South Africa Overview

South Africa is situated at the southern tip of the continent of Africa, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and the Indian Ocean on the south and east.  It is neighboured by Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, and surrounds Lesotho which is situated within South Africa’s borders. There are nine provinces in South Africa – Gauteng, Western Cape, Kwazulu Natal, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Free State and the North West. Pretoria is the executive capital and Cape Town the legislative capital.  South Africa is a vast country with a surface area of over 1.2 million square kilometres, and a coastline of nearly 3,000 kilometres with a climate that varies from region to region.

It has been fifteen years since South Africa made the transition from apartheid to constitutional democracy, yet the legacy continues to shape current economic, political and social development.  Whereas the political transition has been relatively smooth and some stratas of society enjoy socio-economic conditions equivalent to those in the developed world, others experience extreme deprivation, exclusion and poverty levels comparable with those of least-developed countries.  A huge economic disparity exists amongst the population and the Government faces an uphill struggle in extending opportunities to all and improving the delivery of public services.   Almost 50% of the non-white population live below the national poverty line. While South Africa’s richest are continuing to expand their wealth, negligible progress has been made in alleviating poverty and reducing the ballooning economic inequality. Despite being a middle income country, South Africa faces huge challenges in addressing the HIV and AIDS pandemic, high unemployment, growing inequality, poverty and crime, in particular gender-based violence.  Although, South Africa has made relatively good progress in advancing some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), poverty and inequality continue to persist.

South Africa has one of the most advanced economies on the African continent; an emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; a stock exchange that is 17th largest in the world and modern infrastructure supporting the efficient distribution of goods to major urban centres throughout the region.  Real GDP grew at an average rate of 3% between 1994 and 2003, and this growth rate increased to 5% during 2004 and 2007 prior to falling to 3% in 2008 as a result of the global financial crisis. The economy has a marked duality, with a sophisticated financial and industrial economy co-existing with an underdeveloped informal economy.  In 2006 the Government launched ASGISA (Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa), with the overarching aim of narrowing the divide between the first and second economies, and ultimately eradicating poverty.  Levels of violent crime in South Africa are amongst the highest in the world.  The unprecedented influx of immigrants and asylum seekers from other parts of Africa (most notably Zimbabweans, Congolese, and Somalis) places further pressure on the economy and the health sector, resulting in clashes and violence as many South Africans feel their livelihoods are under threat.

HIV and AIDS
The HIV and AIDS pandemic continues to be a major threat to economic and social development in South Africa. The first recorded case was diagnosed in 1982 and just over a quarter of a century later, South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV and AIDS infection in the world with an estimated 18.1%  of the adult population (5,700,000 people aged 15 and 49 years) living with HIV in 2009.  Approximately 1,000 people die daily from AIDS related illnesses and the HIV prevalence rate among women attending Ante Natal Clinics has increased to 29%. High female rates of infection is exacerbated by burgeoning levels of gender based violence (i.e. violence that is directed against a person on the basis of gender or sex and is essentially a violation of human rights including acts that inflict physical, mental or sexual harm of suffering). Violence against women in South Africa is widespread and pervasive including forced and child marriages, trafficking, physical and sexual violence. The majority of gender based violence cases remain unreported due to the severe restrictions women face in seeking justice or redress. Crime statistics released by the South Africa Police Service in 2006 showed 55,000 rape cases reported in a single year.

Irish Aid's work in South Africa
Although South Africa is not a designated Programme Country, Ireland has a long history of engagement with South Africa, providing assistance to anti-apartheid groups and Irish missionaries for over one hundred years. Irish Aid began providing bilateral aid in 1994 to assist in the transition from apartheid to a democratic, non-racial Government.  The primary focus of Irish Aid’s programme in South Africa is poverty reduction and assisting those disadvantaged by apartheid and its legacy to attain a decent quality of life.  The Irish Aid programme works closely and in co-operation with South Africa’s national, provincial and local Governments, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) – both Irish and local, and Civil Society Organisations.  The programme seeks to address the needs of previously disadvantaged and marginalised communities.  In 2007, Irish Aid finalised a 5 year programme to provide bilateral assistance to South Africa from 2008 to 2012. The goal of this programme is to contribute to the reduction of poverty and inequality through support for Government and civil society.

