President Ramaphosa’s take on National Development Plan

President Ramaphosa has welcomed the National Development Plan (NDP) 10-year review report presented by the National Planning Commission.

1. The review found that the economy is not growing fast enough to achieve the NDP objectives, and is not structured to benefit all South Africans resulting in high poverty and inequality.
2. Apartheid legacies, inappropriate economic policies and state capture continue to undermine South Africa’s competitiveness and people’s potential.
3. The review recommended institutionalizing planning across the state and government to enable progress towards NDP goals.
4. The focus needs to be on resolving issues like energy provision, infrastructure backlogs, building state capacity and addressing apartheid spatial legacies.
5. Despite challenges faced, the NDP objectives of eliminating poverty, unemployment and inequality must remain the country’s priority.
6. The National Planning Commission is an independent planning body appointed by the President to advise government on the country’s long-term development as defined in the NDP.