Despite numerous setbacks, the TNDT is making steady headway, reports Madeleine Wackernagel
WHEN Eric Molobi, chairman of the Kagiso Trust Investment Company, took on the task of running the Transitional National Development Trust (TNDT), even this veteran of the struggle was not prepared for the battle ahead.
Delays in setting up the trust and frustrations with the decision-making process have meant its initial submission to the National Development Agency (NDA) commission and the deputy president’s office have had to be postponed from end-September. It is now seeking an extension to end-December, in turn delaying its presentation to Parliament until early next year.
Born out of a need to bridge the gap between the government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), traditionally the conduit for service provision beyond the state’s remit, the trust was given a two-year brief, when its role would be taken over by the NDA.
So, armed with – in theory – R50-million in government funds, and another R82-million in aid from the European Union, Molobi set up the trust a year ago, two months after Jay Naidoo, at that time minister without portfolio in the office of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), launched the project.
Molobi’s troubles had only just begun. The money was tied up until the middle of this year; the legal deeds relating to the trust got lost between government departments, so he couldn’t employ anybody, and to date, he has had 1 046 requests for R1,2-billion worth of funds, way beyond his budget.
Sorting the wheat from the chaff has not been easy, but even so, says Molobi, the trust has made headway.
“It is very time-consuming evaluating projects. Half the applications for money that we receive don’t match up to the trust’s criteria. But we have to look at them all individually, and evaluate their strengths.”
Most important, “my career is on the line if we mess this up! We have to be thorough, and if that means the process takes a bit longer, so be it.
“We also can’t bow to political pressure, and indulge certain projects over others.”
Molobi expects some overlap between the trust and the NDA as the latter comes to grips with developing a coherent development strategy.
The trust recommends that the NDA continue to draw on the experience of the many structures within the development sector, to broaden and deepen the NDA process. Molobi also believes the NDA should work with the NGO Coalition, representing about 30 000 bodies around the country; the community-based organisations, as well as the National Economic Development and Labour Council, in addressing the policy requirements of the RDP.
Certainly, the trust, despite its limited lifespan and the concomitant frustrations inherent in a temporary structure, has significant lessons to pass on. In particular, Molobi stresses the need for a coherent policy that distinguishes between crisis funding and longer-term development planning.
Extensive workshops will be held from the beginning of next month in all nine provinces to gather views on the ground from all members of civil society, says Bongi Mkhabela of the NDA commission and RDP office, the idea being to look at the whole area of governance and the relationship between the government and the development sector.
That may entail building on the existing structure or starting from scratch. But whatever the case, the submissions on the NDA are very important, she says, if we are to build a vibrant civil society that is not merely an extension of the civil service, and meets the government’s RDP goals.
Thus the debate will concentrate on finding a new role for the NDA, highlighting its legal status, sources of finance and funding priorities in relation to the government.