Mr Speaker, hon Deputy President, Ministers, Deputy Ministers and hon members, today we table in this House the Green Paper on National Strategic Planning and a policy paper on performance monitoring and evaluation.
On 5 June 2009, and again on 24 June 2009, in the debate on the Budget Vote of the Presidency, both Minister Chabane and I provided a detailed introduction to the work of our Ministries. We set out the rationale for the establishment of our functional areas, noting that the key reason for the establishment of these two Ministries in the Presidency is to improve the overall effectiveness of government in achieving our short-, medium- and long-term objectives.
Today, admittedly slightly later than we had envisaged, we return to this House to present more details on what we envisage and how we plan to proceed. This time, we table papers that have been extensively canvassed in the executive, including discussions with provincial premiers, metro mayors, the leadership of Salga and the leaders of all political parties in this House.
The Green Paper on National Strategic Planning is a discussion document that sets out the rationale for planning and the institutional structures, processes and outputs of the national planning process. The Green Paper is not a plan for the country. It must be seen as the nuts and bolts - the "how" part of developing a plan or plans.
Also critical is to understand that the outputs of the planning function are not just a single document in the form of a national plan, but a variety of products ranging from annual programmes of action and a medium- term strategic framework to research papers on strategic issues and matters to do with the spatial dynamics of our development path.
We should also emphasise at the outset that the planning function is not conceptualised as a bookish and pedantic process with bespectacled men and women poring over tomes and computer screens in their offices to emerge, abracadabra, with eureka moments about solutions to the problems our country faces.
Strategic planning is a dynamic process of engagement with society, government departments, provinces, municipalities and a myriad of stakeholders in our country. To the extent that the vision for our country should inspire and inform the actions of all citizens, so should its development, derived from active citizen participation.
Even though we dealt in some detail previously with why South Africa needs a plan, today's input would be amiss if I didn't repeat some of the key reasons for why we are setting up the capacity in the Presidency to drive national strategic planning. After 15 years of democracy, we take comfort in the successes that we have achieved. Not only have we set up important institutions of democracy and governance, but we have also improved the lives of millions of people through a growing economy and improving access to basic services.
We are keenly aware, however, of the overwhelming evidence that we have not yet achieved our key objectives for transforming our society, economy, space and communities. Poverty, inequality and hardship remain stark realities across the length and breadth of our country.
We have made progress, yes, but we still have a long way to go in eradicating the effects of apartheid on the lives of all of our people. And so, we have to do more and better. Improved national strategic planning would provide a basis for increased policy coherence, better co-ordination from the centre of government and clear priorities upon which we can act as one in budgeting, implementing programmes and policies and monitoring the outcomes of our work.
Furthermore, a national plan will help focus our collective mind on long- term challenges facing our country and provide clear frameworks to take the tough decisions today that will enable us to realise a better country tomorrow.
Over time, all governments develop institutional rigidities that need to be shaken from time to time. The development of a coherent strategic plan at national level is also about breaking through the walls that we erect between departments, spheres, agencies and institutions.
Our Constitution implores us to work together in pursuit of the ideals it so eloquently articulates. The Green Paper on planning describes an institutional framework that aims to get us away from the perspective of where we each work alone, striving to achieve what is otherwise an outcome also dependent on the input of others in government and, indeed, society at large.
We need to elevate the discussion and the style of work to what needs to be done collectively and variously to get our country working. This approach has been welcomed by all metro mayors, provincial premiers, Salga and government Ministers.
The question regarding what we are planning for has arisen frequently in discussions leading to the finalisation of the Green Paper. Our Constitution sets out the raison d'tre of our government and the South African state per se. It is to build a prosperous, nonracial and nonsexist democracy, where the opportunities available to each South African are free from the shadow of history.
When we attempt to describe the South Africa we desire in 20 years' time, it is remarkable how similar the aspirations of all South Africans are. A long-term vision can serve as a unifying tool to get us to confront the more difficult challenges we face in the immediacy of current pursuits.
A long-term vision and plan for the country is the first output described in the Green Paper. The National Planning Commission, NPC, chaired by the Minister in the Presidency - National Planning Commission and consisting of commissioners from outside of government, is proposed to develop the national plan.
The Green Paper emphasises that Cabinet is the seat of policy in the executive and hence the National Planning Commission's role is advisory. The NPC, unencumbered by the constraints of individual Ministries and not beholden to short-term interests, can help develop a national plan that is genuinely long-term in nature, technically consistent and reflective of the broader aspirations of society.
