View of the government building in Pretoria

    Core area “Peaceful and inclusive societies” Establishing an efficient public administration

    Good governance is an important precondition for sustainable development. However, government and administrative activities in South Africa are made more difficult by a lack of skilled staff and by inefficiency – not just at national level but also in the provinces and districts. That is why Germany is engaged in development cooperation with South Africa in the field of developing an effective public administration system.

    This system is to be open to and serve all citizens equally and provide reliable and transparent basic public services. This includes implementing the South African government's national anti-corruption strategy. The strategy is based on a whole-of-society approach that involves government institutions, businesses and civil society in fighting corruption.

    The German Development Ministry (BMZ) also supports cooperation between South Africa's Presidency and a number of higher education institutions. This cooperation is intended to ensure that scientific findings will inform the government's policymaking, enabling it to better align its reform policies with the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and ensure that political decision-making is solidly grounded in data.


    Preventing violence

    Violence prevention at the community level is another field in which Germany and South Africa are engaged in development cooperation. In order to prevent violence effectively, engagement is needed with local stakeholders and across various areas, such as social work with youth, urban development, education facilities, and the police.

    The BMZ supports the improvement of social and economic infrastructure (safe footpaths, public spaces, sports grounds, community and youth centres). Support is also provided to foster the exchange of knowledge and experience between public bodies and civil society organisations, with a special focus on involving young people. Training programmes and social media enable them to play an active role in preventing violence in their communities.

    As at: 27/11/2024