By Alfred Thutloa, Philanthropy Programme Coordinator at Inyathelo.

On 22 April 2013, lifestyle magazine Ebony published a column by community engagement blogger Ebonie Johnson Cooper titled “Young Black Philanthropist is not an Oxymoron”. Cooper said she recently had to defend the use of the word “philanthropist” to describe herself and the cohort of young, Black community leaders who gave of their time and financial resources to help those less privileged. She had been challenged by a member of one of the wealthiest Black families in the United States, who told her that calling herself a philanthropist is like calling an average student a scholar.

Ironically, Cooper is a young African American woman living in the developed world and one would assume that with the United States boasting a long history of volunteerism and institutionalised philanthropy, her words are just meanderings of a prolific blogger. However this is not the case.

AMANDA BLOCH

THE extraordinary philanthropic gesture by mining magnate Patrice Motsepe and his family has provoked a flurry of positive and negative commentary. His announcement that he will give half of the money generated by his family's assets to the Motsepe Foundation to fund education, health and other initiatives to assist poor South Africans has prompted many to ask: "What's in it for them?"

The answer is simple. The Motsepes have nothing to gain financially by giving their money away. There are no tax breaks or incentives and, once donated, they can't take the money back and their children or grandchildren cannot access the funds for personal use. So, what remains is a bit of good media coverage and a responsibility to ensure that their trust lives up to its mandate. Whether or not it delivers on the mandate will be in the hands of the trustees and their advisers.

The reality is that our tax legislation does not encourage giving beyond charitable giving. With international Ending quickly drying up, civil society has become increasingly dependent on local donors to survive. Charities and other nonprofit organisations are closing their doors at a rate of knots and valuable programmes are being discontinued, jobs are lost and our most marginalised and vulnerable citizens are abandoned. The government cannot possibly plug the funding hole left by the withdrawal of big international donors, which includes foreign governments. And, there is no government in the world that can meet all the challenges faced by all sectors of society.

Alfred Thutloa

INDIGENOUS African sayings and culture are not always easy to translate. Storytelling for example is a widely documented means of knowledge being transferred across generations. These stories were always meant to convey a deeper message, to cultivate values of honesty, integrity and humility.

It was about fostering a sense of relational harmony, of caring for your fellow human beings. The powerful isiZulu saying "izandla ziyagezana", meaning "one good turn deserves another", is what comes to mind when I read about self-made billionaire Patrice Motsepe's pledge to donate half the money generated by his family assets to marginalised communities.

Shelagh Gastrow

CIVIL society needs to act quickly if it wants to ensure its rights and role in our democracy are not curtailed by government. The "Policy Framework on Non-profit Organisations Law", released in June last year, proposes sweeping amendments to the Non-profit Organisations Act of 1997 which governs NPOs.

The proposed new law suggests the compulsory registration and regulation of NPOs by two new state bodies - the South African Non-profit Organisations Regulatory Authority (Sanpora) and the South African Non-profit Tribunal (Sanpotri) - which would allow government to examine the books, records and activities of non-profit organisations; issue sanctions and enforce punitive measures against organisations, including blacklisting those that have been involved in "unscrupulous practices".

An opinion piece by Shelagh Gastrow, Executive Director of Inyathelo: The South African Institute for Advancement and Melanie Judge, a human rights activist and an Inyathelo Associate

There is currently a ‘citizens’ partnership’ campaign underway to develop a public participation framework for parliament. Judging by the extensive advertising involved, there is obviously significant funding available for this campaign.

On parliament’s website it explains that the campaign is about parliament’s desire to make public participation “an integral part of parliament and the legislatures’ lawmaking and oversight functions”. It goes on to say that this will be done by ensuring that adequate avenues are provided for people to participate in the business of parliament and the legislatures; that public inputs are integrated into and inform parliamentary and legislative processes; and that mechanisms and standards are developed to achieve meaningful and broader public participation. All well and good!