Apr 2007
Buoyed by a budget surplus, the South African government has increased spending on housing to nearly triple the level three years ago. But the backlog in housing, particularly for low-income South Africans, still stands at homes for approximately 2 and a half million families.
Even if government efforts continue to increase, bringing affordable housing to all South Africans, as is their right under the constitution, remains a formidable task. Shared Interest is committed to doing its part by reinforcing South Africa’s efforts with the multiplier effect of micro-finance loan guarantees. continued…
Mar 2007
Read the article in Liberty News Online, Shared Interest 7th Annual Awards Dinner March 13, 2007
Mar 2007
NEW YORK, Mar. 12 – Shared Interest will hold its 7th annual awards dinner today recognizing outstanding South African and U.S. leaders for their long-standing work to end apartheid and rally global support to build an equitable economic and democratic new South Africa.
Shared Interest, a leading New York-based international social investment fund, will honor the Honorable Barbara Masekela, ambassador of South Africa to the United States, for her work in building a global community for a new South Africa. The Honorable David N. Dinkins, 106th Mayor of New York City and professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, will be recognized for his visionary leadership for a free South Africa.
continued…
Feb 2007
In his State of the Nation address to Parliament this month, President Thabo Mbeki, acknowledging that “little progress has been made in terms of land redistribution,” pledged to find ways to speed up the land reform program. The government aims to transfer about 30 percent of agricultural land to black people by 2014. Currently about 4 percent of land has been transferred since 1994, with about 80 percent of agricultural land still held by whites.
The racial division of land, formally imbedded by the Land Act of 1913 only three years after the formation of the Union of South Africa, long predates coinage of the word “apartheid.” And dealing with its consequences today involves not only the difficult and contentious questions of transfer of land ownership (”land reform”). It also requires addressing the even tougher issues of how to promote sustainable livelihoods for rural people (”agrarian reform”).
Shared Interest are already providing credit guarantees and technical assistance to small farmers and cooperatives for projects that are cultivating grain, sugarcane and mushrooms, and raising pigs, chickens and trout. But we understand that what is needed is not only an accumulation of small projects but also structural reform. continued…
Nov 2006
NEW YORK – Nov. 27, 2006 — A delegation of American investors will travel to South Africa in late-Nov. to explore investing in the country’s community development financial institutions that focus on small- and micro-enterprises. continued…
Dear Friends of Shared Interest,
During the coming months, while continuing to guarantee micro-finance and low-cost housing initiatives, Shared Interest and its partner, Thembani, are turning increasing attention to a black farmers seeking our guarantees. Their projects are important not only to our work but to the success of South Africa’s transition to economic democracy. Although agriculture only constitutes 3.8% of South Africa’s gross domestic product, it utilizes most of the country’s land, and engages the labor power of 20 million of the country’s most impoverished people. The government hopes to meet its 2008 deadline for completing land restitution. Gauteng Province has fewer than 100 remaining claims, while the most challenged province, KwaZulu-Natal, has 1,700. continued…
Aug 2006
If you weren’t able to join Shared Interest and Charlayne Hunter-Gault in Boston, San Francisco or Pittsburgh, watch the discussion between Ms. Hunter-Gault and Belva Davis from the September 12, 2006 event in San Francisco on fora.tv or listen to an interview with Michael Krasney on kqed.org.
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