Module 02: Strategic Planning

2.4 What are the key issues concerning the poor?

Outputs...
   ...A strategy linked into an overall municipal action plan
       ...Explicit reference to the approach to be taken towards the poor

Understanding the poor, meeting poverty reduction goals

The strategy will need to address how proposed service improvements will be undertaken in relation to the poor. It should address key issues such as:

A. service prioritisation and linkages [Tool 6];

B. service affordability [Tool 13];

C. the poverty and gender focus of the approach;

D. the approach to labour deployment; and

E. the approach to independent service providers.


In order to meet the poverty reduction goals, the municipality needs an understanding of specific objectives for poor communities. This could be done by:

◊ carrying out participatory studies of livelihoods; and

◊ exposing institutional and political marginalisation via identifying and prioritising key concerns of the poor, such as

– lack of choice;
– lack of affordability;
– inaccessibility;
– exploitation;
– insecurity of land tenure; and
– employment opportunities.


Methodologies for identifying key actors, such as stakeholder analysis and interviews [Tool 3], could help to narrow down those who can assist in addressing the needs of the poor. Such individuals and groups could include:

◊ the informal service providers;

◊ local NGO support;

◊ interdependent households and communities;

◊ municipal actors (involved in community development and so on); and

◊ private operators.

End of Module 02

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