the authentication of the data – whether it is
credible or not, due to lack of monitoring systems at provincial and municipal level,
leading to fluctuation of data.
This situation was evident with the smallest programme of Bucket Eradication
Programme (BEP), where there were conflicting data from various sectors (DWA,
DLGTA, municipalities, NGOs, etc).
Although most municipalities did report on BEP (in the Formal Settlements) that the
target for Dec 2007 was met, there are still very few WSA (Water Services
Authorities); municipalities (Chris Hani DM, Amathole DM and Makana LM) that did
not meet the target.
Goal 7: ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL
SUSTAINABILITY
1. Oversight
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As part of oversight, the following activities are embarked on by Portfolio
Committees to assess progress and socio-economic impact of government
programmes and projects:
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Scheduled oversight visits;
Impromptu visits (particularly visits to schools at the beginning of each financial year);
Focused (re-active) interventions as when necessary;
Budget analysis and performance monitoring through in-year monitoring (quarterly and annual reports);
Expenditure tracking through six-monthly Financial Oversight processes;
Monitoring of implementation of House Resolutions
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All these processes culminate in reports – with findings and recommendations –
which are tabled in the House, and referred to Departments for implementation.
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The Legislature, through the Committees’ technical support staff, track this
implementation and holds government Departments to account for nonimplementation.
THE ROLE OF THE EPCL
IN ASSESSING IMPLEMENTATION OF MDGs
2. Public Participation
• The Legislature encourages public participation in policy and law-making processes
through the following means:
• Public hearings;
• Public education and participation through sectoral parliaments (institutionalised
days)
3. Law-Making
• The law-making processes of the Legislature are largely driven by the introduction of
new and amendment Bills.
• The Legislature, in turn, facilitates publicity and public hearings on specific pieces of
legislation before submitting negotiating and final mandates.
CHALLENGES
Common challenges experienced by Portfolio Committees are :
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Poor coordination, and monitoring and evaluation of projects by
Departments.
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Lack of human capital and skills/expertise to effectively and efficiently
implement Departmental projects.
Quality of information provided by government departments does not
allow for Portfolio Committees to make a meaningful assessment of
progress made in implementation of MDGs and the socio-economic
impact thereof;
The tight schedule of the Legislature does not allow for a specific and
rigorous process of overseeing monitoring and evaluation (M&E)
mechanisms of Departments and verifying progress made with respect to
MDGs;
Recurrent findings and recommendations/House Resolutions that are not
implemented by Departments and no effective measure to enforce
compliance;
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Conclusion
ECPL, with its mandate to conduct vigorous
oversight in the Eastern Cape, is
committed to guarantee all Departments
carry their mandate through projects and
programmes effectively to ensure better
life for the people.
THANK YOU