The broader priorities of the sector are articulated in Chapter 13 of the National Development Plan, Vision 2030. The NDP states that the public sector is challenged with unevenness in capacity that leads to uneven performance in local, provincial and national government. A number of factors have been attributed to this and at the forefront of these challenges are, a large skills deficit, poor organisational design, and low staff morale.

The key priority for the cluster is therefore to ensure that development cooperation contributes towards the following government outcomes:

​Outcome 3:

​All people in South Africa are and feel safe;

​Outcome 9:

​A responsive, accountable, effective and efficient local government system;

​Outcome 11:

​Create a better South Africa and contribute to a better and safer Africa and world;

​Outcome 12:

​An efficient, effective and development oriented public service and an empowered, fair and inclusive citizenship,

​​​Outcome 14:

​Nation Building and Social Cohesion.

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The Governance, Administration and Justice Cluster deals with the management of development cooperation to enhance the delivery of government services through the provision of targeted programmes. Such programmes are designed to enhance public sector capacity, improve financial management, promote human rights, and increase regulatory oversight.

The following Departments are supported by the cluster in achieving government outcomes:

  • Public Service and Administration,
  • The Presidency,
  • Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs,
  • National Treasury,
  • Justice and Correctional Services,
  • International Relations and Cooperation,
  • and Parliament.

 

 


 Aligned to the NDP, development partners in the cluster support the following interventions:

​Cooperation and integration in Africa​​Developing technical and specialist professional skills within the public sector​​An integrated approach to building safety​​Strengthen judicial governance and the rule of law​​Active Citizenry and leadership

​This is supported through trilateral cooperation; South Africa and a development partner providing assistance to other African countries.

​Development partners support South Africa with initiatives such as financial improvement programmes, programmes to improve service delivery as well as trainings to develop public servant's skills.

 

The country plans to move away from a “narrow law-enforcement approach to crime and safety; towards identifying and resolving the root causes of crime”.

To achieve this, programmes such as Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading and Violence and Crime Prevention are designed with sectoral stakeholders and a range of instrumental partners.

 

​Chapter 2 of the Constitution makes provision for the Bill of Rights where it declares that everyone is equal before the law, has the right to equal protection and benefit before the law. With the assistance from development partners, South Africa piloted the Access to Justice and Promotion of Constitutional Rights Programme.

This Programme promoted partnerships between government and civil society working in the justice and human rights sector.

A new programme, Socio -Economic Justice for All, built on this innovative programme and again involves a strong sociaety involvement.

​Government has introduced accountability mechanisms where citizens need to speak out when things are going wrong.

To this need, development cooperation has assisted the country with the Legislative Sector Policy Support Programme with the main objective being to strengthen participatory democracy at national and provincial levels.

 

Since 1994, there has been various Governance, Administration and Justice programmes supported through development cooperation. These include programmes such as the e-Justice Programme, Financial Management Support Programme, Capacity Building and Technical Assistance Facility, Strengthening Local Governance Programme and Public Service Reform Programme, to name a few.