We read your report (August 24) on the National Development Agency (NDA) with dismay but not surprise. Anyone in the field of funding and poverty relief knows about the debacle surrounding the transformation of the old Transitional National Development Trust (TNDT) into the NDA. But we had not thought it was so bad. You report that there are no less than six “executive directors” earning up to R450 000 each. One has to be rich to help the poor, it seems.
It seems to us high time that the responsible ministers (Trevor Manuel, Alec Erwin and Zola Skweyiya) and President Thabo Mbeki answer some pertinent questions:
Why has the NDA been allowed to descend into utter incompetence without drastic political intervention?
Why is another pro-poor funding initiative the Lotto moneys apparently on the way to aping the abysmal performance of the NDA? (Mr Erwin, we would really appreciate an answer.)
Why not call in non-governmental funders with a proven track record of serving poor communities, even if only as an interim measure, to disburse funds to NGOs they know are doing excellent pro-poor work?
In fact, why not disband the NDA and the Lotto apparatus and simply allocate the money to experienced not-for-profit funders with staffs that work efficiently at far less than R450 000 a year? A list of such funders is readily available from the South African Grantmakers’ Association.
As a small outfit that annually receives numerous reports on NGOs performing absolutely sterling work for the poor with little or no government support, we would be happy to lend a hand, though there are many other organisations that will also do the job without red tape or corruption. R Kadalie and J Lever, Impumelelo Innovations Award Trust