RSA NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION: WILL IT DELIVER TO CITIZENS?

DESPITE the rumblings from certain quarters over tha 're-organised and better aligned' President Jacob Zuma's Cabinet that was announced on Mother's Day (10 May 2009), there have emerged genteel murmurs and strong debate about the National Planning Commission and the person entrusted to lead it.
Was the honourable Trevor Manuel the RIGHT person to drive the NPC, and if so, will the majority South Africas-poorest of the poor- ever realise the beter life for all under the country's leadership by Msholozi and beyond?
Will the renowned 'anti-poor programmes Manuel' ever be biased towards the upliftment of the downtrodden people?
Will the central planning commission have statutory powers to recommend policy formulations that aim to benefit the majority South Africans?

Surely, as Minister of Finance over the past 10-years, Manuel became the darling of the captains of industry and also became the envy of the citizens that were still trapped under the so-called Second Economy.

Permit me to remind to hasten to remind you that the ANC's 50th Conference held in Mafeking (December 1997) had adopted a definitive resolution on economic policy.
One fundamental clause reads; "Conference re-affirms that our macro-economic framework policies must be directed to advancing the RDP. We are not pursuing macro balances for their own sake, but to create conditions for sustainable growth, development and reconstruction.
The strategy for Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) is aimed at giving effect to the realisation of the RDP through the maintainance of macro balances and elaborates a set of mutually-reinforcing instruments".

However, it must be noted that immediately thereafter some eminent scholars, including the former RSA President Thabo Mbeki, then Deputy President of the Republic, and his fellow cronies including then, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel, were captured on the mass-media networks stating that GEAR and RDP haved a totally different objective but 'its implemantation was necessary to ensure the sustainability of the RDP'.

From such utterances by ANC heavyweights and to the tabling of Gear in Parliament on June 14,1996, all talk and mention of RDP to drive the government policy formulation evaporated into thin air.

The then Deputy President of labour federation Zwelinzima Vavi was qouted in Cosatu's economic policy debate 'Social Equity' lamenting Manuel's conservative fiscal policy and the dire effects it was to have to the working class.

Before dwelling deeper on Manuel's shortcomings as a people-centred leader, lets reflect on Zuma's announcement of his Cabinet make-up, and he boldly pronounced that ' we created a structure that would enable us to achieve visible and tangible socio-economic development in the country over the next five years'.
Accordingly, he said, the structure of the Cabinet and national departments has therefore been re-organised to achieve better alignment between the structure, our electoral mandate as per our (ANC) election manifesto, and the developmental challenges that need to receive immediate attention from government.

And the very same Head of the National Planning Commission is on record defying resolutions expoused by his party, ANC, a decade earlier as the rumsacked over GEAR to South African citizens as an influential team player to that notorious " '96 Class Project".
"No matter what the misguided critics may argue, it is no use merely making a long list of promises. Making promises is easy--especially during election campaigns-- but carrying them out as government is very much more difficult.
Gear calls for a period of fiscal consolidation and Gear does not deal with black economic empowerment at all" argued Manuel (Sunday Times 13/8/06).

Does these sentiments run contrary to the multitudes that cast their votes next to Msholozi hoping that the ANC shall be true to their election promises in creating 'A Better Life for All' ? One is tempted not to believe that Trevor Manuel can at his whims behave as a loose canon.

Words uttered by the President himself when he announced his Cabinet are reassuring.
"Following extensive research on international models on how governments in other parts of the world plan and monitor perfomance, we have decided to establish a National Planning Commission and the Ministry for Perfomance Monitoring and Evaluation. Both ministries will be located and administered in the Presidency" Zuma said.
Coming from a socialistic background, one is but tempted to take stock of the blatant failures by the central government to fasttrack developmental programmes to benefit the previously-disadvantaged communities at a time when the incumbent Head of NPC was playing a critical role in the state budget allocation be it Gear, Asgisa, Jipsa, and you name them.
Under his stewardship as minister of finance, South Africa's rating plummented and the country is still battling to achieve the average 6% growth rate becausethe macroeconomic policy framework runs counter to the creation of an improved standard of living to the residents of Orange Farm, Cato Manor, Lindelani or Phillipi informal settlements.

IDASA Executive Director Paul Graham is on record stating that citizens have an amenable right to question how they were represented in their democratically-elected government.
"On March9, 2009 we presented to the Executive the findings of 4th Afrobarometer survey that we had conducted in 19-African which measures public attitudes on democracy and its alternatives, evaluations of the quality of governanance and economic performance.

The "South Africans' views of government perfomance and possible implications for policy making" can be used as a way of describing the political situation that faces the new government at the beginning of its term" says Graham.

Paradoxically, the critical challenge for a fresh start post Mbeki era, is to take a more comprehensive view of the socio-economic development for all South African citizens.
Synergy and corporate governance, surely, will be fasttracked after the creation of the perfomance monitoring and evaluation competency desk in the Presidency.
Even KwaZulu-Natal Premier Dr Zweli Mkhize announced during his inauguration, the two ministries housed in the Presidency will also be duplicated in provincial legislatures.
Therefore, across board there's a mandate to constantly monitor, appraise elected government officials and evaluate their perfomance in service delivery which must be commended.

However, will the NPC under the stewardship of Trevor Manuel, play any significant role in transforming the South African society and the economy to benefit the majority people in South Africa, in particular, the srious challenges of unemployment, poverty, transformation in the judiciary as seen in the Judicial Services Commission versus Cape Town Judge President legal quagmire, government open policy on HIV-Aids treatment facilities and the ever-increasing social inequalities prevalent in South African society?

Was the NPC armed with a blueprint that was aimed to usher in a mixed economy, a sustainable economy, or an economy that is fully integrated (connected) to the global political economy imperatives?

Will the new Department of Economic Development focus on economic planning, and promote or sustain small emerging contractors, small-scale farmers in rural areas and provide seed money to the co-operative societies?

Doest the NPC have the capacity to accelerate growth and the economy in the definition of a common national agenda?

Why must the National Planning Commission under the astute leadership of M,inister Trevor Manuel fail on this constitutional democracy mandate because the above form the basis of the paromount resolutions adopted by the ruling-party cadres during its 52nd Polokwane conference in December 2007.