The national plan will then go through a process within government before it is adopted by Cabinet in session with representatives of the other two spheres of government. A ministerial committee on planning is proposed to provide collective political support to the Minister for planning and to help process the outputs of the commission before they are tabled in Cabinet. It is envisaged that the President and Deputy President will be ex officio members of both the commission and the ministerial committee.
The Green Paper recognises that the five-yearly Medium-Term Strategic Framework is a document of the executive, drawing on the electoral mandate of the ruling party. Similarly, the annual programmes of action are processed and adopted by the executive. It is proposed in the Green Paper that the process whereby these two important documents are put together is co-ordinated by the Minister in the Presidency responsible for planning.
Again, the ministerial committee on planning will provide political input into this process, drawing on the work of clusters, departments, state- owned enterprises, provinces and municipalities.
Planning is a dynamic function that requires constant updating, taking on board new data, research and perspectives to nudge policy to achieve better longer-term outcomes. There will be a need for continuous research on cross- cutting topics that affect our medium- and long-term development plans, such as demographic change, climate change, energy sources, water security, food security and long-term defence capabilities.
The Minister for planning will work with that commission and relevant clusters, and departments will draw on the excellent research capacity that exists in the country to produce a series of baseline studies and research papers on these types of cross-cutting topics that would help shift policy to take account of long-term trends and objectives. Apartheid planning was effective at distorting the country's spatial geography, with major economic and social consequences. The creation of dormitory townships far from places of work and the Bantustan system is a legacy that will not go away on its own. It requires a concerted plan informed by a spatial planning framework. One of the functions of the planning process is to develop high-level spatial perspectives to guide infrastructure investment and other socioeconomic programmes.
A small, professional secretariat to be called the national planning secretariat is to be established in the Presidency to support the work of this entire cluster of activities. The secretariat will serve at the institutional centre for strategic planning in government and will work closely with technical experts in institutions such as the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the CSIR, Human Sciences Research Council, HSRC, universities and other think tanks.
We do not envisage a top-down planning process through which the Planning Ministry employs thousands of people who review every plan by every department, province or municipality. We envisage a dynamic and iterative process of strategic engagement that shapes the plans and resource allocations of government departments, spheres, state-owned enterprises and agencies through the provision of clear, coherent priorities.
The planning function would not, on its own, be responsible for co- ordinating the implementation of the national plan. Cabinet would collectively be responsible for implementation. The Minister, the commission and the planning secretariat, working closely with the Minister in the Presidency - Performance Monitoring and Evaluation and Administration, would from time to time report on progress in implementing government plans and strategic frameworks and advise government on gaps in implementing key priorities.
A long-term plan for this country is only implementable if it is technically sound, coherent and has a broad societal buy-in. It has to avoid the risk of being, like motherhood and apple pie, full of broad niceties that everyone agrees to. It has to go beyond that by tackling the key challenges and confronting the difficult trade-offs we face as a society. For this to work, a national plan has to find resonance beyond party-political structures and even beyond government.
The institution best placed to facilitate such a broad societal input into a planning process is Parliament. It is for this reason that robust engagement, taking into account the views of broader stakeholders, should be led by Parliament. For a start, this Green Paper, while not a national plan, should also be subjected to broad consultation and scrutiny.
We have a unique opportunity under the leadership of President Zuma to change the way in which we work, to raise our game in terms of planning and performance and to achieve better results as a people. Within government we have an opportunity to break the institutional rigidities that seem to have cemented over the past 15 years.
Such change is critical if we are to make a meaningful impact on people's lives in this five-year term, given the economic uncertainties we face and the resource constraints confronting us. Above all, we will need to do so informed by who and where we are as a nation, and who and where we want to be in more than a decade.
The development of a long-term national plan and better strategic planning in general would help align government's efforts towards achieving the type of society that we all desire in the future. This Green Paper is an attempt to open up the discussion on the institutional arrangements - the "how" and "what" of national strategic planning. We urge all South Africans to become part of the process of debate and engagement on this important initiative. We look forward to Parliament's leadership role in structuring such an engagement.
We remain fervently of the view that working together towards a clear set of goals we can do more to raise the quality of life of all of our people. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Hon Speaker, the DA appreciates this initiative and the manner of its introduction to political parties, and also that it amounts to an unfamiliar admission of failure. The duration of this debate, however, detracts from the value and importance of this very important initiative.
The debate around the national planning strategy is currently essentially abstract and esoteric as the appointment of the national planning commission and the development of a 2025 vision will be key to its success. Recent presidential appointments and the manner in which they have been made hardly bode well for the appointment of an appropriately diverse group of people with the appropriate experience and expertise.
