Policy Development Processes
Introduction
The Independent Democrats believe that South Africa is currently faced with a multitude of socio-economic problems that all require comprehensive strategies to overcome them. It is also our belief, however, that we as the Independent Democrats do not have to rewrite an entire set of policies that stand in opposition to those of the present government. In some instances the government has done a good job of addressing the legacy of apartheid and fulfilling its constitutional mandate. In other instances though, it has fallen woefully short, either in its actual policy development or in its implementation of it. As a responsible opposition party we will praise the government on its successes, but we will also be the first to point out its mistakes and fight for appropriate measures to be adopted in order to protect every South African's constitutional right.
With this in mind the Independent Democrats has embarked on a policy development process that seeks to identify gaps in current government policy and its implementation. In this initial period, the policy development process concentrated on 7 broad issues. This should in no way indicate, however, that other issues are not deemed as important to the Independent Democrats as these chosen ones. These draft policies are merely a starting point and we intend by the end of 2003 to have developed a comprehensive set of policies on all issues pertaining to South Africa.
Current Stage of Policy Development
In drawing up the current seven policy documents, the Independent Democrats elicited comments and inputs from a wide variety of experts in each of the particular fields. These policy documents, however, should not be seen as final policy, but merely as a guiding framework within which to situate other inputs that will be received from our members throughout the course of the next year. The Independent Democrats firmly believes that policy cannot be drawn up in isolation from those that it affects, and it is for that reason that we want the membership of ID to determine the precise shape for each of these policies. We therefore encourage our membership to send through their comments, experiences and proposed initiatives that the leadership of the Independent Democrats can consider for further inclusion. We believe that the expertise on these issues doesn't always lie with academics or trained experts and that there is a wealth of knowledge and insights residing in the lived experiences of ordinary South Africans. The Independent Democrats wants to give voice to those insights.
Discussions at the Inaugural Conference around policy will centre on whether the representative membership agrees with the overall thrust of the seven policy documents being presented. Comments and suggestions around specific points in the policies should rather be submitted in writing to the national office where they can be considered by the elected leadership of the party for possible future inclusion.
Future Stages of Policy Development
Following on from the inaugural conference, the Independent Democrats will put in place a policy development process that will allow all members to submit their inputs on particular issues.
This process will firstly involve appointing people to specific issue portfolios. These appointed people would then be tasked with researching and requesting various inputs from recognised experts in the field as a way of providing a framework to the draft policy. At the same time, members will be encouraged to send in their specific policy proposals that will be considered by the portfolio. The first deadline for comments will be the beginning of August 2003.
By the end of August 2003, each of these portfolios would have drafted policy on the whole range of issues, that will then be submitted to the elected leadership for its approval. Once the leadership has agreed to the draft policy, sometime in the middle of September, it will be posted on the website for further comments and revisions. These comments and revisions will be taken into consideration by the portfolio and then posted on the website as the final policy of the Independent Democrats by the middle of October 2003.
Conclusion
As a new force on the South African political landscape, the Independent Democrats recognises the need to have coherent and forward thinking policy that addresses the myriad of problems we face in this country. We feel confident that through the policy development process outlined above, we will be able to generate just such policy and give a voice to all of our members.
The Independent Democrats believe that South Africa is currently faced with a multitude of socio-economic problems that all require comprehensive strategies to overcome them. It is also our belief, however, that we as the Independent Democrats do not have to rewrite an entire set of policies that stand in opposition to those of the present government. In some instances the government has done a good job of addressing the legacy of apartheid and fulfilling its constitutional mandate. In other instances though, it has fallen woefully short, either in its actual policy development or in its implementation of it. As a responsible opposition party we will praise the government on its successes, but we will also be the first to point out its mistakes and fight for appropriate measures to be adopted in order to protect every South African's constitutional right.
With this in mind the Independent Democrats has embarked on a policy development process that seeks to identify gaps in current government policy and its implementation. In this initial period, the policy development process concentrated on 7 broad issues. This should in no way indicate, however, that other issues are not deemed as important to the Independent Democrats as these chosen ones. These draft policies are merely a starting point and we intend by the end of 2003 to have developed a comprehensive set of policies on all issues pertaining to South Africa.
Current Stage of Policy Development
In drawing up the current seven policy documents, the Independent Democrats elicited comments and inputs from a wide variety of experts in each of the particular fields. These policy documents, however, should not be seen as final policy, but merely as a guiding framework within which to situate other inputs that will be received from our members throughout the course of the next year. The Independent Democrats firmly believes that policy cannot be drawn up in isolation from those that it affects, and it is for that reason that we want the membership of ID to determine the precise shape for each of these policies. We therefore encourage our membership to send through their comments, experiences and proposed initiatives that the leadership of the Independent Democrats can consider for further inclusion. We believe that the expertise on these issues doesn't always lie with academics or trained experts and that there is a wealth of knowledge and insights residing in the lived experiences of ordinary South Africans. The Independent Democrats wants to give voice to those insights.
Discussions at the Inaugural Conference around policy will centre on whether the representative membership agrees with the overall thrust of the seven policy documents being presented. Comments and suggestions around specific points in the policies should rather be submitted in writing to the national office where they can be considered by the elected leadership of the party for possible future inclusion.
Future Stages of Policy Development
Following on from the inaugural conference, the Independent Democrats will put in place a policy development process that will allow all members to submit their inputs on particular issues.
This process will firstly involve appointing people to specific issue portfolios. These appointed people would then be tasked with researching and requesting various inputs from recognised experts in the field as a way of providing a framework to the draft policy. At the same time, members will be encouraged to send in their specific policy proposals that will be considered by the portfolio. The first deadline for comments will be the beginning of August 2003.
By the end of August 2003, each of these portfolios would have drafted policy on the whole range of issues, that will then be submitted to the elected leadership for its approval. Once the leadership has agreed to the draft policy, sometime in the middle of September, it will be posted on the website for further comments and revisions. These comments and revisions will be taken into consideration by the portfolio and then posted on the website as the final policy of the Independent Democrats by the middle of October 2003.
Conclusion
As a new force on the South African political landscape, the Independent Democrats recognises the need to have coherent and forward thinking policy that addresses the myriad of problems we face in this country. We feel confident that through the policy development process outlined above, we will be able to generate just such policy and give a voice to all of our members.
