Nedlac's Development Chamber agrees on guidelines for the establishment of local development structures

Friday, February 28, 1997

After an extensive consultation process at provincial and local government level,Nedlac's Development Chamber has agreed to a set of guidelines for the establishment of local development structures, as well as to an implementation plan for these guidelines. Both agreements were ratified by the Nedlac Executive Council at its meeting today.

The Development Chamber's work on developing broad and flexible guidelines for the establishment of development structures at community and local levels was sparked by arecognition that it is at the local level where development is most urgently needed, andthat South Africa's new local authorities and councillors face enormous challenges inpromoting, guiding and facilitating the implementation of local development.

This task is made more difficult by the range of community and local structures that have resulted both from the initiatives of national line-function departments and from the dynamics within communities themselves. The result is that local development is often characterised by tension, confusion and conflict between these structures over scarce resources.

The guidelines agreed by the chamber are a synthesis of the contributions made by the wide range of structures consulted in each province, and are informed by the widely expressed need for flexibility. They are intended to assist and inform community, labour,business and the various tiers of government in their respective endeavours to establishand support local development structures. Stakeholders are expected to draw from and develop the guidelines within the context of their varying needs and priorities.

The agreement identifies two levels of development structures that may be established at local level, namely:

• Local government-level development structures, which would function at the broad level and would include representation from community structures, labour, business, non-governmental organisations, the local authority and other local stakeholders.
• Community-level development structures, which would be broadly representative and representative of a single community within a local authority, and which would comprise all stakeholders in a particular community, for example, civics, resident structures, church groups, etc.

The guidelines also propose a mechanism for participation, particularly aimed at very small local authorities which may lack the capacity to support development structures. The adoption of such a mechanism could involve the local authority liaising directly with the various interest groups and structures in its area of jurisdiction.

The establishment of local development offices is also proposed, with such an office acting as the locus and supporting the partnership between the local authority, local/ward councillors, and local communities/civil society.

Accreditation and procedural guidelines that could facilitate the effective functioning of development structures are also put forward, as well as the process of appointing community development facilitators, their training and building their capacity. The guidelines propose the establishment of a "know-how" database to facilitate the sharing of experiences and the building of closer links with other community development practitioners.

The implementation plan put forward in the agreement focuses on the popularisation ofthe guidelines, as a first step, and identifies and allocates roles and responsibilities to:

• The Department of Public Works, which will, among others, promote the guidelines among national government departments involved in local development initiatives and obtain commitments from them to take responsibility for the implementation of the guidelines.
• Nedlac's Development Chamber, whose implementation task team will meet with provincial forums to request assistance in promoting the guidelines.
• The South African Local Government Association, which will be asked to support and promote the guidelines at local level.
• The business, labour and community constituencies in Nedlac, which will brief target groups and individuals on the guidelines.
• Provincial workshops on the Masakhane campaign, which will be used to promote the popularisation and implementation of the guidelines.