In the State of the Nation Address (2014), it was pronounced that South Africa still faced the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment. We continue to grapple with these challenges, which have become a central focus of all democratic administrations. The National Development Plan (NDP) affirms that South Africa has the potential and capacity to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality. This, however, requires a new approach, moving away from a passive citizenry of receiving services from the state to one that systematically includes the socially and economically excluded, where people are active champions of their own development, and where Government can work effectively to develop people’s capabilities to lead the lives they desire.

The NDA business model, which includes the Mikondzo approach on social development interventions, provides a relevant platform for the NDA to demonstrate its contribution towards bigger goals of reducing poverty, unemployment and inequalities, while fostering economic growth and job creation. The Mikondzo approach affirms the critical role the NDA has to play in building the development of CSOs working in the most deprived and poorest municipalities in South Africa. Decentralisation of NDA services will, therefore, ensure that the NDA is visible and accessible to communities and that the NDA is able to deliver development services.