From the office of the Presidency
In 2009, President Jacob Zuma introduced the functions of planning, monitoring and evaluation in the government, and in particular established the National Planning Commission, (NPC).
The NPC is chaired by the Minister for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr Jeff Radebe. Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa was the Deputy Chairperson of the NPC before his election and appointment as the Deputy President of the Republic.
The term of office of the current NPC will come to the end in May this year. Minister Radebe will soon call for nominations for the new NPC, whose members are appointed by the President.
In 2009, the NPC, then chaired by the former Minister, Mr Trevor Manuel, was asked by the President to take a broad, cross-cutting, independent and critical view of South Africa, to help define the development status we seek to achieve as a nation in 20 years’ time and to map out a path to achieve those objectives.
The hard working Commission developed the landmark National Development Plan after extensive consultation with South Africans from all walks of life.
“The plan is our inspiration. It constantly reminds us of what type of society we can be by 2030, which is why we have begun working systematically to achieve that goal within government”, said President Zuma.
Through providing a set of guiding principles, the NPC has helped government put together the first five year plan to implement the NDP, the Medium Term Strategic Framework for 2014- 2019 which is the programme of action of government for the next five years.
“All the work that government is doing between now and 2019 is practically the implementation of the NDP. We urge business and other sectors to also institutionalise the NDP in their planning processes and programmes so that we can move the country forward together,” said the President.
One of the most innovative NDP implementation programmes in government is the Operation Phakisa delivery model which is being implemented to unlock the ocean economy and improve the functioning of clinics.
In SONA2015, the President announced that Operation Phakisa will also be utilised to unlock the potential of the country’s mining sectors, especially with regards to beneficiation.
National Planning Commission members will need to have skills including the following: infrastructure development, urban and regional planning, energy, agriculture and food security, education and training, health, public policy and governance, community engagement, economics, finance, budgeting and banking, ICT, telecommunications and broadcasting, business and industry, water and sanitation, science and technology, social cohesion and nation building, futures research and scenario planning, climate change and youth development.
