The African National Congress is insisting that it will meet its economic goals for the year 2030 despite the economic decline, its head of policy Jeff Radebe said on Saturday.
The National Development Plan is a government plan to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030.
Radebe was briefing the media on the implementation of the NDP which will form part of discussions at the policy conference this week.
He presented a watered down recommendation from the policy committee which will be presented to the delegates at the policy conference.
The economic downturn and radical economic transformation as well as land reform will play centre stage during policy discussions.
Objectives
Radebe reiterated that the ANC was committed to ensuring that it obtains its objectives of the NDP.
"We do not live in isolation. There are conditions that are out of our control, especially in the economy with the global downturn and also our own subjective situation in South Africa has given rise to this negative economic growth currently, but we are committed of ensuring that we obtain our objectives of the NDP."
In defence of the NDP, he said journalists should remember that the NDP is not plan of government but rather a plan approved by Parliament and in essence by the people of the country.
He added that the private sector which controls 70% of the economy also has a duty in the implementation of the NDP.
The ANC's own alliance partners, the SACP as well as Cosatu have raised concern over the NDP. Radebe skirted around questions surrounding statements by alliance partners on the NDP.
Cosatu has often said that the NDP fails to make the radical economic shift needed to tackle unemployment, inequality and poverty, and threatens to reverse some advances made.
South African Communist Party deputy general secretary Jeremy Cronin has been quoted saying that there were flaws within the NDP.
Key outcomes
Radebe, however, said while Cosatu had reservations on the NDP centred around the economic section, he believed that the parties alliance partners had not rejected it.
"I can't speak for them but my perception is that they have not rejected the NDP. I cannot speak on the SACP but its common cause that the general secretary [Blade Nzimande] is a member of Cabinet so are top officials of the SACP which just demonstrates to you [they] are implementing the NDP in terms of the medium term strategies and frame work."
The NDP's 2030 vision says that 11 million jobs should be created.
Increasing gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 5% over the next five years (2022) is one of the key economic targets of the 2014 - 2019 Medium-Term Strategic Framework.
The framework, which lists 14 key outcomes and associated activities and targets which would serve as a prioritisation framework for government.
Key economic targets include increasing the rate of investment to 25% of GDP by 2019 and reducing the official unemployment rate from 25% - 14% by 2020. However some of these targets have been widely criticised by economists.
Radebe admitted that the employment rate was not moving fast enough with government challenges including youth unemployment.
Statistic South Africa released figures in November 2016 which showed that unemployment in South Africa has risen to 27.1% in the third quarter of 2016. -- News24