President Cyril Ramaphosa has directed Directors-General of departments to focus their energy on implementation of government’s plans.
“The President called on the most senior echelon of the public service to move with speed and determination to implement the measures required to turnaround the economy, including the measures contained in the economic stimulus and recovery plan,” said the Presidency in a statement.
The President’s directive comes as the country moves to deal with a surging unemployment rate and a sluggish economy.
The President met with the Forum of South African Directors-General (FOSAD) during the Forum’s two-day planning workshop held in Tshwane on Thursday.
FOSAD is a planning and coordination mechanism composed of the directors-general of national and provincial government departments as well as management of the South African Local Government Association (SALGA).
The planning workshop is the first of the sixth administration and President Ramaphosa used the occasion to outline government’s expectations of speedy implementation of the decisive electoral mandate.
Reflecting on the challenges faced by government, the President noted concerns with poor implementation of key decisions and policies, including the delays in the launch of the Infrastructure Fund and the removal of business and tourism visa obstacles.
The President highlighted the negative economic and social consequences of such delays in the implementation of policy decisions.
According to the Presidency, the President further directed the top-tier of government to re-engineer government’s implementation and delivery models in order to enhance efficiency, transparency and accountability in the use of resources.
“This must include the introduction of a district-level planning and coordination model to encourage integrated planning, improve coherence, enhance the impact of service delivery and mobilize all social partners support development,” said the Presidency.
The FOSAD planning workshop precedes the Presidential Coordinating Council meeting scheduled for later this month which will reflect on the alignment between the Medium Term Strategic Framework, (MTSF) being finalized by FOSAD and the Provincial Growth and Development Plans being developed by the provinces.
These are critical policy instruments that give effect to the electoral mandate and to identify budget priorities for the next five years. – SAnews.gov.za
