President Jacob Zuma’s state of the nation address this year will be the first to be delivered in the context of the National Development Plan (NDP), the presidency said today. “In Sona 2013, the president will provide an update on all key programmatic areas, especially the five priorities, education, health, creating decent work, the fight against crime; as well as rural development and land reform,” the presidency said in a statement. “He will also outline progress made in the implementation of the New Growth Path, the economic strategy within the NDP.” The New Growth Path promoted inclusive growth and job creation in six job drivers. These included infrastructure development, agriculture, mining and beneficiation, manufacturing, the green economy and tourism.
The NDP envisages near full employment and high economic growth by 2030. The document, compiled by the National Planning Commission, says the unemployment rate should fall from the current 25 % to 14 % by 2030. It says the economy should grow by an average of 5.4% a year and that GDP per capita should grow from R50 000 to R110 000 per person in 2030. The commission says these objectives can be obtained by improving education and relaxing some labour laws. It makes proposals for expanding infrastructure in order to boost exports; for reducing the cost of living for poor households and reducing the cost of doing business for small enterprises. It calls for tax incentives to encourage employers to hire young people and it says there should be a more open immigraton policy to attract high-level skills. – Additional reporting SABC The commission says the benefit of the country’s mineral resources should be increased by providing certainty about property rights and the right to mine.
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