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REPORT OF THE CDW TRAINING IN INDIA ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT & MICRO PLANNING, MARCH 2005

A presentation to the Portfolio Committee

9 November 2005

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CONTENTS

1 OBJECTIVES & PURPOSE OF TRIP

2 CONTEXT

3 DELEGATION

4 LESSONS & CONCLUSION

5 RECOMMENDATIONS

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Objectives and purpose of the trip

• To expose the CDW learners to the Indian community work experience gained over decades;

• To expose the CDW learners to the Indian Rural development initiatives, and

• To learn about the local democratic governance system in India, with emphasis on the rural sector community participation approach

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Context

• President ADJ Abdul Kalam visited a High School. He held long discussions with the students. After much discussion a question was asked, “Who is our enemy?” many answers were given. These answers were all discussed, and at the end consensus was reached that the one correct answer is, “Our enemy is poverty”.

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Context

• The study trip was conceived as a part of the agreement between the two countries to exchange training of public servants

• The training would be on human relations management and development

• A hundred places were reserved for SA to send public servants for such training

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Delegation

• Make up of the delegation:– 30 CDWs who included provincial coordinators– 7 officials from The Presidency, DPLG, DPSA,

SAMDI and the GTZ– Provinces selected candidates– Delegation left on 28 Feb. – 6 officials returned after 10 days. Rest of

delegation returned on 2 April

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Location

• The delegation was hosted by the NIRD in Hyderabad

• NIRD were prepared to devise a special programme based on CDW training requirements

• Most lectures took place at NIRD campus• Visits to outlying villages were also

undertaken, for case study purposes

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Lessons

• Curriculum/ Programme developed based on joint discussions

• Lessons learnt in the areas of:

• Local rural self-governance

• Self Help Groups

• Approaches to micro planning

• Sustainability of programmes

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Lessons cont.

• Govt’s challenges & approaches towards the development of poor communities

• Integrated approach to community development

• Historical inputs by great leaders in the form of Mahatma Gandhi

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Rural local self-governance

• Empowering structural organisation of self governance at village level

• Enabling legislation, granting adequate powers and functions for self development

• Women and disadvantaged groups beneficiaries of enabling legislation

• Mysore District govt structure an e.g.

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Self-Help Groups

• These groups implement govt programmes as entailed in the SGSY and SGRY schemes

• They assist families out of the poverty trap.

• The SGSY - self help schemes run by teams of individuals (Stokvel – type schemes)

• The SGRY - govt initiated opportunities to combat poverty (EPWP-type schemes)

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Self Help Schemes cont.

• Govt provides technical assistance, i.e. training & resources

• Govt encourages environmentally friendly practices

• Govt facilitates private sector funding for SHS – mostly through commercial banks

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Micro planning and approaches

• Community Develoment Officers provide technical assistance to communities

• Approaches and techniques are basic and simple for illiterate, elderly people to follow

• Community participation in decision-making is the pillar for development

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Case study approaches

• Social stratification has a large impact on the degree of success

• Case studies were used to look at social development – e.g. in areas of education, health, housing, welfare and micro-economic development

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Conclusion

• India has over 50 years CDW experience, pioneered by Mahatma Gandhi

• The model is different to the concept being developed in SA

• The self governance system has become an institutionalised forum for decentralisation planning and implementation of rural govt programmes

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Conclusion cont.

• SGSY and SGRY schemes are implemented in a pragmatic and effective anti-poverty manner

• These schemes mobilise the community, especially women, and imparts skills and opportunities towards self development

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Recommendations

• Case study approach towards development

• Improve community participation by embarking on simple and relevant engagement techniques

• Provide sufficient resources for self development

• Encourage decentralised planning - IDP