Johannesburg - It is time to start implementing the National Development Plan (NDP) and stop debating it, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe said on Monday.
“We can't debate until we are blue in the face, we must implement,” Mantashe told reporters in Johannesburg.
“We can only see what is working and what is not working in the course of implementing.”
He said people wanted the introduction of programmes that could deal with their plight. The African National Congress adopted the NDP at its national conference in Mangaung in December.
However, its alliance partners, the Congress of SA Trade Unions and the SA Communist Party, have both voiced concerns about certain sections of the NDP. An alliance summit would be held soon, where the NDP was expected to take centre stage.
The party held its three-day national executive committee (NEC) lekgotla near Pretoria at the weekend. Mantashe said the lekgotla once again acknowledged that the NDP was important in guiding the national effort to get rid of the “legacy of selective development”.
Mantashe said the lekgotla conducted an audit of all major projects that the government had approved and funded. They were assessed to ensure that unemployment, poverty and inequality were being confronted. The NDP addressed these issues, he said.
“The issue is that we must have up-to-date information that we can give to the people.”
Mantashe said society had a right to know what projects were underway. The lekgotla acknowledged that progress had been made and agreed that all infrastructure programmes had to continue being implemented.
“In this regard, infrastructure provision, rural development, energy sources, fuel sufficiency, ICT (information and communication technologies), as well as education and skills development were re-affirmed as critical for progress,” Mantashe said.
“If we don't tackle these issues were are going to battle going forward.”
The lekgotla decided that private and public sector investment and building confidence in the economy were priorities.
The NEC resolved that President Jacob Zuma establish a task team that would focus on the economy and ensure effective delivery in various sectors.
“The lekgotla acknowledged the impact of the global financial crisis on the performance of the global economy and the decline in the GDP 1/8gross domestic product 3/8 growth,” Mantashe said.
“The sluggish performance of the economy in job creation and the low levels of private sector investment were a source of major concern, hence the proposed presidential task team.”
The team would focus on all major sectors in the economy, including mining.
“We want sectors to move with the necessary speed,” Mantashe said.
He said task team's mandate would be discussed at the upcoming Cabinet lekgotla. - Sapa