UNDP South Africa

The 2002-2006 UNDP Country Cooperation Framework was in response to the strategic priorities of the Government in the areas of transformation for human development, integrated sustainable rural development (ISRD), HIV/AIDS and poverty and environmental development.

Under the ISRD programme, strategic support was provided for the formulation of Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) and the Operationalization of sustainable livelihoods schemes in Limpopo. At the same time the Eastern Cape Province was supported in developing its Provincial Growth and Development Plan (PGDP). Building on these initiatives, UNDP has been working closely with Government departments in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape to strengthen capacity for service delivery utilising Service Delivery Optimisation (SDO) methodologies.

South Africa is committed to fulfilling its constitutional obligations to deliver socio-economic rights within the context of its national plan of action, Vision 2014, and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In South Africa, one of the indicators of progress towards the achievement of the MDGs is the effective and equitable delivery of public services. While significant achievements have already been made in areas such as access to basic water supply, improvement in service delivery remains a priority. Since 1994 South Africa has set out to rigorously dismantle the apartheid system and to create a democratic society based on the principles of equity, non-racialism and non-sexism. To achieve these objectives the Government of South Africa has pledged to promote equality and eradicate poverty (MDGs 1 and 3). The 1994 Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) defined the procedure, and its guidelines have informed all governmental policies post-1994. Through the RDP, a commitment was made to meet basic needs; invest in the economy; democratize the State and society, develop human resources, and build a new South Africa.