A brighter future

by Editor · October 12, 2011

The pursuit of the National Planning Commission (NPC) to chart the way towards a brighter future must be welcomed � even by those who, jaded by past experience of lofty plans and much futile talk, fear that the initiative is just another �big idea� which, after some initial sparks, will fizzle out. Indeed, the fact that these concerns exist must give the NPC an impetus to exercise its collective mind not only on the strategies it is tasked to formulate, but also on how to communicate them, and how get society�s buy-in.

No doubt the NPC is a very good idea. Its mandate is to explore the main challenges and opportunities facing South Africa and to produce a draft vision of objectives to be reached by 2030. The advisory body is packed with high-achievers such as minister in the presidency Trevor Manuel, business tycoon and former politician Cyril Ramaphosa, former Anglo American chief Bobby Godsell, and other big names from business, politics, academia and civil society.

The NPC clearly seeks to be inclusive. On October 5, Mr Manuel met with Catholic bishops and other Church officials to explain the NPC, outline its mandate and engage in discussion. In September, Mr Manuel made use of the Internet in brainstorming directly and in real-time with the public (or at least that sector which has access to it) over a 72-hour period in what was called a �Jam�. Doubtless, Mr Manuel and the NPC will cast their net ever wider to secure the input and cooperation of South African leaders and the confidence of the public.

There can be no dispute that conditions in South Africa cry out for action. In its diagnostic report, which was released in June, the NPD identified several main problem areas facing South Africa. These included unemployment and a skills shortage (especially among the young); an inadequate infrastructure (particularly public transport, telecommunications, clean water); an unsustainable growth path; the marginalisation of the poor; the ailing health system; an underperforming public service marked by weak management, poor systems and inadequately skilled professionals; high levels of corruption; and a profoundly divided society.

The NPC will aim to develop a strategy to overcome these and other obstacles to secure a better future. We must presume that in doing so, it will reach for a broad consensus that bridges most social and ideological lines. When he presented the NPC with its brief in June 2010, President Jacob Zuma said: �The mandate of the commission is to take a broad, cross-cutting, independent and critical view of South Africa, to help define the South Africa we seek to achieve in 20 years time and to map out a path to achieve those objectives. The commission is expected to put forward solid research, sound evidence and clear recommendations for government.� And when the NPC does so, government must be in a position in which it can be trusted to act on the recommendations. It means the government, and the tri-partite alliance which presently is in control of it, must exhibit the unity in purpose and capacity to carry forward the NPC�s proposed strategy.

Alas, there is little that merits confidence in the government�s ability to carry out a comprehensive programme of national renwal. Before an ambitious plan can be translated into action, South Africa�s political class must purge itself of corruption, self-aggrandisement, power-mongering, incompetence, idleness, dishonesty, sense of entitlement and factional warfare. Politicians must come to terms with the (for some unwelcome) truth that they are elected to serve the people � not themselves, nor their family and friends, nor their party nor preferred faction within it. And here the NPC, and those institutions it might involve in its aims (including the Catholic Church), faces the fiercest obstacle to realising its mandate.

It will be necessary for all South Africans to embrace the project of a better future. By providing the roadmap and communicating it widely and effectively, the NPC and those institutions that support it can help South Africans internalise a vision, and hold accountable those whose actions violate it.