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Johannesburg - The National Development Plan is
action-driven and an improvement on previous plans, Business Unity SA (Busa)
said on Monday.
"The NDP does represent a substantial improvement over
its predecessors by being independently researched and covering additional
ground," Busa deputy CEO Raymond Parsons said.
"We see it as solution-oriented and action-driven,
especially through its emphasis on unemployment and education."
He said business broadly welcomed the NDP, released by
National Planning Minister Trevor Manuel last month.
"The NDP has the potential to create a new platform
from which to strengthen business and investor confidence."
Busa saw the NDP as reinforcing the national growth plan
(NGP), released by Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel last year.
"The NGP and NDP are complementary and reinforce each
other... what is important is at the end of the process they must be
coherent... (and) have a united approach."
However, in the meantime South Africa had to get going on
areas where there was already consensus.
Debating the NGP and NDP should not be an excuse for
procrastination, Parsons said.
The business community felt that in the past too much time
had been spent talking about policies, while too little action had been taken.
"Whilst the need for a well-designed long-term growth
plan such as the NDP is fully supported, there is a need for concrete action by
highly capable teams involving government, business and labour to design
programmes and projects that make an immediate impact," Parsons said.
Parsons was delivering Busa's outlook for business in South
Africa in 2012.
