In this thematic area the Country Review Report (CRR) identified the following issues to be addressed:
• Increased Civil Society Participation
• Advancement of gender equality
• Access to information on human rights and institutions of justice
• Tackling corruption
In this thematic area South Africa introduces two sections that are not covered in the CRR, and these are;
• Institutionalisation of democracy
• Institution of traditional leadership
4.1
Increased civil society participation
Government, in partnership with civil society and communities, continues to work tirelessly to ensure that the South
African society is inclusive and its diverse nature is well represented in all nation-building initiatives. As a result,
forums and mechanisms for social dialogue have been established and strengthened. Since the submission of
the First Report, steps were taken to strengthen social dialogue around the National Economic Development and
Labour Council (NEDLAC)1 initiatives on economic and capacity development.
In response to the global economic crisis which had a negative impact on the South African economy resulting
in major job losses, social partners, through NEDLAC, adopted a Framework for South Africa’s Response to the
Global Economic Crisis in February 2009. The Framework provides measures for curbing job losses through the
introduction of funds by the country’s Development Finance Institutions (DFI).
These funds were mainly targeted at companies in distress as well as those workers that were to be retrained for
deployment in other sectors of the economy that could absorb them. The broad principles governing the Framework
1
The NEDLAC is a platform by which government, labour, business and community organizations partner to solve problems and
negotiate on economic, labour, development issues, and other related challenges facing the country. NEDLAC conducts its work in four broad
areas, covering public finance and monetary policies, labour market policies, trade and industrial policies, as well as development policies.
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