The appointments of the SABC interim board, the Judicial Services Commission and the Chief Justice are instructive in this regard. Furthermore, the status of this Ministry currently has a veneer of credibility due to the image of the incumbent Minister. Will this hold in the future under the leadership of someone like Julius Malema, for example?
The determination of a national vision must be inclusive and transparent. If it is to be a vision for "our people" and not "all the people", it will be stillborn. Eventually, this means that what we need is a national vision, and not a nationalist vision. Therefore, the vision and planning model must be based on the outcome of a national debate on what kind of country we want our children and their children to live in, in 2025. This we must base on the nation's needs and aspirations, recognising that 6,3 million South Africans voted for opposition parties. This vision cannot simply reflect that of the ANC's Polokwane conference.
Minister, you would do well also to recognise that the road to hell is paved with good and bad intentions, and that national, international and economic realities determine what can realistically be achieved.
The current lack of cohesive nationhood is caused by the cognitive dissonance brought about by the perceptions and experiences of citizens regarding the current state of governance and service delivery in our country, despite perennial ANC electoral promises.
For example, the political and administrative meltdown in the North West province has been ascribed to the ANC provincial executive's factional deployment of incompetent cadres, nepotism, corruption and secret looting. I assume and trust that this was not planned.
Di stand van sake kan net toegeskryf word aan power politieke leierskap, swak dissipline en onverantwoordelikheid in die Staatsdiens.
Minister Chabane het onlangs ges dat die nodige strukture en maatrels om sulke mense vas te vat, reeds bestaan - ons stem saam - en dat sy ministerie uiterste gevalle na sulke strukture sal verwys. Die vraag is: En dan wat?
Julle twee kan beplan en monitor so veel as wat julle wil; indien julle nie die inkoop, ondersteuning en vertroue van die President, the Kabinet, die Parlement, die provinsies, en die munisipaliteite kry nie, sal die hele inisiatief in duie stort. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[This state of affairs can only be ascribed to poor political leadership, bad discipline and irresponsible actions within the Public Service.
Minister Chabane recently said that the necessary structures and measures to clamp down on such people already exist - we agree with him - and that his Ministry will refer extreme cases to such structures. The question remains: And what then?
The two of you can plan and monitor all you want; unless you get the President, Cabinet, Parliament, the provinces, and the municipalities to buy into, support and have confidence in it, the whole initiative will collapse.]
Planning priorities will require trade-offs, and careful arbitration will be required, both within the tripartite alliance, as well as between the public and private sectors.
This will be complicated by the widening division between government, trade unions and the private sector. It is imperative that trade unions understand the often unpalatable realities and also take the private sector on board with them by creating transparency and developing trust.
Both sectors need to understand the role of the developmental state; it is essentially a helping hand, and not an iron fist. For example, government promised 500 000 new jobs by the end of the year, on the one hand. This is just not materialising, while on the other hand a war of words has developed between government and the DA on the matter of banning labour broking.
This R23 billion sector is actually creating jobs, of which, though initially casual, 30% become converted into decent jobs after an average of eight months. Surely in this economic climate and considering the unacceptably high rate of unemployment, you should be planning on how to improve and regulate this industry rather than shutting it down.
My recent visits to sites of poor service delivery confirm that poor planning and performance monitoring result in poor governance and service delivery.
This state of affairs will compromise the R5 billion capital infrastructure investment in the King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality, which is intended to address the collapse of the infrastructure network and should not only ensure proper service delivery, but should also assist in attracting economic investment to an extremely depressed area.
In conclusion, the DA supports this initiative in principle and appeals to all concerned to support it honestly and to commit to ensuring its success. For example, the newly appointed chief operations officer in the Presidency, the spinning Jessie Duarte, will have to confine herself to reality and not become a reincarnation of Aesop's Fables.
This initiative will mean that the ANC government will have to be prepared to take tough decisions and address the issue of constraining legislation to make a difference. Are you prepared to do so, hon Minister?
In conclusion, we appreciate the recognition that this House needs to be informed. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Hon Speaker, hon Deputy President, hon Minister and members, when we reflect on the past 15 years, with all the progress that has been made, we agree that we have not lived up to our full potential as a country.
Our governments, in their successes, failed to reach the many goals that they had set for themselves. This was not because there were no resources, as most government departments would each year return funds to the fiscus, but mainly due to incoherent planning and a lack of co-ordination.
Cope welcomes the much anticipated clarity that the national planning Ministry has provided in its Green Paper regarding its mandate and how it will function. In seeking to right the wrongs of the past - as in those of apartheid - it is indeed heartening that government also recognises the injustice of punishing the people of South Africa for mistakes made by recent governments and their institutions, such as the recent electricity price hikes by Eskom and that to rectify these, long-term planning has to be embraced that will guide not only the government, but also the South Africans, in the challenge of rebuilding their country.