Irish Aid’s programme in South Africa targets three areas and aims to achieve the following results:
• Support pro-poor service delivery in Limpopo Province with a special focus on water and sanitation and         education;
• Prevent and respond to HIV and AIDS with a special focus on the needs of women and children;
• Prevent and responding to gender-based.
In 2008, Irish Aid spent over €11 million on this programme in South Africa and the expected expenditure in 2009 will be €6.45 million.   In addition, Irish Aid provides support to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) working in South Africa, in 2008 this amounted to €5.175 million and in 2009 will total over €1,620 million.

Pro-poor Service Delivery in Limpopo Province with a special focus on water and sanitation and education
Irish Aid has a specific geographic concentration in Limpopo province, one of the poorest provinces in South Africa, situated north east of Pretoria and Johannesburg. It is a largely rural area and faces significant capacity challenges in terms of self governance and service provision.  Limpopo has one of the highest proportions of people living on less than $1 a day, aggravated by extreme levels of unemployment (70%). Irish Aid strives to improve pro-poor service delivery to the poorest and most vulnerable with a particular focus on Water and Sanitation, Education and Governance. Working in these three sectors Irish Aid seeks to improve the provincial Government’s ability to manage service delivery; improve the quality and spread of social services; improve government accountability in the delivery of services and improve the ability of civil society to engage and co-ordinate with Government. 

Water and Sanitation
Sustainable access to safe water and sanitation is a priority for the Government of South Africa, nearly 12% of the population lack access to improved water.  Irish Aid supports the Government’s water supply and sanitation programme known as Masibambane.  Masibambane successfully produced a Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp), which has resulted in one strategy, and an integrated work plan for the sector.  Irish Aid supports 'softer' issues around capacity and quality with the aim of ensuring that the policy priorities of the SWAp are included in Limpopo. These policy issues include water for growth and development, gender equity, HIV and AIDS, use of appropriate environmentally sustainable technology, health and hygiene promotion and civil society support (acknowledging the role that NGOs can and should be playing in partnership with government). In addition, Irish Aid supports an NGO consortium of water/sanitation service providers to build their capacity as legitimate partners for government in providing services in rural areas. At present they are providing services across seven locations in rural Limpopo ranging from health and hygiene promotion to supporting water supply using sustainable technology. Furthermore, Irish Aid supports research in the area of water and sanitation, through the National Water Research Commission to develop practical solutions to respond to the vacuum of technical expertise on water and sanitation in the rural areas.

Education
Irish Aid has worked with the Department of Education in Limpopo since 1998.  Activities centre on literacy acquisition, improving school governance and supporting the development of HIV and AIDS and promoting gender equality objectives in the Provincial Department of Education.  Irish Aid provides technical support to the Department of Education to recruit and train staff resulting in an increase in the number of teachers in the subjects of Maths, Science, Accounting, Economics and Business Studies (these subjects were absent from the Bantu Education systems during the era of apartheid).   Irish Aid also maintains its support for bursaries aimed at encouraging disadvantaged women and men to access to higher-level education.

Good Governance
In recognition of the significant role played by civil society in the promotion of human rights and the democratic processes, Irish Aid supports a number of well-established local partners who are making important contributions to the overall policy environment and strengthening the interface between Government and its citizens.  These include the Centre for Conflict Resolution, the Institute for Democracy in South Africa, and the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation.  Irish Aid also assists the Department of Justice as it works to undertake fundamental reforms aimed at improving accessibility and efficiency of the justice system, specifically in relation to the administration of the estates of deceased citizens.

HIV and AIDS
Irish Aid is committed to tackling the HIV and AIDS pandemic and works closely with the Government of South Africa, the UN and Civil Society Organisations to contribute to the mitigation of the impact of HIV and AIDS, with a particular focus on women and children. Irish Aid engages with the Department of Health in Limpopo Province to build the capacity of the health systems and strengthen partnerships between NGOs and the Government.  The impact of HIV and AIDS at the individual, household and community level is clearly visible and having a crippling effect on South Africa’s economic and social progress.  In recent years the National Department of Health has intensified its HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment programmes in response to the escalating demand.  Assistance is also provided to innovative HIV and AIDS interventions that encompass awareness-raising, voluntary counselling and testing, community-based palliative care, care of orphans and vulnerable children, research and advocacy for access to affordable drugs and the promotion of human rights.

Gender Based Violence
Addressing Gender Based Violence (GBV) is a new programme area for Irish Aid.  Irish Aid supports the implementation of the Government of South Africa’s National Action Plan on GBV through building the capacity of government and civil society at national level to respond to GBV.  At a provincial level in Limpopo, Irish Aid is working with the Limpopo Provincial Government and NGOs to support their response to GBV.