Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe will, among other responsibilities, take the lead in championing the fight against poverty, President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday.
This would include integrating government plans and mobilising social partners.
”Government cannot wage this war alone,” Zuma told the National Assembly during debate on his budget vote.
”As part of building a responsive, interactive and effective government, we must strengthen our partnerships with society.
”We are in the process of reviewing our public and stakeholder forums such as the current Presidential Working Groups, advisory councils and izimbizo.
”The functioning and capacity of institutions such as Nedlac [National Economic Development and Labour Council] would also be improved and strengthened.
”Our objective is to build an enduring partnership informed by the shared interests of all social partners and society at large,” he said.
This principle applied equally, if not more so, to the fight against HIV and Aids.
The South African National Aids Council (Sanac) had been exemplary in this regard.
As leader of government business in Parliament, Motlanthe would also be responsible for building stronger relations between the executive and the legislature as well as with political parties represented in Parliament.
The president would also prioritise the need to maintain positive and cooperative relations with the opposition, in the spirit outlined in both the inauguration and State of the Nation addresses.
”Our aim is to build a more cohesive society, where all of us, irrespective of race, class or political persuasion, contribute to making South Africa succeed,” Zuma said.
Treasury still responsible for macro-economic policy
Zuma also said on Wednesday that Treasury will continue to coordinate macro-economic policy.
The president explained the rationale behind the reconfigured Cabinet structure.
The restructuring took place after intense reflection on what had worked and had not worked over the past 15 years.
”We had to improve the ability of the Presidency to give leadership to, and exercise oversight on government.
”We had to introduce a system of integrated strategic planning and the alignment of plans and programmes across all the spheres of government,” he said.
These plans would take into account the socio-economic potential of each district and metro and assist them to exploit their comparative advantages to the full.
The Ministry in the Presidency responsible for the National Planning Commission was introduced to lead this process.
”We also deemed it necessary to improve the capacity for effective monitoring and evaluation, hence the creation of the ministry responsible for that task in the Presidency,” Zuma said.
Some people were wondering why it was necessary to have both the department of trade and industry and that of economic development.
Trade matters would require a strong focus to have a direct impact on industrial organisation and output, he said.
The economic development portfolio would have a strong domestic focus and would address, among others, matters of macro- and micro-economic development planning.
”We say this very much aware that in terms of legislation, the national Treasury coordinates macro-economic policy.”
Among others, housing was not just about building houses, but also about transforming residential areas and building communities with closer access to work and social amenities, including sports and recreation facilities.
That informed the creation of the Ministry for Human Settlements.
The mining sector provided a strategic link to the global economy, was a major labour-intensive sector, and had various other advantages for the economy, which was why it was made a stand-alone ministry.
Given the energy needs and the role of this sector in a developing economy, it was a crucial area of work for the country, hence it needed special attention as a fully-fledged ministry as well.
Education was a key priority over the next five years, which necessitated a renewed emphasis on this portfolio and its division into a Basic Education Ministry and the Higher Education Ministry.
”By establishing a Ministry of Rural Development and Land Affairs, we seek to ensure optimal focus on putting into action our goal of changing the face of rural areas through meaningful socio-economic development initiatives,” he said.
”We are convinced that this new ministry will contribute immensely to our drive to ensure food security and, broadly, the improvement of the quality of life of rural communities.
”We also want to focus more on improving inter-governmental relations, hence the reconfiguration of the former department of provincial and local government to cooperative governance and traditional affairs.”
All the affected ministries were working together to align work and detail responsibilities, and already the new cluster system made up of seven, as distinct from the previous five clusters, was functional.
Ministers and directors general were currently finalising cluster programmes of action to ensure that government met its objectives.
The past 15 years had exposed serious gaps in inter-governmental coordination, with different spheres acting in a manner that was sometimes contradictory, Zuma said.
Reshaping government, therefore, could not exclude the provincial and local spheres.
The three spheres had to cooperate with one another in mutual trust.
”We are in the process of reviewing the President’s Coordinating Council [PCC] in which the president meets with the premiers to make it more effective in inter-sphere coordination.
”A number of ideas are being put forward, including that of possibly including executive mayors of the metropolitan municipalities in the PCC to improve planning and monitoring and evaluation,” Zuma said. — Sapa