Abstract:
The end of the apartheid government in South Africa signals myriad changes in that society -- including a basic examination of how government should regulate philanthropic and nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations. Such groups fell into two major categories -- traditional charities, most of which were formally organized, and community-based organizations, some of them informal, which had been part of the vanguard of apartheid opposition. When the post-apartheid government drafts legislation to oversee NGOs, controversy erupts. What proponents view as necessary financial safeguards, some NGO leaders view as potential government interference.
Learning Objective:
The case allows for discussion of basic issues about the relationship between the public and non-governmental sectors -- and the contours of civil society.
