The poorest of the poor must expect and demand only the best from the government, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said on Wednesday.

"We must not provide the lowest, the barest minimum and say it is acceptable because this is a poor community," Motlanthe told civil society and government representatives in Johannesburg at a conference on refining the country's anti-poverty strategy.

The strategy aimed to freeze poverty "through universal access to services that eliminate indigents". Its formulation began two years ago but remained a work in progress.

During 2009 many communities rose up in protest against the slow pace of government delivery. Dispensing grants to the poor was, in most cases, not the answer, as it would simply "freeze poverty transmission" from one generation to the next, he said.

"[F]or the rest of the people their dignity will be restored once they are empowered to eek out an existence of their own."

Motlanthe said it was important to ensure civil society and the government worked together in alleviating poverty, but cautioned that their roles should remain separate.

He backed a proposal by civil society to establish a council on poverty.

Motlanthe said rooting out crime and corruption was key as they "retard progress".

"We have to allocate huge resources to chase after criminals and once you apprehend them, you have to feed them."

Land redistribution

Civil society organisations raised concerns about land redistribution and the way it hampered development. They felt the government's willing buyer, willing seller policy needed revisiting.

However, Motlanthe said the policy did not hamper land redistribution as it was only applied by the courts during arbitration.

"It's not a stumbling block upfront in terms of the appropriation of land."

He said once the World Cup was over, rural development would be the country's next focus.

"The future of development lies in rural communities. The anti-poverty strategy will benefit a great deal from our efforts in rural development."

Rural Development Minister Gugile Nkwinti said the focus for land redistribution would be more on how land was used.

"I can say we are moving more toward the development of farms that we have acquired," he said in response to questions about the slow pace of redistribution.

Motlanthe said poverty was linked to historical inequalities, unemployment and the subtext of this was "the accumulated effect of land hunger".

"The absence of infrastructure is informed by laws that distributed access in a skewed manner," he said.

South Africans living in squalor could no longer be "prisoners of history".

Motlanthe urged civil society to work together, but cautioned against being absorbed into government.

"Once you get into government bureaucracy they take hold of you," he quipped.

The two-day conference would consolidate input from civil society and contribute to government's document on the anti-poverty strategy.