South Africa does not currently have a dedicated agency that manages or tracks aid disbursements, so very little is known about its development assistance. However, in January 2011 the South African government announced the establishment of a development agency, the South African Development Partnership Agency. The agency is expected to become operational by mid-2011 and will track and oversee all the programmes it funds, as well as work with other donor agencies to coordinate development programmes.

A portion of South Africa’s aid figures are currently reported in national budget documents by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Expenditure on international cooperation increased nominally from $64.3 million in 2006 to $110.7 million in 2010, and is expected to reach $134.7 million in 2011. However, these figures do not include aid from other departments, such as the Department of Education or the Department of Defence, which are estimated to account for 55% and 36% respectively of total aid spending. In 2006, International Development Research Centre estimates of total development assistance from all South African departments ranged from $363 million to $475 million, approximately six to seven times the volumes reported by the National Treasury.

South Africa has committed to increasing development assistance levels to between 0.2% and 0.5% of GNI, though no target date has been set. Its aid is directed almost entirely towards other African nations, and is largely focused on governance, conflict prevention and peacekeeping.6 Aid administered by the MFA includes disbursements to multilateral organisations, including the African Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund (ARF), the African Union (AU), the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the UN. The ARF, which supports projects focused on poverty alleviation, economic development, security and stability, is the best-defined component of South Africa’s development assistance programme. Although it accounts for a small percentage of the country’s total aid, ARF funds have been growing in recent years, from $22.7 million in 2006 to an expected $81.3 million in 2011.