LITERATURE REVIEW FROM A SOUTH AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE
3.3 THE COMMUNITY-BASED PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAMME (1994 TO 1996)
3.3.1 BACKGROUND AND BRIEF ABOUT THE PROGRAMME
In 1994 South Africa held its first democratic general election and a new Government (the Government of National Unity) was elected to lead South Africa.
However, the Government of National Unity inherited from its predecessors a high level of unemployment, poverty, illiteracy, infrastructure backlogs and political problems. In an attempt to address these problems, the Government of National Unity introduced the Reconstruction and Development Programme (Mthombeni, 1996:143). This primary programme consisted of several secondary programmes that served as a delivery mechanism of the Reconstruction and Development Programme.
These primary programmes included, amongst others, the Independent Relief and Development Programme, the Employment Creation Programme and the National Public Works Programme. The National Department of Public Works was conceived as one of the most important role players and stakeholders in the delivery mechanism of the Reconstruction and Development Programme. The primary implementation of the National Public Works Programme was carried out through the Community-Based Public Works Programme (CBPWP). The objectives of the CBPWP were to use highly labour-intensive, capacity building for communities, and a high level of job creation through the construction of infrastructural assets.
Initially the CBPWP was to be a short-term programme with a focus on quick delivery and the piloting of approaches for the longer-term National Public Works Programme. With this programme the National Department of Public Works also wanted to demonstrate to government and the Private Sector how sustainable infrastructure backlog could be addressed with active involvement of communities without large-scale use of machinery and without lowering the standard of the end product (Mthombeni 1996:46).
As a delivery mechanism the CBPWP was to meet the expressed needs of the poorest communities for infrastructure and services. It was also recognised that, during the first year, the CBPWP could be used as a mechanism to capacitate provinces to implement development projects. It should also be noted that the Government of National Unity sub-divided South Africa into nine (9) provinces after the 1994 general elections.
The CBPWP consists of a governmental component through the Provincial Departments of Works in each of South Africa‟s nine (9) provinces, and a non-governmental component administered through NGOs that have a commendable record of management of projects and adherence to the principles of the CBPWP.
Mthombeni (1996:6;47) states that the Government of National Unity allocated ZAR250 million to the National Department of Public Works for the fiscal year 1994 to 1995. ZAR150 million was to be shared amongst the provinces in accordance with four (4) indices including levels of unemployment, poverty, need for skills and need for infrastructure. The remaining ZAR100 million was allocated to the four (4) NGOs chosen as they had a proven capacity to distribute funds.
Initially the CBPWP was a community-managed programme that was implemented by a CBPWP unit within each of the Provincial Departments of Works. Funds were allocated to the Provincial Departments of Works who were responsible for identifying projects from applications received from communities. The projects were chosen using the following CBPWP criteria: highly labour-intensive; community involvement in identifying needs and priorities; management and maintenance plans of assets created; usefulness of facilities and assets for improvement of community welfare; incorporation of training and capacity building in the programmes, and their design and implementation ability.
Funds were then transferred from the Provincial Departments of Works into community bank accounts for the planning and implementation of the projects.
Communities were, in turn, responsible for appointing designers and trainers in order for these projects to be designed and then implemented by the community workforce.
Mthombeni (1996:6;47) notes that for the NGO component the following four (4) NGOs were included: the Independent Development Trust‟s Community Employment Programme (ZAR70.25 million), the Siyakha Sugar Community Development Programme (ZAR12.0 million), Youth Supported Projects (formerly the National Youth Service Initiative) (ZAR8.9 million) and the Transkei Community School Building Trust (ZAR4.0 million).
The CBPWP had numerous organisational problems that developed from inappropriate administrative and institutional arrangements. Wage levels and other benefits were not clearly defined and CBPWP workers were contracted outside of formal employment conditions. Policies were often made without the flexibility to adapt to different circumstances and project types, for example, the Community Employment Programme recommended a very low blanket wage level as a vital
“self-selection mechanism” that would make sure that only the poorest people were employed. However, this policy did not take into consideration the differences in economic development and unemployment levels across the country.
The communities involved had insufficient technical capacity and there was little technical support and training. Technical assistance was often missing at the planning stage, which led to inappropriate project choices. Issues like affordability and sustainability were sometimes neglected. Important aspects – such as
maintenance plans – were omitted, despite the fact that they were required by the project syntax selection criteria. Women, making up the largest proportion of the rural poor and the key target of the CBPWP, were not involved in the planning stages of projects and were usually involved only during implementation.
3.3.2 SUMMARY OF SHORTCOMINGS
In summary, the following shortcomings were noted:
Despite the fact that CBPWP was a pilot programme, there was no effective monitoring and evaluation programme that led to a realignment of the National Public Works Programme based on the lessons learnt.
It is clear that the National Department of Public Works did not fully take into consideration some of the lessons learnt from the other employment creation and infrastructure provision experiences.
Important aspects were neglected, such as involvement of women at an early stage; maintenances plans; technical assistance at the planning stages, and training and technical development.
The State budgetary processes did not allow for sufficient planning time at a provincial level.
3.3.3 CONCLUSIONS
From Mthombeni (1996) it is clear that the CBPWP failed in that:
One (1) of the key indicators of the progress of the provincial aspect of the CBPWP up until 1996 was that only a very small proportion (14 %) of the allocated budget was spent.
There was a lack of appropriate labour standards and regulations and no suitable wage policy for community-based projects aimed at the poorest of the poor.
Since delivery was a key focus area, CBPWP did not place sufficient importance on a preparation and learning period for South African public institutions.