NYC: LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE

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NYC LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
CONFERENCE

• Challenges Facing Developmental Local Government
  in addressing the needs of constituencies by
• S. Phenyane Qaddafi Sedibe,
• S-P-Q Consulting

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Introduction

• To take a look at the specific and generic
  challenges for local government
• To identify the potential future shortcomings and
  then solutions for the issues raised herein
• To solicit rigorous input into the subject and
  set the agenda for influencing LG direction

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Topics of Discussion

• Definitional issues
• The Revised guidelines and their role
• Context from the ministry of Local Government
• The perennial issues Economy, Crime, Disease,
  Infrastructure, Skills/Capacity

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Definitional Issues

• Youth defined in problematic terms
• Breadth of definition too large for specific
  measurement SMART
• We need to place an emphasis on what group we are
  specifically overly concerned about
• We need to be clear about those that constitute a
  limited concern there is more merit in the
  out-of-school youth than in the working youth

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Municipal Focus

• Clear national focus on infrastructure and
  labour-intensive work creation
• E.g. R21,4 bn budgeted for this by DPLG
  Khayelitsha Centre cost R451m to date
• Emphasis of our intervention in the related
  fields of construction, engineering, technical.

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Municipal Focus

• LG IDPs speak about Infrastructure development
  and all else looks rather incidental thereto
• Mbombela, Joburg and PLK IDPs have specific foci
  on these
• How do we mobilise local action to turn the tide
  to favour youth participation as a requirement
• Define what is seen as investment in YD is
  building a stadium, road, housing, advice centre,
  counselling service?

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Real Life in Local Government

• Administrative infrastructure in rural LG is
  poor, e.g. 1980s computers in some
• Inability to raise revenue locally
• Leadership poverty, no uncommon to find
  incapacity here
• Priorities overwhelming
• Low technical capability
• Real growth of over 2.5 in 13 of 53 DM and Metro
  municipalities recorded/3yr

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Real life in LG

• Concerns about procurement outcomes
• Leadership vs. Management often blurred or
  confused
• Often confined to regulations/imagination
• Inability to measure Poverty inability to pay
  for services (18 not assessing 50 not budgeted
  in 7 provinces, 2005)
• Appointments not matched by technical know-how,
  often
• Real poverty issues arise during priority-setting
  stages

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Interventions by Gvt

• This phase of LG is Sustainability phase after
  Stabilisation
• Administrators appointed to help
• New community workers apptd
• DBSA-led technical skills groups identified
  deployed to some
• New Capacity Bldg Grant of R600m available
• R550m for Mun Health Systems

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The Guidelines provide

• Identified 7 areas of common programming in SA to
  measure
• Environmental action
• Skills Development
• Health promotion
• Voluntarism
• Income-generation programmes
• Advisory service/Career guidance
• Sport Recreation

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SO What?

• Need for clarity of vision at all levels
• Challenge for visible action nationally NYC et
  al
• Localise solutions more directly given the
  capacity what can we afford currently or in
  future
• Review what has happened since 2004 Guidelines
  process

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NEXT STEPS

• Define the niche within which YD will be best
  advanced locally
• Measure our local baseline first
• Raise issue with budget allocation
• Know what to do with budget
• Use current interventions to bolster impact of
  the action, e.g. grants
• Measure annual goals openly

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NEXT STEPS

• BEE measures of Youth-owned enterprises as
  service providers
• Setting up the Co-operatives
• Land redistribution as an economic solution for
  rural poor
• Enterprise development in areas that matter
  manufacturing, infrastructure development, etc
  thank you curios!

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CONCLUSION

• Vision is seeing the future with the minds
  eye. Vision is applied imagination! (Covey,
  8th Habit)
• Seeing people through the lens of their
  potentialrather than their current behaviour
  weaknesses, generates positive energy
• NOW, go home and do something!