Typologies of civil society in South Africa: a critical review and analysis of the characteristics of the non-profit sector: final report

Abstract

In the struggle for a democratic South Africa, the non-profit sectors contribution has been widely acknowledged and documented; evidenced by the formation of struggle NGOs such as civic action committees, anti-eviction campaigns and the Anti-Tricameral Parliament campaigns. The United Democratic Front (UDF) was one of the most significant struggle formations, which was a social movement that spawned the development of a number of NPOs. Alongside this development was the growth of faith-based or ethnic-based welfare, education and health-oriented NGOs, many run by middle class, often white people, who received some form of state support or subsidy to deliver this service. It was posited that in the post 1994 period the NPO sector in SA would play a central role in shaping the transformation of South Africa. However, in the 25 years since democracy, CSOs in SA have faced several major challenges including a significant shift of resources away from sector and increasing hostility from stakeholders from various spheres of government. This is despite the fact that the CSO sector has continued to play a critical role in defending democracy and advancing development priorities through challenging government failures and undertaking strategic litigation in order to protect and strengthen the realisation of constitutional rights.