GOVERNMENT’S DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS MID-TERM REVIEW -INTRODUCTION
In June this year, Government released a review based on a set of key development indicators that served to assess the progress it made during the first of half of its current term.
The data was compiled by the Policy Coordination and Advisory Services in the Presidency, government clusters and departments, and through the use of official statistics and research by other local and international institutions.
Seventy-two indicators, developed according to international good practice and adapted to South African conditions, were used and were grouped into ten broad themes: economic growth and transformation; employment; poverty and inequality; household and community assets; health; education; social cohesion; safety and security; international relations and governance.
This review appears at face value to be very useful, and it includes a great deal of information in key service delivery areas. However, closer analysis of the document reveals a number of worrying trends.
The review suggests that Government seems to be on course with achieving many of its economic goals. For example, GDP growth has been above the expected 4.5 % growth since 2004 and should reach the aimed 6% by 2010. However, Government’s review contains a number of inconsistencies and inaccuracies, effectively painting a rosier picture than the reality.
When it comes to Governments and their economic achievements the 2006 United Nations Development Report makes an extremely important point in the extract below:
People are the real wealth of nations. That simple truth is sometimes forgotten. Mesmerized by the rise and fall of national incomes (as measured by GDP), we tend to equate human welfare with material wealth. The importance of GDP growth and economic stability should not be understated: both are fundamental to sustained human progress, as is clear in the many countries that suffer from their absence. But the ultimate yardstick for measuring progress is people’s quality of life. As Aristotle argued “Wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking; for it is merely useful and for the sake
of something else.”1 That “something else” is the opportunity of people to realize their potential as human beings. Real opportunity is about having real choices—the choices that come with a sufficient income, an education, good health and living in a country that is not governed by tyranny. As Amartya Sen has written: “Development
can be seen… as a process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy.”
With this in mind, economic indicators included in the review such as unemployment and income can be argued to be more pertinent to the direct well-being of people and in showing Government to be lagging.
The review reveals that:
•Unemployment, when viewed using the broad definition, has only improved by an estimated 3% in five years, from 40.6% in September 2001 to 37.3% in September 2006. This is hardly promising given Government’s goal of halving unemployment between 2004 and 2014.
•While income poverty has in fact declined over the years, this rate of improvement has not come close to that of the rich. The income of the poorest 10% of the population increased by R200 between 1993 and 2006; the income of the richest 10% increased by R21 732 during that same period.
However, where the review truly highlights Government’s failure is with regard to service delivery - the indicators directly related to improving quality of life and access to opportunities.
While this failure will be discussed in greater detail a second problem arises when analysing this review more closely. That is that the data furnished by Government often does not correlate with the figures given in similar international reports.
The consequence is that legitimacy of Government’s review becomes questionable, partic
| Posted on 25/9/2007
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