CDE held its first debate on 31 January 1996. With the political transition, NGO-funding has shifted to the RDP and NGOs now have to work with a government that is very sensitive to what it sees as encroachments on its democratic mandate. In this context, the debate raised issues that included the need to re-emphasise the people-driven nature of NGOs and their quality of ‘civicness’ as well as the need for clarity about the sort of ‘enabling’ legislative environment required for NGOs to thrive.
