President Jacob Zuma today, 14 January 2016, convened the first meeting of the newly appointed members of the National Planning Commission (NPC) at the Union Buildings in Pretoria to discuss national priorities and the implementation of the acclaimed National Development Plan, (NDP), the country socio-economic blueprint until 2030.
The National Planning Commission was established to promote and institute long term planning in government.
The first NPC team developed the NDP. The new NPC which was appointed in September last year comprises the following members;
1. Mr Jeffrey Thamsanqa Radebe, Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation as Chairperson
2. Prof. Malegapuru William Makgoba as Deputy Chairperson (health, higher education management)
3. Ms Tasneem Essop (environmental affairs)
4. Prof. Abdus Salam Mohammad Karaan (Agriculture)
5. Dr Vuyokazi Felicity Mahlati (Development Planning/Gender)
6. Mr Elias Masilela (economics)
7. Prof. Viviene Taylor (social policy, social development)
8. Dr Miriam Altman (ICT)
9. Dr Siphamandla Welcome Zondi (governance, international relations)
10. Mr Johannes Petrus Landman (scenarios, future planning)
11. Pulane Elsie Molokwane (science and technology)
12. Mr Jarrad Gregory Wright (energy, infrastructure)
13. Dr Ntuthuko Melusi Bhengu (Public Health, health insurance)
14. Prof. Kholeka Constance Moloi (higher education and training)
15. Ms Tessa Gilda Dooms (youth development)
16. Ms Christina Marion Nomdo (children's rights)
17. Mr Themba Cyril Dlamini (Transformation, ICT)
18. Sue Bannister (Urban and Regional Planning, Local Government, Infrastructure Development)
19. Ms Khanyisile Thandiwe Kweyama (Human Resource Development, Business)
20. Prof. Jabulani Dennis Sithole (arts and culture, heritage)
21. Capt. Frank Dutton (policing/investigations)
22. Adv. Lekolota Abram Makua (labour law)
23. Mrs Poppy Audrey Mocumi (rights of persons with disability)
24. Dr Thamsanqa Mazwai (communications, small business development)
25. Mr Thanyani Ramatsea, (civil engineering or infrastructure development)
26. Mr Percy Sechemane (water and sanitation)
The mandate of the new commission includes among others the following responsibilities:
- To promote and advance the implementation of the National Development Plan across different sectors of society;
- To undertake detailed planning in a selected number of sectors to be determined from time to time;
- To conduct regular engagements with various sectors of society on all matters pertaining to the long-term development of the country;
- To facilitate stakeholder engagements aimed at forging a social compact towards more effective implementation of the National Development Plan;
- To take a cross-cutting view, undertake research into long-term trends, analyse implementation of short to medium term plans with a view to recommend improvements to Government as well as produce reports to inform policy and planning; and
- To contribute to development of international partnerships and networks on national planning.
After the introduction of new members of the NPC, the meeting discussed the overview of its work in the coming months and years and conveyed their sense of enthusiasm for the national task.
President Zuma said he was pleased with the first meeting and looked forward to its reports from time to time "to enable us to gauge progress, appreciate any challenges and take stock of the landmark achievements in the implementation of our country's National Development Plan."
Enquiries:
Bongani Majola
Cell: 082 339 1993
E-mail: bonganim@presidency.gov.za
