In 2011, South Africa will launch its own aid agency that will target development initiatives across Africa.
The South African Development Partnership Agency is expected to begin its operations before mid-2011. The agency’s funding will primarily come from public sources, but private contributions are also being targeted, according to Ayanda Ntsaluba, director-general of South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation.
“South Africa is in a unique position - we’re recipients of development assistance, and we’re anxious that that status be preserved. At the same time … we’re in the African continent and in that context we occupy a relatively privileged position,” Ntsaluba told IRIN.
Since 2001, the South African government has directed its aid funding to the African Renaissance Fund, which is managed by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation. ARF targets conflict resolution and peacekeeping efforts such as those in Mali, Zimbabwe, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
