President Jacob Zuma assured South Africans that this time around the National Development Plan (NDP) would be implemented \u2013 some four years after it was initially introduced.<\/p>\n
\u201cI assure you we are implementing the NDP. And I\u2019m happy that this time around we\u2019re coming together as business, government and labour to agree on the things that will take South Africa forward,\u201d Zuma said in reply to the debate on his State of the Nation address delivered last week.<\/p>\n
Zuma emphasised that the implementation of the NDP remains the \u201ccornerstone\u201d of the economy. \u201cIt provides a basis for collective actions to stabilise our economy, raise investment and return South Africa to a path of inclusive economic growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NDP will be broken up in subsectors, such as water, energy, food security, spatial planning and public transport, each with outcomes in the next five years.<\/p>\n
Zuma further acknowledged that a possible ratings downgrade is a very real threat and that government should leave no stone unturned to prevent it from happening.<\/p>\n
Passing power to Gordhan <\/strong><\/p>\n The meetings he and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan had with business leaders will become a regular phenomenon, Zuma said. \u201cWe\u2019re happy with the support of business \u2013 they\u2019re a key stakeholder. We\u2019ve met four times since January and the partnership is yielding results.\u201d<\/p>\n He said he\u2019s heard the business sector\u2019s concerns, including the need to better govern state-owned enterprises, public\/private partnerships, improved labour relations and infrastructure development.<\/p>\n Zuma\u2019s next meeting with business leaders will take place in May after the World Economic Forum on Africa convention in Kigali, Rwanda.<\/p>\n The president\u2019s utterances indicated that he would allow Gordhan to crack the fiscal whip when he presents his budget speech next week Wednesday. \u201cThere will be stronger measures to restore a sustainable fiscal path and it has been endorsed at the highest levels of government,\u201d Zuma said.<\/p>\n \u201cOur position is that since we cannot change the global economic outlook we can still focus on correcting the domestic circumstances that have affected confidence in our economy.\u201d<\/p>\n Fin24<\/a><\/p>\n Forget Nkandla, Zuma should pay for damages to the economy<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Zuma says SA economy has a silver lining<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMore on the economy in SA<\/h3>\n