ANC will speak on NDP in Mangaung
2012-08-15 21:24
Cape Town - The ANC will make a formal statement on the revised National Development Plan at its elective conference in December, Planning Minister Trevor Manuel said on Wednesday.
"The national conference will make a declaration. The ANC is dealing with the issue in that way," Manuel told reporters after handing the revised plan to President Jacob Zuma.
He stopped short of saying the ruling party would endorse the blueprint for eliminating poverty and reducing inequality in South Africa by 2030 at its Mangaung conference.
Had the plan been submitted to the ANC policy conference in June rather, it would have been mulled over, and likely reworked into cumbersome form.
Its fate may then have been similar to that of a fine horse transformed into a "seven-humped camel", said Manuel.
National Planning Commissioner Cyril Ramaphosa echoed the sentiment, saying adoption at the policy conference could have blurred perceptions of the plan and wrongly persuaded people that it was a ruling party document.
"I didn't think we should fuss too much about the ANC policy conference not having expressed itself expressly," he said.
"The national conference will."
He added: "If it [the policy conference] had done so, many would have aligned themselves against the plan and said it was an ANC plan and not come out in full support."
Asked about commentary, often from the opposition, that the plan diverges drastically from the ANC's New Growth Path, Ramaphosa said this was not true.
He said the growth path aimed to create five million jobs in five years, while the development plan was geared towards creating 11 million jobs over the period leading up to 2030.
"There is no contradiction and quite a lot of alignment."
- SAPA
