In line with government’s War on Poverty, and in the wake of the economic results of the global financial crisis, the role of the National Development Agency (NDA) in South Africa is clear. The NDA’s mandate remains to support and to strengthen civil society organisations (CSOs) in the pursuit of programmes that meet the development needs of the most vulnerable of our society – the rural poor, women, youth and the disabled.

The NDA Strategic Document 2009 – 2012, sets out in detail exactly how the NDA will fulfil its mandate over the next three years. In the process, what also emerges is the cross-cutting nature of the NDA’s activities, for instance in the fields of agrarian, rural and local economic development (LED). The NDA Strategy underscores the need for a more integrated, coordinated approach to poverty eradication.