10 Year Review of the National Development Plan Call to Action 26 September 2023

The third National Planning Commission (NPC) has completed a detailed and thorough review of the progress made in the ten years since the adoption of the National Development Plan (NDP) in 2012. The NDP is the only cross-cutting long-term plan for national development in South Africa. This evidence-based review clearly shows that insufficient progress has been made towards the achievement of the NDP goals. Nevertheless, a number of key and ongoing initiatives provide a basis for hope. Hence this Call to Action by the NPC. We call on all South Africans to refocus on the goals of the NDP. Government cannot achieve the goals of the NDP alone but needs the whole of society to partner with it. In its role as an independent advisory body and custodian of the NDP, the NPC strives to mobilise society towards the NDP: Vision 2030, encouraging ownership and implementation of the NDP by all key societal stakeholders. The key goals of the NDP include the elimination of poverty, and the reduction of inequality and unemployment by 2030. However, for these critical goals to be reached, the envisaged economic, social, and environmental fundamentals must be in place. These include an economy that not only grows at the requisite pace but is also inclusive of those currently excluded from the benefits of economic growth. This means we need labour-absorbing strategies, an education system that produces a quality workforce armed with relevant skills, a comprehensive social protection system, a professional public service, a capable state, a functional universal public health system, efficient infrastructure services, and the transition to a low-carbon economy. The shared vision of change that underlies the NDP is aimed at the creation of a united, prosperous, and equitable society by 2030. Whereas the NPC acknowledges the legacy of apartheid, which has resulted in deep-rooted inequality, unrelenting poverty, and rising unemployment, these problems persist into the present, largely because of the abandonment of the NDP, deteriorating state capacity, and inappropriate policy management. The abandonment of the NDP has resulted in incoherent planning. Nor has the state been able to fund, sequence, and co-ordinate the implementation of the NDP. These systemic challenges have been compounded by a combination of contextual challenges, such as the 2007/9 global financial crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, the July 2021 uprising in South Africa, and shifting geopolitical dynamics.