PHOTO: #NonprofitKagiso Trust collaborated with the Social Justice Assembly to hold the Extraordinary Civil Society Summit. This event take place from 22-24 November and it is will benefit from the research and studies conducted by various civil society organizations to assess the status of the NGO sector.
One of the topics the summit focuses on is Social compacts Lisa Seftel, Nedlac Executive Director; spoke on social compacts in place to resolve the challenges faced by the country.
Seftel said Nedlac facilitated a number of
national initiatives that can be labeled as social compacts. These include the
Presidential Job Summit, the Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Plan, the
Social Compact to Support Eskom, and the Response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Social partners agreed on 77 different actions
that would retain and create jobs under Presidential Job Summit. However, the
job targets were not met, but a number of restrictions on job creation were
identified and worked on,” said Lisa Seftel.
South Africa faced an economic crisis due to
COVID-19 pandemic, and the government and social partners agreed on the key
economic recovery measures. However, the roles and responsibilities of
different social partners in implementing the ERRP were not clear.
A social compact to support Eskom was initiated
in 2019 when the country faced an energy crisis. The aim of the compact was for
the government to commit to improve Eskom, stop corruption, make it easier for
the private sector to supplement generation capacity, and initiate a just transition
process.
According to Lisa Seftel, an implementation
plan was developed, and Nedlac structures were set up to track implementation
and coordinate areas of collaboration. The envisaged deal did not happen;
however, transparency and engagement led to an understanding of the nature of
the Eskom crisis and its links to the energy crisis.
Seftel said during the pandemic, a Nedlac
COVID-19 Rapid Response Task Team met regularly to respond, mobilize, give
feedback, exercise oversight, and co-create mechanisms with a high consensus in
respect of non-pharmaceutical interventions and lockdown regulations.
PHOTO: Bush Radio
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