Pretoria – KwaZulu-Natal Premier Senzo Mchunu says the provincial government remains on track to deliver on the National Development Plan (NDP) Vision 2030.
“We have a clear plan of action expressed in our Provincial Growth and Development Plan (PGDP), setting clear targets of what it is that we have to achieve to ensure that we realise this vision,” Premier Mchunu said.
Delivering the State of the Province Address (SOPA) at the Provincial Legislature on Friday, Premier Mchunu said as they move into the next five-year cycle of the NDP and PGDP, the province reaffirmed its commitment to the five key national priorities.
The priorities include creating more jobs, decent work and sustainable livelihoods for inclusive growth; rural development, land reform and food security; improved quality basic education; a long and healthy life for all South Africans and fighting crime and corruption.
Constrained growth
Premier Mchunu acknowledged that the province is directly affected by key structural constraints being experienced in the South African economy and is not immune from the effect of constrained growth.
He said they will push to intensify diversification efforts in order to strengthen economic capabilities.
“As a province, we will focus on increasing value-addition, skills and technological content to drive our competitiveness. We will strengthen our twinning arrangements with other regions, particularly in Africa, that offer complimentary opportunities for our province.
“As there is now consensus among us, including in business, that the NDP is the blueprint to grow our economy, we call on the private sector to join forces with government in implementing common areas of agreement in the NDP,” the Premier said.
While recognising that the state and outlook for international, national and local economy is not ideal, Premier Mchunu said given the massive potential of the province, there can be no justification for the sluggish economic growth rate for KZN.
“The good news is that the provincial economy is not in a recession, which was a definite possibility during the middle part of 2014. Provincial economic growth therefore is estimated at 2.4% for 2015.
“We remain optimistic about this possibility,” said Premier Mchunu.
Fighting poverty
Premier Mchunu said poverty and inequality persist, and the provincial government wants to change that.
“Social inequality measured as the share of income earned by the poorest 60% of the population remained unmoved at 17.6% between 2010 and 2014, not materialising the target of 19.4% we had hoped to achieve by 2015.
“It is clear that a different and more coherent approach is required to address the challenges related to poverty and inequality.” – SAnews.gov.za
