President Thabo Mbeki outlined some of the key thrusts of a developmental state in a statement in January 2007:  ‘… we have been hard at work since 1994 to push back the frontiers of poverty, recognising that no people can be truly free until they have cast aside the shackles of poverty and underdevelopment’. He went on to say that, ‘… the eradication of poverty has been at the centre of our policies and programmes since the first democratic elections. Drawing on our experience of the first 10 years of freedom and building on the firm foundation laid by our people, in 2004 we identified the goal of halving poverty in South Africa by 2014’.

A developmental state is an interventionist state, characterised by the following features:

• It is a state which stimulates growth through redistribution and broadening participation in the economy.
• It uses its resources wisely to provide social safety nets to the poor and vulnerable, while ensuring that these safety nets are sustainable over time and do not trap people on that level.
• It must have a commitment to provide basic services to the general public for the improvement of quality of life.
• It creates a conducive environment for citizens to take advantage of opportunities for their own development.
• It establishes clear social and economic goals to guide development.

The vision of a developmental state, as outlined above, is not a new concept in South Africa, and indeed we should not underestimate the work already done in this regard in KwaZulu-Natal. We have set up programmes aimed at fighting poverty, creating jobs, and promoting social inclusion and equality, and we are pleased to be able to report that these have already begun to bear fruit.

• The Gross Domestic Product per Region (GDP-R) of the province of KwaZulu-Natal is now the second largest in the country after Gauteng. Our GDP-R growth rate rose from only 1.0% in 1999 to a staggering 5.3% in 2005 – a trend that suggests the provincial economy has the potential to reach 10% growth rate by 2014.
• Provincial Government managed to reduce the unemployment rate from 36.3% in 2003 to 29.9% in 2006.
• Linked to that, the poverty rate in the province decreased from 54.0% in 2004 to 51.9% in 2005, a trend that if continued could see great strides made in the coming years.
• The literacy rate in the province has improved to the commendable level of 88.6%.

A developmental state is the realisation that there is no such thing as a short-term solution. The only real solution worth achieving is one built on sustainability. A developmental state helps people by enabling them to help themselves. The above statistics illustrate the steps the province has taken towards improving the quality of life of its people, and if we are able to develop these successes, the future looks bright indeed.

Contact the KZN Office of the Premier:

Contact: Mr Cecil Msomi
Tel: +27 33 341 3342
Fax: +27 33 345 8490
Email: damanezp@premier.kzntl.gov.za

www.kwazulunatal.gov.za