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.
Through its Vision 2014, the government continues to pursue these commitments and has further sharpened the focus of its resolve. For instance, it was recently decided that South Africa must halve poverty and unemployment by 2014 (hence Vision 2014). Initiatives such as the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa, comprehensive anti-poverty and social cohesion strategies, and capacity-building initiative seek to ensure that poverty and unemployment will indeed be halved by 2014. In the more specific area of service delivery, the government has also committed to the provision of safe potable water to all by 2008 and universal access to energy by 2012. In his State of the Nation address to the country in 2007, the President of South Africa, reiterated his government's firm position that "the struggle to eradicate poverty has been and will continue to be a central part of the national effort to build the new South Africa."
The 2005 South Africa's Millennium Development Goals Country Report indicated that South Africa (SA) had already met some of the MDGs targets and that for those that had not yet been achieved the country was well oncourse to achieve them. In fact in most cases, SA has set earlier deadlines than those of the MDGs, including close monitoring of progress. South Africa is classified as a middle-income country, with a GDP per capita ofapproximately R35 9701 (or US $5 321), with GDP of R1 725.828 billion (or US $255.3 billion) in 2006 and a population estimated at about 47 million. Since 1994, economic growth has been positive (with the exception of 1998 due to the East Asian crisis and other factors). Real GDP growth in 2006 was at around 5% and employment creation is improving.
The 2005 report alluded to unique difficulties pertaining to comparative data in South Africa, deriving from the fact that, prior to 1994 a number of regions in the country - largely the poorest areas - were classified as "independent homelands" and therefore excluded from the country's data. Further, the data collected through each successive Income & Expenditure Survey (IES) and the GHS, for instance, continues to improve as the methodologies get refined more and more. This however makes comparability of data difficult across the various data collection periods.
Since 1994, SA has undertaken various reforms - legislative, institutional,administrative, and otherwise - in order to create a climate conducive for theimprovement of the quality of life of all South Africans and ensure that SA contributes to the creation of a better Africa and a better world in line with theideals of our Constitution. In many cases, specific goals and targets have beenset. Assessment of progress towards the realisation of Government objectiveshas been done at several points, the most notably being the Ten Year Review. Further, progress is assessed on an ongoing basis and regularly reported onthrough various medium, including progress on the Government Programme of Action, State of the Nation Address, Budget Vote Speeches, Parliamentary Media Briefings, etc.
In the Ten Year Review done towards the end of the First Decade of Freedom, government emphasised the need for better monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of its programmes. Subsequently, Cabinet approved a set of key development indicators to provide evidence-based pointers to the evolution of our society. Based in part on Ten Year Review's human development indicators, in 2007 Government compiled and published data on 72 indicators, informed by international good practice adapted to South African conditions. According to the South Africa MDG country report, the current assessment of the country's performance suggests some of the MDGs have already been met. This is attributed to the fact that when the new democratic government came into being it set itself many targets similar to those articulated in the 1990 Millennium Declaration.
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Using national estimates of poverty and inequality in South Africa, in 2000, 11% of people were living on less than US$1 a day and 34% were living on less than US$ 2 a day. Using expenditure share measures (i.e. the proportion of expenditure for each quintile of households in South Africa, between 1995 and 2000), in 2000 the poorest 20% accounted for 2.8% of total expenditure. In contrast, the wealthiest 20% of households accounted for 64.5% of all expenditure in 2000. Income inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient, in South Africa was at 0.59 when social transfers are excluded. It declines to 0.35 when including social transfers. There are many on-going programmes and new ones that are aimed at improving the profile of South Africans.Social assistance grants increased from R10 billion in 1994 to R37.1 billion in 2004 with beneficiaries growing from 2.6 million to 7.9 million during the same period. 
Since 1994, South Africa has seen massive shifts of resources in the education sector, and its budget allocation stands at R81.995 billion in the current financial year rising to R89.537 billion and R96.732 billion respectively in the outer two years of the current MTEF - making education the single largest budget item (about 6% of GDP). As a proportion, this is amongst the highest in the world. With regard to achieving universal primary education for both girls and boys, there has been a steady, non-linear increase in the enrolment between 1999 and 2002 with enrolment increasing from approximately 150 000 to 280 000.
For South Africa, the gross enrolment ratios (GERs) suggest that a relatively small percentage of primary school aged children are not at school. Data from the General Household Survey of 2003 confirm that over 95% of both boys and girls aged 7 - 13 years were reported to be attending school. The ratio of girls and boys enrolled in primary school in the period 1990 - 2001 was fairly equal accordance with the demographic picture in the country. Gross enrolment ratio (GER) and gender parity index (GPI) estimates confirm these trends at primary level. Girls tend to outnumber boys in secondary school enrolment. A larger proportion of females than males, therefore, benefit from secondary education.
Preliminary figures from the 2003 SADHS suggest that infant and under-five mortality rates have remained relatively constant since the 1998 estimates, decreasing by 0.5% and 0.3% respectively. The Free Health Care policy resulted in an increase in the number of outpatient departmental visits since the inception of the programme. For paediatric cases the attendance increased by 102%, thus broadening the statistical base and improving monitoring among the poor.
Results from reports of the National Committee on Confidential Inquiry for the period 1999-2001 highlight major causes of maternal mortality. These include: non-pregnancy related infections (31,4%); complications of hypertension in pregnancy (20,7%); obstetric haemorrhage (13.9%); pregnancy-related sepsis (12,4%); and pre-existing medical conditions (7,0%).
Dedicated expenditure on HIV and AIDS programmes across national departments has increased from about R30 million in 1994 to R342 million in 2001/02. This excludes allocations from provincial equitable share. Expenditure is further set to increase to R3,6 billion in 2005/06. This increased expenditure funds a comprehensive prevention, care and treatment programme.
Since 1994, environmental issues have moved into the socio-political arena. They bring together human rights, access to natural resources, social justice, equity and sustainability. In the last eleven years, Government has focused on prioritising people's needs while safeguarding the country's natural assets. The range of legislative, policy and institutional developments that have occurred over this period have brought about a new environmental management approach, based on recognition of the contribution that the country's biological resources in relation to food security, science, the economy, cultural integrity and well-being make. Also, between April 1994 and March 2005, approximately 2,4 million housing subsidies were approved. During the same period, 1,74 million housing units were built.
South Africa actively supports a number of advocacy and awareness-raising efforts aimed at promoting the achievement of the MDGs by developing countries, with particular emphasis on the continent of Africa. In the latter regard, South Africa has played a leading role in championing the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), which is Africa's primary socioeconomic development programme through which the MDGs are addressed.
