ECSECC was founded in July 1995 as an institutional mechanism to forge a meaningful partnership between Government, business, labour and the NGO sector, to address underdevelopment and poverty in the Eastern Cape. The local government sector and the higher education sector joined ECSECC in 2003.

ECSECC was established by a resolution of the Executive Council of the Eastern Cape and is a Schedule 3C Public Entity. Our operations and strategy are based on the founding document, memorandum and articles of association.

ECSECC’s founding document describes its functional mandate as follows:

"The Eastern Cape Socio Economic Consultative Council (ECSECC) will foster a new relationship between the key stakeholders of the province. The labour movement, organised business, developmental non-Governmental organisations and the Government, will be the key components of the Council. Through this body the parties will strive to jointly promote the goals of economic growth and increased participation in decision-making on the implementation of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP).

The principal objective of the Council will be to advise and assist the provincial Government to achieve an integrated development strategy for the province and its constituent regions, in order to address the economic development of the province in terms of the RDP, and in particular the needs of the deprived communities and underdeveloped areas. The Council will achieve this through a planning and development process which can give effect to both strategy and operational issues.”

More specifically, the founding document sets out the following six goals for ECSECC:

• Advise and assist provincial government to achieve an integrated development strategy for the province and its constituent regions, in order to address the economic development of the province particularly the needs of deprived communities and underdeveloped areas;
• Facilitate and coordinate the implementation of development programmes between all key stakeholders in the province of the Eastern Cape;
• Facilitate development by providing an avenue for formal inputs into the policy-making process of government;
• Support government in advancing efficient service delivery;
• Empower communities and the grassroots structures of civil society to engage in development; and
• Assist the provincial government in developing policies and strategies that will facilitate the growth of the provincial economy.