The wisdom of defining where one is going and how one will get there can never be overstated. The operative word that the Minister uses in this process is inclusivity. It will require a conscious paradigm shift for all South Africans to move from partisanship to a sense of national consciousness that seeks to design a process that will take all to such a common destiny and a sense of common good.
The Ministry in the Presidency is the custodian of this collective desire of the people of South Africa. The ideas outlined in the Green Paper have to be examined in an open spirit and through transparent processes that in the end will legitimise them in the eyes of all South Africans.
We urge the Minister to ensure that this commitment is not compromised. The people of South Africa must be assured that this process will not be used to stifle innovation and that all efforts will be made to ensure authentic inclusivity and that, indeed, the process will not be used merely as a tool for co-option. I thank you, Speaker. [Applause.]
Speaker, hon colleagues, in the last century, the concept of state planning was often very contentious, especially with the Soviet Union, its satellites and fellow travellers giving the concept a very bad name.
Planning, however, is of course an intrinsic part of government. As the saying goes, "If you fail to plan, you are actually planning to fail." The issue then is not whether you engage in planning, but rather the "when", "how" and "what" of planning.
The IFP believes there is much to agree with in the proposed National Planning Commission. We endorse the inclusivity and nonpartisanship the Minister spoke of. We support the eschewal of "commandism"; we agree on the need to avoid institutionalising bureaucracy. But really, in the end, success or failure will depend in a large part on the composition of the commission and government's response to what it has to say.
In respect of appointments, we are pleased that government is seemingly intending to desist from employing party hacks or rewarding narrow sectoral interests. But equally, of course, it is critical that government listens to what the commission has to say. If the intention is that government avoids being trapped by its own institutional perceptions, then it has to be open to new ideas.
So, colleagues, this is an important initiative, and it is one that we support in principle. We wish the Minister well. Thank you. [Applause.]
The ID certainly welcomes the creation of this Ministry as we believe it is vital that we adopt a long-term approach towards South Africa's development. As recent events have shown, the world around us is changing fast and we need to be alive to the challenges and opportunities that this change will bring.
The ID implores you, Minister, to give due cognisance to the fact that our model of development needs to be radically restructured to deal with an impending natural resource crunch that the global economy will be subjected to over the next few decades.
It is, therefore, vital that the National Strategy for Sustainable Development is driven by your Ministry and that, as Thomas Friedman states in his recent book, "our ability to outgreen other countries ultimately leads to us outcompeting them."
The ID will enjoy exploring this and other issues with you as we develop a truly comprehensive national plan. I thank you.
Mr Speaker, Deputy President and hon members, the UDM welcomes the new-found commitment by government to pursue a more holistic and integrated policy and service delivery. This is a longstanding concern of the UDM. As we have argued on countless occasions, the country's most pressing challenges - from unemployment to crime and poverty - require multipronged and innovative solutions. Even among related government departments, for example the economic cluster, there are countless discrepancies in objectives and approaches.
Our concern with the national planning strategy is twofold. Firstly, there is an issue of accountability. Existing structures and elected officials cannot simply become the mindless pawns of a central state bureaucracy. The autonomy and accountability of existing structures as enshrined in the Constitution must be protected. It would be a sad day if elected institutions at local and provincial levels became mere cogs in the national government machine. That was never the intention of our Constitution.
Secondly, there is the question of consultation. Any plan that claims to be a national strategy must have the broad and informed support of the whole nation, which means it will need to be widely debated.
South Africans have grown tired of a distant style of governance that decides for them what they need and how they will get it. A national strategy that takes a one-size-fits-all approach would be disastrous. The rural village in Limpopo that receives unnecessary housing when they are in the midst of a water crisis is an example.
The UDM supports the initiative. Thank you. [Applause.]
Agb Speaker, die VF Plus verwelkom natuurlik, soos enige ander politieke party, die inisiatiewe geneem deur die agb Minister. Dit is 'n positiewe stap in die regte rigting. Daar is ongelukkig 'n negatiewe aspek daarby, en ons moet s dat dit eintlik 'n erkenning is van die regering dat daar nie eintlik beplanning in die verlede was nie.
Selfs na 15 jaar van regeer, neem die ANC nou eers 'n besluit en besef nou dat daar behoorlike beplanning moet wees.
