Strategic overview
The new growth path: The national development plan:
The new growth path (NGP) is a broad framework
that sets out a vision and identifies key areas
where jobs can be created. It is intended to
address unemployment, inequality and poverty
in a strategy of creating a significant increase in
new jobs in the economy, mainly in the private
sector. The national planning commission produced a
national development plan (Vision 2030) (NDP)
outlining a long-term vision and strategy for
South Africa. Cabinet has endorsed the NDP, a
blueprint for eliminating poverty and reducing
inequality in the country by 2030. This is the
strategic framework for detailed government
planning going forward. The commission
believes that the problem of uneven capacity
and varied performance is particularly acute at
the local government level. The current local
government system has been in place for just
under two decades. This means that there
are significant challenges that still need to be
addressed. However, despite major obstacles
relating to finance, human resources and a
limited autonomy, municipalities are making
progress.
It sets a target of creating five million new jobs
in the next 10 years. This target is projected
to reduce unemployment from 25% to 15%. To
accomplish this, the plan identifies specific ‘job
drivers’. These drivers include:
•
Investing in infrastructure for
employment and development:
Substantial investment in infrastructure,
both to create employment directly
through
construction,
operation,
maintenance and the production of
inputs, as well as indirectly, by improving
efficiency across the economy;
• Identifying and supporting key
economic sectors:
Targeting
more
labour-absorbing
activities across the main economic
sectors and the agricultural and mining
value chains, manufacturing and related
services;
• Seizing the potential of new
economies:
Taking advantage of new opportunities
in the knowledge and green economies;
• Investing in social capital and public
services:
Leveraging social capital in the social
economy and the public sectors; and
• Facilitating effective spatial
development:
Fostering rural development and regional
integration.
The new growth path stresses the need to align
macro-economic measures, micro-economic
interventions and social partner commitments.
This is done to achieve the shared goals that
the framework aims to achieve. It concludes
with setting out the priorities, sequencing and
implementation plans.
26
There are many positive stories in the local
government
sector.
These
range
from
municipalities that generally perform well to those
that just manage to fulfil their responsibilities
in specific areas, such as basic service
delivery, poverty alleviation and infrastructure
development.
It is clear from the various municipal performance
reviews that greater attention needs to be given to
the obstacles that prevent the worst performing
local and district municipalities from fulfilling
their core functions. In particular, the following
elements are suggested: