National Planning Commission
15 January 2009
On 12 August 2009, Cabinet approved the release of the
Green Paper: National Strategic Planning for public consultation. Following an
extensive consultative process involving Parliament, public comment and
discussions in Cabinet, this Green Paper was revised.
Today, we are releasing the revised
Green Paper that was approved by
Cabinet in December last year. The Green Paper is more limited in its focus,
dealing exclusively with the work of the National Planning Commission.
It sets out what the National Planning Commission would
do, how it would function and what support structures are proposed to help
facilitate the work of the commission. In summary, the National Planning
Commission is tasked with producing two sets of work. The first is a draft
long-term vision and strategic plan for the country. The second set of work
relates to a series of thematic papers on cross cutting issues affecting South
Africa’s long-term development. Examples of possible themes include climate
change, demographic change, water and food security, energy security, human
resource development and technology and innovation.
The task of the commission is to contribute towards
government’s long term plans through the production of high quality, evidence
based research. Cabinet remains the key decision making centre in government and
so the National Planning Commission would have to interact with Cabinet, through
the chair of the commission who is also a member of Cabinet.
For this reason, the commission is essentially of an
expert nature, broadly representative of the range of expertise and opinions of
South Africans. At the same time, the commission, with the support of
Parliament, would facilitate public input into the development of a long-term
vision that people from all walks of life can aspire to.
While long term planning is an ongoing process, it is
hoped that the commission would be able to produce a draft vision and long term
strategic plan within 18 months
Today, we are formally asking the public to nominate
people to serve on the National Planning Commission. We seek the best, brightest
minds in our country that can use their sectoral expertise to contribute towards
a broad development plan for the country. Individuals and organisations are
invited to nominate people who will serve in their own capacity as
commissioners. The commission will be of a permanent nature but commissioners
will be part time. The closing date for nominations is 10 February, after which
the President will announce the names of the commissioners by the end of March.
This weekend, we also begin the process of establishing
the secretariat to support the work of the commission. The secretariat is a new
institution based in the Presidency that provides technical, administrative and
professional support to the work of the commission. To staff the secretariat, we
seek to attract a small number of highly competent, experienced professionals
through offering a range of flexible employment options, including the option of
secondment from both public and private organisations.
Nomination forms for both the commission and for positions in the secretariat will be online. People wishing to access more information and the forms can log onto the National Planning Commission icon on the Presidency website http://www.thepresidency.gov.za
Click here to download the NPC Green Paper
Issued by: The Presidency