Ons het nie twyfel aan die bevoegdhede van die agb Minister nie; ons sal egter moet kyk hoe dit in die praktyk gaan eindig. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Mr P J GROENEWALD: Hon Speaker, the FF Plus, like any other party, naturally welcomes the initiatives taken by the hon Minister. It is a positive step in the right direction. There is unfortunately also a negative aspect attached to it, and that, we must add, is an acknowledgement from the government that there was in fact no planning in the past.
Even after 15 years of governance, the ANC is only deciding and realising now that there should be proper planning.
We do not doubt the capabilities of the hon Minister; however, we will have to see how it will end in practice.]
As the former Minister of Finance, I think the Minister will understand when I say, "Talk is cheap but money buys the whiskey". We will check it. Thanks.
Speaker, hon Minister, there can be no doubt that challenges such as climate change, energy supply, food security and structural inequalities such as systemic poverty require longer-term planning. The absence of a coherent and clearly articulated long-term strategic plan has negatively impacted upon government's ability to provide clear and consistent plans across all sectors.
The ACDP trusts that this Green Paper will start to address this matter and put an end to short-term planning and lack of co-ordination that has seen many good policies flounder due to defective implementation. It is also necessary to involve independent experts, strategic thinkers and think tanks to determine the country's long-term planning priorities and to draw up a national strategic plan.
The ACDP appreciates that this document is intended to elicit a national discussion and that wide consultation will be held before mapping out a long-term vision for the country. We support this initiative, Minister, and we will participate in its process. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr Speaker, I realise that on the speakers' list I'm supposed to speak Afrikaans. For the record I just want to say that Tshivenda is not Afrikaans.
Let me first express our appreciation as the ANC for the visionary leadership of President Jacob Zuma and his administration. Not only did they show political leadership, but, most importantly, commitment and decisiveness, impressive planning, co-ordination and monitoring at the centre of a developmental state as priority number 1. This is in line with our objectives of realising the goals as set out in the national democratic revolution.
Secondly, we highly appreciate the consultative process by the Office of the President on soliciting views and advice from structures on how best government can improve its delivery systems and therefore build the required capacity. This process has allowed the broader South African society to come forward and participate in the making of a new South Africa and its administration. This is a position that we, as the ANC, have always believed in - that it is the people's wisdom and their collective intellectual capacity that a better South Africa can be founded upon. This is a South Africa where nonracialism, nonsexism, democracy and prosperity can be cherished.
Let me respond to some of the issues that have been raised. It was said that the National Planning Commission's vision should not be based only on a collective or a collection of a few individuals. But the document itself, the Green Paper, does envisage a process through which we seek to mobilise all the people of our country, and I believe opposition parties should be part and parcel of the people of this country. They are, therefore, invited to participate in making an input and enriching this document that is tabled before us. There is an issue around service delivery matters that we also hear about in terms of some provinces and the country as a whole. This document begins by admitting that in the past 15 years, whilst we have made serious inroads in reducing poverty and creating job opportunities in the country, there remain glaring disparities between the rich and the poor. As the leading and governing party, we did not need anybody to tell us about this.
We came out, and this document does speak to these issues. Therefore, the issue of long-term planning is not something we are thinking about today; it is but part and parcel of strengthening the capacity of government in order to respond to the challenges that we need to respond to as of now.
This document also says what it is that we need to do. We need a coherent plan to achieve the ideals enshrined in our Constitution. Experience has proven to us that the legacy of apartheid cannot and will not self-correct because it requires fundamental changes that not only the market forces can respond to. The state must lead in developmental initiatives. The state must provide leadership. We agree with the proposal in the document that the Presidency cannot shirk its responsibilities of leadership.
In terms of the ownership and leadership of the programmes of government, we also agree that Parliament must ensure that society as a whole participates in ensuring that we have the necessary capacity to respond to the challenges that we are confronted with, especially now under the current global circumstances. Under these circumstances, we are expected to achieve more with the little resources we have; and indeed we must achieve more.
The hon member from the DA also raised the issue about North West, saying that some of the failures in the provincial government and local municipalities are as a result of corrupt activities of ANC councillors. I must put it on record in this House that wherever the ANC acts it acts in the interests of the people. It is the ANC that discovers and exposes corrupt activities and acts accordingly. [Applause.]
In terms of the 500 000 job opportunities which the President has directed that we should have created by the end of December, I must say to those who want to say that labour broking has actually created job opportunities, it cannot be that casualisation of jobs can be regarded as a safety network for our people. [Applause.] It cannot be that exploitation in a new form of modern slavery can be regarded as job opportunities for our people. Labour broking is nothing but a new form of exploitation, and it must be known as such. [Applause.] Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Debate concluded.