Date added: 22 May 1997

Draft White Paper on Population Policy

1. Background and Introduction

In June 1994, the Government of National Unity (GNU) embarked upon a process of reviewing the current population policy. After a number of consultations with population units and population experts, a ‘Green Paper for Public Discussion’ was launched in April 1995.

The green paper was widely advertised to all interested parties and the general public. In addition, workshops were facilitated in all provinces by population units in order to address national population problems and the best means of solving them.

A total of 749 submissions were as a result received from academics, community groups, government departments, the private sector and NGOs. These submission were then analysed and a report on the major findings was presented to the national and provincial ministers responsible for the population function in October 1995. Extensive consultations with relevant ministers and departments as well as with population experts and the United Nations Population Fund and the World Health Organisation were held and a draft discussion document was compiled in December 1995. The final draft of the white paper was published in the Government Gazette on 31 October 1996.

The predominant reason for reviewing the countries’ past population policy is two fold.

Firstly, the GNU recognised that population is at the very centre of development and that the intricate relationships between population, development and the environment need to be closely examined in order to achieve equitable, sustainable human development. Secondly, past population policies were deeply anchored in the apartheid ideology. As such, they focused mainly on fertility reduction, restricted population movement and controlled settlement patterns and development and excluded the majority of the population. As a result reliable data on population and human development cannot be found. As a result, there was a need for a new policy framework in order for the objective of sustainable human development to be achieved.

2. Issues Affecting Health and Development

The concept of sustainable human development implies meeting the needs of the present generation and enhancing their quality of life as much as possible without destroying the environment and natural resources. Additionally, human development should not limit the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In this light, some of the more important issues affecting people's health directly and indirectly are examined.

1. Low levels of socio-economic development are inversely proportional to high rates of fertility, mortality and population growth. For example, higher levels of income, better education and empowerment of women lead to better health generally and declining fertility and mortality rates. A high population growth rate also affects health directly. For example high population growth places pressure on government to provide services such as better education and health care not only to sustain the needs of the population, but also to improve living standards. As a result, more of nation’s resources will have to be spend for these services. It is believed by some that this situation will limit economic growth in the short term.
2. Human development's impact on the environment and the population growth rate are particularly important for health. It is estimated that South Africa's economy experienced a negative average growth rate of -0,2% for each year between 1980 and 1993. Many people believe that this meant that there was a decline in people's standard of living. More recent information shows that economic growth rates have increased to 2,7% in 1994 and 3,3% in 1995. It is not yet clear whether economic growth for the whole economy has improved people's standard of living.

South Africa's population is expected to grow by about 2% per year between 2000 - 2010. This means that the country's population will be doubled in the next 32 years. It is not clear whether the growing population will impact on fertility and mortality rates, migration and urbanisation, unemployment etc. and education, health care, housing and other basic services. This will depend on whether the total economy continues to grow and the redistribution of income.

Benefits from the economy are not even for all South Africans. Human development is much lower for the majority of South Africans. Approximately 1,5 million households rely mainly on agricultural production for their income and food. Extreme poverty has led to overcrowding, overgrazing of livestock and erosion of the land. This situation is made worse by a lack of sanitation and refuse removal services. This poor environment has led to an increase in disease and a lower life expectancy among black South Africans.

Unemployment is high amongst the majority of the people, being estimated at 40% for the entire country. This means that a substantial portion of the population live in poverty. Because of poverty and apartheid policies, millions of people are left without access to running water, electricity, proper toilet facilities and other basic services. Many people believe that the rate of unemployment and people's standard of living can only improved through economic growth that creates jobs.

The generally low status of women is another source of concern n South Africa. They experience high rates of unwanted pregnancy, teenage pregnancy, and infant and maternal mortality linked to high risk child bearing. Policy makers have recognised that reducing the countries’ rate of population growth by reducing fertility of the population primarily through the provision of contraceptive services does not fully address the root causes of the problem.

Use of contraceptives appears to be higher amongst whites than blacks. There seems to be a direct relationship between contraceptive use and a woman’s level of education. Therefore, it is evident that family planning itself will not achieve the objective of a reduction in population size. In addition, there needs to be interventions in other areas such as education, upliftment of women so that they can make informed choices, primary health care, economic development, human resources development and housing.

Recent statistics show that South Africa is making some progress. The infant mortality rate, the mortality rate of children under the age of five, and the maternal mortality rate have all declined. Other factors, however, such as crime have contributed substantially to the mortality rate amongst young adults. AIDS is definitely an issue as far as health care is concerned especially as it will contribute substantially to increased mortality rates in the future.

Rapid industrialisation and development in urban areas as opposed to rural areas have encouraged many people to move from rural settlements to the cities. These include people in search of employment, better education, better health care facilities, and better housing. This migration to cities will place an increasing burden on urban governments and the environment to provide basic services to all and it will leave rural areas with few workers to support their economy.

3. Strategies of the Policy

In order to achieve the objective of sustainable human development, the draft White Paper identifies certain major strategies. The first thing that must be done is to collect more accurate data and information. Thus, many of the strategies concern the upgrading of national and technical capacities for the collection, analysis and interpretation of population data. Then the entire government must make effective use of this data in developing policies and designing, implementing, and monitoring its development programmes. Not all of the strategies will be implemented by the Department of Welfare. It is envisaged that the Departments of Education, Labour, Health, Trade and Industry, Agriculture and Safety and Security will play an important role in the implementation of these strategies.

Other strategies are targeted at reducing poverty, improving the quality, availability and accessibility of health care facilities thereby reducing unwanted fertility and mortality, promoting gender equality and creating educational and economic opportunities for all. Still other strategies provide for effective internal and international migration flows and the effective participation of civil society in all aspects of the implementation of the policy.

4. Implementation of the Policy

It is the responsibility of the entire government, the private sector, and every member of civil society to ensure the effective implementation of the policy. As a result of the intricate relationships between population development and the environment, many new programmes will have to be designed for the implementation of this policy. Some existing programmes will continue, but efforts will be made to re-orientate and restructure them where necessary. For example, population units at the national and provincial levels will be restructured in order to carry out the functions of monitoring and evaluating the implementation of this new population policy. It is envisaged that civil society will play an important role in reaching the objectives of the population policy. Many government departments have already placed into motion mechanisms to involve communities in decision-making processes. Many organisations in civil society have already begun to deal with many of the issues in the policy. In this way, they will continue to monitor and present criticisms of the policy and its implementation to ensure transparency.

For more information about population policy or the White Paper, please contact Khathatso Mokoetle at (011) 403-4647. Phila is supported by a grant from the Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation.

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