Philanthropy. Government. Private sector

1. Philanthropy. Government. Private sector Notes – panel discussion speech 15 november 2010

2. Partnerships - context • Most governments will tell you that there is a realisation that they cannot achieve their objectives with their own limited resources – partnering with private sector, civil society, academia, global donors and partners is now more than ever – non-negotiable. • In the Western Cape, the Premier and Min Theuns Botha – Min of Health and also Leader of Government Business – put this vision into action by the creation of the Strategic Partnerships Department – one that is synonymous with partnering in all shapes, forms and sizes towards finding long-term, sustainable solutions to the various service delivery challenges that we are faced with. • In our province, transversal partnerships and holistic solutions are a golden thread, running throughout the 11 stated strategic objectives of the province and its departments.

3. Growth and development objectives – reaching our Millennium development goals and breaking the cycle of poverty • As government, we have in essence been forced to deal and fund the consequences or effects of things that are in fact entirely preventable – we deal with the downstream effects of the decay of the most basic normative unit – family. • The dissolution of family and community lead into a cycle of poverty, despair and hopelessness – that is perpetuated generationally. • We have excavated the stated objective of breaking the cycle of poverty – and have come to the conclusion that if we are to truly create a province and country where its citizens are well and contributing members of society – then we need to deal with the root causes of the breakdown of family. • A solution is only as good as its parts – and we have identified a strategic continuum that needs to be present in every community for the cycle of poverty to be broken.

4. Growth and development objectives – reaching our Millennium development goals and breaking the cycle of poverty • In essence, we have concluded that we need to recreate something akin to family and community – and that we can only create this strategic continuum by partnering with civil society, philanthropists, private sector and academia. • Government is in essence the catalyst and facilitator – our mandate is to set the agenda. We have to determine what it is that can be achieved and delivered – how achievement will be measured – and we devise the implementation strategies and plans. • We are seldom the actual implementing agents – this is where we turn to civil society and the private sector to make the vision a reality. • What we are all seeing – as government, civil society, private sector, philanthropic investors – in fact, what is frustrating many of us – is that with all of the work that continues to be done – we are seeing little or no improvement in social circumstances or in the fight against HIV/AIDS, TB, Substance abuse, mental illness, physical abuse, neglect – the list of downstream impacts of the cycle of poverty is endless.

5. Whey are we not seeing marked improvements – specifically given all of the organisations working in various sectors and focusing on individual issues • I have come to the conclusion that we are all working in isolation of one another – and not as part of a total solutions continuum. • In some instances, civil society organisations are more concerned about their own survival and/or about the one area that they are working in – that they lose sight of the bigger picture and how what they are doing should feed into an ecosystem that seeks to address the growth and development objectives of the province. • This is where partnering becomes crucial – and where government has the responsibility to assemble as many role players - we have to get around the table – enunciate our stated outcomes and objectives – agree how we measure our success – and then work out what each of our roles is to create a full circle solution. • We cannot claim to have found nirvana or the complete solution as yet – but we believe that we have the beginnings of the elements required to turn around the cycle of poverty and to move towards a society that is more balanced and well.

6. What does the solution begin to look like – turning around the cycle of poverty • It starts with Parenting classes for young pregnant mothers – and includes packages of knowledge around nutrition in context of socio-economic conditions, how to treat basic illnesses, how to stimulate and develop the potential of a child – there is a hunger for this knowledge • Early Childhood Development – this is a focus area on the provincial agenda. Early Childhood Development offers us a 5 year transient window of opportunity. • This is when a child is most receptive to stimulation, knowledge – and where we need to intervene to mitigate the realities of their immediate environment. We need to adapt curriculum and content to include the building up of a moral and ethical value system, self-esteem, independence versus dependence – and we have to include the narrative around HIV/AIDS, substances etc- in a way that is age appropriate. • The outcomes must be focused on what I call creating fertile soil or land – the child that arrives at the door of the primary school must have had his or her potential developed to the maximum so that they are receptive for receiving knowledge – specifically around numeracy and literacy.

7. What does the solution begin to look like – turning around the cycle of poverty • At Primary school level, we must continue with strengthened and deepened focus on Life Skills teaching and must have Social Workers/psychologists and/or nurses on site at the most vulnerable schools – so that we can identify problems as they arise and refer and treat appropriately. Peer educators are vital as well. • Secondary school – a continuum of where we left off at primary school – continuing to keep learners focused on a future that they are in charge of – reiterating that no-one predetermines their futures – but that their actions do. • Central to the success of this model, is the establishment of what I call Community Centres – we need to offer before and after school homework supervision, sustainable sports programmes, Music and Art development, ICT training and access, Skills training, Community Library etc – the model can be adapted to the specific needs of each community. • This becomes a safe space for our children – an alternative to their home, which is often the antithesis of what a home should respresent.

8. What does the solution begin to look like – turning around the cycle of poverty • Within the community settings, we need to set up Mini Enterprise development hubs – where small businesses can be incubated and supported – so that we start creating an economic multiplier effect within each community – driven by market forces of course. • Urban regeneration and greening is paramount – we are all familiar with the concentric emanation effect that this has within communities. • My time is limited and I can of course not go into issues such as access to treatment for HIV/AIDS, the vital role that Patient Advocates play, food gardens etc – suffice to say once one creates a visual representation of what the long term solution looks like – it is a spidergram of inter-relationships – a community eco-system.

9. How do we move forward and partner to make a real difference • The challenges that we face globally are gargantuan – but by dealing with one community at a time- in parallel – we will definitely start seeing measurable improvement in outcomes – gainfully engaged youth and communities will equal higher academic attainment + lower HIV/AIDS infections, prevention of entry into the cycle of substance and alcohol abuse – citizens that are well and contributing positively. • For us to achieve these lofty ideals, we need the assistance of philanthropists – both their financial and technical assistance. We need the skills and knowledge of those working in civil society organisations. • We have to work with private sector organisations to harmonise their goals and objectives and obligations in respect of enterprise development and corporate social investment – with the overall objectives of government and society. • We are in the process of finalising the creation of funding vehicles that will stand at arms length of government – expressly constituted to be able to receive funding and technical assistance – towards delivery of government’s objectives and outcomes.

10. How do we move forward and partner to make a real difference • We are expressly creating these vehicles at arms length with the intent that some of the brightest minds from the private sector will run and manage them – so that we achieve complete transparency, ease of access and speed of implementation. • These vehicles aim to create the enabling environment for all of us to unite our efforts so that we amplify outcomes – and probably do so with fewer human and financial resources than we are individually using at present. • We are all focused on the same end result at the moment – we have just not managed to harmonise our efforts. • Our shop is open for business – this is therefore firstly an acknowledgement and thanks to our philanthropic investors, to civil society organisations and private sector partners – who continue to do wonderful work. • It is in the final analysis an invitation to engage with government – so that we pool our resources, agree on holistic and total solutions – and work together to achieve real results.