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Johannesburg - It is time to start implementing the National Development Plan (NDP) and stop debating it, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe said on Monday.
"We can't debate until we are blue in the face, we must implement. We can only see what is working and what is not working in the course of implementing," he said.
People wanted the introduction of programmes that could deal with their plight. The ANC adopted the NDP at its national conference in Mangaung in December.
However, its alliance partners, the Congress of SA Trade Unions and the SA Communist Party, have both voiced concerns about certain sections of the NDP. An alliance summit would be held soon, where the NDP was expected to take centre stage.
The party held its three-day national executive committee (NEC) lekgotla near Pretoria at the weekend.
Mantashe said the lekgotla once again acknowledged that the NDP was important in guiding the national effort to get rid of the "legacy of selective development".
"The issue is that we must have up-to-date information that we can give to the people."
Mantashe said society had a right to know what projects were underway. The lekgotla acknowledged that progress had been made and agreed that all infrastructure programmes had to continue being implemented.
"In this regard, infrastructure provision, rural development, energy sources, fuel sufficiency, ICT [information and communication technologies], as well as education and skills development were re-affirmed as critical for progress," Mantashe said.
"If we don't tackle these issues were are going to battle going forward."
The lekgotla decided that private and public sector investment and building confidence in the economy were priorities.
