The GNU has resolved to dedicate the next five years to actions that will advance three strategic priorities: to drive inclusive growth and job creation, to reduce poverty and tackle the high cost of living, and to build a capable, ethical and developmental state.
Government of National Unity will prioritise inclusive economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction
The thoughts of all South Africans are with all those people who have been subjected to these terrible weather conditions as they work to recover and rebuild.I have asked the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces to convene this joint sitting to formally open Parliament on a day that is full of meaning and significance.
We are reminded on this day that we have a responsibility to each other; and that our wellbeing and our happiness cannot be separated from those of our fellow woman and man. Through their votes, they determined that the leaders of our country should set aside their political differences and come together as one to overcome the severe challenges that confront our nation.
They have come together, despite their differences, because they share a commitment to a nation that is united, prosperous and inclusive. The Medium-Term Development Plan will set out a well-defined vision and strategic plan that outlines clear goals and includes specific, measurable objectives and a roadmap for achieving them. These goals will be properly aligned with the Budget, which will support the implementation of these objectives.
It noted with appreciation the commitment and great enthusiasm with which the newly-appointed Ministers and Deputy Ministers as well as Premiers have embarked on their duties.Despite the achievements of 30 years of democracy, and the work undertaken over the last five years to rebuild our economy and our society, millions of South Africans remain poor, unemployed and live in a highly unequal society.
It must support the empowerment of black South Africans and women, and all those who in the past had been relegated to the fringes of the economy. We will continue to protect and uphold the hard-won rights of workers, and continually strive to improve the conditions in which they work and live.Inclusive growth requires that we remove the social, economic, cultural and other barriers to the full participation of persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups in the economy.
This approach can encourage businesses to expand and create more jobs inmunicipal areas. Investors are attracted to areas with reliable and modern infrastructure. We will put in place systems to ensure that capable and qualified people are appointed to senior positions in municipalities, and ensure independent regulation and oversight of the appointment process.When I visited eThekwini earlier this year, I met with residents of the city, with local business leaders and municipal officials.
We will massively increase the scale of investment in infrastructure through a more holistic and integrated approach, positioning Infrastructure South Africa as the central institution of coordination and planning. As the Government of National Unity, we are resolved to intensify our investment drive, encouraging and enabling businesses to invest in productive capacity.
We will pursue a smart industrial policy that focuses on the competitiveness of our economy, and that incentivises businesses to expand our exports and create jobs. Red tape debilitates the creation of jobs. Every department and every public entity has been directed to reduce the undue regulatory burdens that hold back businessesfrom creating jobs.
Through the Presidential Employment Stimulus, we have been able to create nearly 2 million work and livelihood opportunities. We aim to expand the public works programme exponentially to create more job opportunities.As we strengthen economic diplomacy with our largest trading partners and potential trading partners, we will prioritise the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area to increase our exports to the rest of the continent.
Work is under way to set up a Special Economic Zone in Boegoebaai to drive investment in green hydrogen energy projects. Our Just Energy Transition Investment Plan sets out a clear path to invest more than R1.5 trillion in a just transition, including support for workers and communities in Mpumalanga and other coal-producing regions.
As we pursue these new areas of growth, we will continue with the far-reaching reforms that enable growth. We will complete the most consequential transformation of South Africa’s electricity industry in more than a century. Through the implementation of the Freight Logistics Roadmap, we will continue with reforms to transform South Africa’s freight logistics system.
We will continue to pursue a macroeconomic policy that supports growth and development, in a stable and sustainable manner.We will manage public finances with a view to stabilising debt. We are firmly committed to steadily reducing the cost of servicing our debt so that we can redirect funds towards other critical social and economic needs.
As the Government of National Unity, we will look to expand the basket of essential food items exempt from VAT and undertake a comprehensive review of administered prices, including the fuel price formula, to identify areas where prices can be reduced. Importantly, we will link social assistance with other forms of support to lift people out of poverty.
To ensure that we produce the skills that our economy needs, we will expand vocational and technical training in schools and post-school institutions, and take a demand-led approach to skills development. In implementing the NHI, we are confident that we will be able to bring stakeholders together, and that we will be able to resolve differences and clarify misunderstandings.
The third strategic priority of the Government of National Unity is to build a capable, ethical and developmental state. We will complete the implementation of a new centralised ownership model for SOEs. This will improve accountability, transparency, governance and oversight, while reducing inefficiency and the potential for corruption.
We will deploy modern technology to assist crime fighting. A data-driven approach will be used to identify violent crime hotspots and inform the allocation of policing resources alongside prevention measures. We share a commitment to reconcile our nation by advancing social justice and equal prosperity for all.
Through this National Dialogue, we are called to be agents of change, to be champions of inclusive growth, to be creators of opportunity. This scenario saw investment confidence being eroded, the growth path being low and unemployment, poverty and inequality remaining extremely high.
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