When President Zuma appointed Trevor Manual to chair the National Planning Commission (NPC) he was given an immense task: to come up with a twenty year plan to turn South Africa into the country we want it to be. It’s a task that has occupied Manual and his 25 fellow commissioners for the last 18 months. Last month, the NPC released its National Development Plan – a 444-page blueprint that sets out the vision for South Africa in 2030, and the action we need to make it a reality.

At GreaterGood, we love a good plan. We love that this one is ambitious in its aims, but at the same time realistic about the challenges we face and the sacrifices that will have to be made to achieve them. We love that it sets out concrete targets so that monitoring systems can be put in place and progress can be measured. We love that even though it has been produced by a government body, it is refreshingly honest about the limits of state power and the problem that corruption poses.

Ending poverty and reducing inequality
Of course, we love that it calls for collaboration between government, the private sector and civil society and recognises that we all have a part to play. But most of all, we love that for all the complexity involved in achieving the South Africa we want by 2030, we can focus on two clear and simple goals: ending poverty and reducing inequality.

Diagnostic report
Back in June, the NPC released its diagnostic report, which set out nine key challenges that must be overcome if South Africa is to become the country we want it to be. These challenges are neatly summarised by Trevor Manual in this 10-minute YouTube video: 

Capabilities
In the face of these challenges, the NPC needed to produce a plan that would end poverty and reduce inequality. The key to achieving this, according to the plan, is to focus on capabilities.

In his forward, Manual writes that “At the core of this plan is a focus on capabilities; the capabilities of people and our country and of creating the opportunities for both. The capabilities that each person needs to live the life that they desire differ, but must include education and skills, decent accommodation, nutrition, safe communities, social security, transport and job opportunities.”

Targets
The role of the plan, then, is to outline the specific actions that we must take if we are to overcome the challenges that prevent so many South Africans from living the lives they desire. These actions are linked to ambitious targets to reach by 2030. There are loads of these targets, but here are a few highlights:

• Create 11 million more jobs to bring the unemployment rate down from 27% to just 6%
• Extending electricity from 70% to 95% of households
• 80% of children who start school in Grade 1 should go on to pass matric
• Life expectancy should be raised to at least 70 for both men and women
• Produce 5,000 doctoral graduates per year
• Reduce maternal mortality rates from 500 to 100 per 100,000
• All citizens will have equal rights to healthcare regardless of income

Engines of development
The growth plan will have major implications for civil society, particularly those organisations working in the education, health, rural development and social welfare sectors. The Commission is clear that to achieve these ambitious targets, all South Africans will need to work together:

“To make meaningful, rapid and sustained progress in reducing poverty and inequality over the next two decades, South Africa needs to write a new story. At the core of this plan is a new development paradigm that seeks to involve communities, youth, workers, the unemployed and business in partnership with each other, and with a more capable state."

Scepticism
The plan isn’t government policy yet. And there are some in government who won’t like all of the plans suggestions – Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has already expressed scepticism concerning the recommendation that teachers’ pay be linked to performance and the recommended end to cadre deployment is bound to upset a few people.

We sincerely hope that Jacob Zuma and his cabinet will put the interests of the country first when the plan is tabled for discussion. And, as the experts in social development, we call on civil society to rise to the challenges presented in the plan. For the good of us all.

Something to say? Leave your comments about the National Development Plan below or respond to the National Planning Commission directly.