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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Non-governmental organisations and the South African State: present and future relations |
Author: | Walters, S. |
Year: | 1993 |
Periodical: | The Community Development Journal: An International Journal for Community Workers |
Volume: | 28 |
Issue: | 1 |
Pages: | 1-10 |
Language: | English |
Geographic terms: | Africa South Africa |
Subjects: | NGO political systems democracy |
External link: | http://search.proquest.com/pao/docview/1304152224 |
Abstract: | This article explores the relationship between the State and NGOs in order to address the question: is there a place for nongovernmental, community-based organizations in a democratic South African State? Section One elaborates the relationship between oppositional NGOs and the apartheid State. Section Two discusses trends in relations between NGOs and various States, particularly in Africa and Latin America. In Section Three there is a preliminary discussion of issues for South African NGOs in the light of trends elsewhere. Many South African NGOs have their 'raison d'être' as being anti-apartheid, therefore once apartheid has been dismantled will there be any need for them to exist? The short answer to this question is an unambiguous 'yes'. In reflecting on the experiences of other countries of the South, the need for NGOs of various types, either 'membership' or 'service', does not diminish. They are essential vehicles both for service delivery and for the maintenance of democratic practices within societies. Their role in strengthening civil society and in countering authoritarian practices by the State has been increasingly acknowledged in countries of both the South and the North, be they orientated to socialism or capitalism. It seems inevitable that community-based NGOs concerned with 'empowerment of the poor and the oppressed' will be part of the future in South Africa. Bibliogr., sum. |