Hon Chairperson, substantial work has been done in identifying the line functions and responsibilities of the Department of Economic Development. To clarify the Ministry's focus and mandate, I shall draw on two policy statements made by the President which remain the position of government.
In motivating the new Cabinet structure, President Zuma stated on 10 May this year that "Cabinet has been reorganised to achieve better alignment between the structure, our electoral mandate and the developmental challenges that need to receive immediate attention from government."
In line with this, the President announced that a new Department of Economic Development had been established to focus on economic policy- making. And, during the Presidency Vote on 24 June this year, the President stated:
Some people are wondering why we have both the Department of Trade and Industry and that of Economic Development. Trade matters will require a strong focus to have a direct impact on industrial organisation and output. The Economic Development portfolio will have a strong domestic focus and will address, amongst others, matters of macro and micro economic development planning.
The establishment of the National Planning Commission does not replace the need for planning in departments and spheres and agencies of government. The way in which the national planning process has been structured takes cognisance of the fact that departments, spheres and relevant state entities would have the requisite strategic planning capacity and responsibility.
The role of the Minister in the Presidency responsible for the National Planning Commission would be to integrate the work of the NPC into government and Cabinet. Additionally, the Minister will also facilitate the input of the various departments and spheres with regard to the development of the national strategic plan.
As members should be aware, the Green Paper on National Strategic Planning was tabled in this House on 4 September this year. As President Zuma indicated, the affected Ministries are working together to align their work and respective responsibilities. I thank you.
Chairperson, Deputy President, in light of the recently released Cosatu report, which notes that there is not a single reference to the role of the Economic Development Ministry in that Green Paper on National Strategic Planning you referred to, how do you envision the co- ordination of the policy, given that the Minister in the Presidency does not even acknowledge the Minister of Economic Development in his plans? Thank you.
Chairperson, well, I thought the words of our President, who has stated publicly that these Ministers work together, answered that question. Anyway, the Green Paper is a discussion paper and it is meant to generate debate and discussion, and it will therefore evolve into a much more coherent document after all of the inputs and debates and discussions have been concluded. At the moment, it is a Green Paper, and I don't think we should make much of whatever comes across as weak. The idea, really, is that it should elicit inputs from all of us. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Is there any other supplementary question? If there are none, then let me take the opportunity on behalf of the Chairperson of the Council and the Council to thank the Deputy President for having availed himself. And, once more, I express our happiness and excitement about the fact that despite all the things that have been reported or said, the Deputy President was able to come today and respond to questions in the manner in which he did. Thank you very much, hon Deputy President. [Applause.]