As part of the DFID-funded South Africa Trade and Poverty Programme and its objective to promote informed dialogue on South Africa's trade policy amongst key stakeholders, TIPS in 2005 implemented a seminar series under the auspices of Nedlac. These seminars provided a platform for government and civil society representatives (business, labour and broader social interest groups) to discuss critical issues concerning the role of trade policy in fostering poverty reduction and human development in South Africa.
The concept of the developmental state has often been invoked in South Africa, especially under the democratic dispensation following the non-racial, non-sexist multi-party elections in 1994. But much of the discourse tends to focus on the expected role of the state and its objectives rather than its institutional architecture.
This workshop examined the concept of the developmental state and set out its structural/organisational characteristics, as well as its role in economic transformation.
The seminar is part of the the South Africa Trade and Poverty Programme (SATPP) funded by the Department For International Development (DFID-SA), and is organised by NEDLAC and TIPS.