Private sector’s contribution to social development to be discussed

The panel discussion, which is organised in partnership with GovChat, is premised on the understanding that the attainment of the goals of the NDP relies on all sectors of society.

The private sector's contribution to the realization of South Africa's social development agenda will come under the spotlight at a high-level roundtable discussion on Tuesday.

As part of accelerating government's implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP) - Vision 2030 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu will participate in a high-level roundtable panel discussion in Cape Town.

Held under the theme, 'The role that the private sector can play in reimagining social development', the roundtable discussion will bring together business leaders from retail and financial sectors to discuss the contribution of the private sector to the realization of the social development agenda in South Africa.

The panel discussion, which is organised in partnership with GovChat, is premised on the understanding that the attainment of the goals of the NDP relies on all sectors of society.

"The private sector increasingly plays an important role as a key partner in tackling the developmental challenges facing South Africa. The roundtable, therefore, creates an opportunity for leaders of the private sector to engage the Minister and to identify potential areas of collaboration and partnerships with the department," the department said in a statement.

In response to the rapidly changing technological environment, and the need to digitize public services, Zulu will also use the roundtable to officially launch the department on the GovChat platform, which will enable citizens across the country to interact and to report on service delivery related matters at any of the 30 000 government facilities countrywide.

"Data collated will provide a real-time, centralized complaints management reporting system (CMS), as well as an early-warning system (EWS)," the department said.

(With Inputs from South African Government Press Release)