Civil society and poverty reduction in South Africa

Pro-poor impacts of civil society efforts in South Africa

Civil society has long been at the forefront of major social change, an obvious example of which is the actions of the protest movement which resulted in the eventual overthrow of the apartheid regime. But what role can civil society organisations (CSOs) play in resolving other major social problems of inequity and poverty?

This paper critically examines the role that civil societies in South Africa play in poverty reduction. Drawing on existing literature, in-depth interviewing and data collection, the paper asserts that because the efforts of civil society cannot operate in a socio-political and economic void, CSO initiatives must be linked with government initiatives in order to be effective in reducing poverty in South Africa.

The paper provides the following recommendations to policy makers in bolstering the impacts of civil society as a means of reducing poverty:

strengthen civil society to mobilise the broad constituencies that can sustain political
commitments
create a supportive environment for partnerships with CSOs
encourage CSO participation in policy and programme design.

[adapted from author]

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Civil society and poverty reduction in South Africa