4 February 2014
An active citizenry is vital if South Africa is to meet the goals set out in its National Development Plan (NDP), National Planning Minister Trevor Manuel said on Monday.
Addressing students, academics and members of the public at Stellenbosch University, Manuel said it was not only up to the government to meet the country’s needs, but that ordinary South Africans also had an important role to play in making the NDP’s Vision 2030 a reality.
The NDP is a policy blueprint for eliminating poverty and reducing inequality in South Africa by 2030. Among other things, it identifies the key constraints to faster growth and presents a roadmap to a more inclusive economy that will address the country’s socio-economic imbalances.
Manuel called on South Africans to work together to “fight against social ills such as rape and abuse to ensure that women can walk in the streets at any time of the day.
“South Africans must also ask how they can reverse the effects of the Group Areas Act and ensure that towns and suburbs become more racially mixed.”
Manuel said the NDP was not just a “plan for government … it’s a plan for all of us in South Africa”.
Although the country’s social compact was damaged, he said, it “wasn’t beyond repair”, and this could be addressed through “strengthened leadership”.
The kind of society envisaged in the Constitution was entirely attainable, he said, but required South Africans to take their share of responsibility for making the country a better place.
Source: SAnews.gov.za
