Minister Maropene Ramokgopa: Bureau for Economic Research (BER) Conference

Facilitator of the session, Mr Craig Lemboe,
Professor Johan Kirsten, the Director of the Bureau for Economic Research 
(BER),
Distinguished Participants, 
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good day!

Thank you for the opportunity to address this distinguished gathering.

This conference comes at a critical juncture both globally and here at home. We are navigating a period of significant geopolitical realignment, marked by heightened tensions, rising economic nationalism, and a shifting multilateral order that is testing traditional alliances and partnerships.

Domestically, we find ourselves at the beginning of a new chapter with the formation of a Government of National Unity a rare and defining moment in our democratic history. It is a test of the resilience of our hard-won democracy, and a call for renewed unity of purpose to deliver with urgency on the promises contained in our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Last month, South Africa marked 31 years of democracy. This milestone is not only a moment of reflection on the path we have walked, but also a call to recommit to building a capable, inclusive, and responsive state, one that can meet the real and 
pressing needs of our people.

It is in this context that we welcome the focus of today’s conference, hosted by the Bureau for Economic Research (BER). Your Conference program which interrogates the political economy of the GNU within the current global and domestic landscape, 
and includes focused discussions on Operation Vulindlela, the local state, and institutional reform, speaks directly to the core pillars of the Medium-Term Development Plan. These are the very levers that, if activated effectively, can shift South Africa’s development trajectory.

That is why the BER remains such a critical partner. I welcome your continued commitment to rigorous, evidence-based engagement that speaks not only to ideas, but to the realities of implementation both within our domestic context and the broader global environment.

I am therefore pleased to join you today to present the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP 2024–2029), the blueprint guiding the work of the 7th administration. 

Approved by Cabinet on 26 February this year, the MTDP outlines government’s priorities for the 2024–2029 term. It is anchored in the principles of inclusive economic growth, poverty reduction, and accelerated development.

This Medium-Term Development Plan represents a critical juncture in the implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP). As the final medium-term plan before the Vision 2030 deadline, it signals the urgency of focused delivery. 

Accelerating progress on core strategic priorities is now both essential and non-negotiable.

The vision of the MTDP is centred on building a society that works for all. It directs the work of government toward three clear goals: driving inclusive growth, reducing poverty and the cost of living, and strengthening the state’s capacity to deliver.

The Mid-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF), which guided implementation during the 6th administration, was intended to translate the NDP into measurable five-year outcomes. However, the recent MTSF Review highlighted key gaps — fragmented coordination, weak planning discipline, and limited implementation capacity, particularly at local level. These systemic weaknesses directly undermined service delivery and eroded public confidence.

The MTDP was developed to correct these weaknesses. It sharpens the focus of government around clear, coordinated measurable priorities, supported by a results based implementation framework.

As articulated in the Freedom Charter, adopted 70 years ago, the vision for South Africa is rooted in the principles of equality, justice, and inclusion. The Charter rejected apartheid’s exclusionary foundations and called for a society free of poverty, inequality, and exploitation. These ideals laid the foundation for our Constitution and continue to guide our national development trajectory.

The MTDP carries forward this vision. It encapsulates our collective ambition as a society that works for all one built through collaboration between government, citizens, and all sectors of society. It commits us to ensuring equitable access to opportunity, 
to rebuilding trust in institutions, and to delivering tangible improvements in people’s lives.

Context and Background towards the Development of the MTDP
The development of the Medium-Term Development Plan followed a more focused, participatory, and politically anchored process than previous planning cycles. Unlike the 2019–2024 MTSF, which was often criticised for its lack of clarity and enforcement 
mechanisms, the MTDP was designed to address these gaps by strengthening alignment, coordination, and delivery across all spheres of government.

As the lead department responsible for the planning function, the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) convened a whole-of-government process, grounded in lessons from the past and informed by the current political moment. The first Cabinet Lekgotla of the 7th Administration — and notably the first under the new Government of National Unity — was held in July 2024. It identified a minimum programme of priorities to guide the new administration.

A defining feature of this Plan is its grounding in the Statement of Intent of the GNU. 

With ten political parties now forming part of government, the Statement of Intent became a unifying document not only to form a government, but to forge a shared National consensus around core development objectives. The MTDP operationalizes this consensus into three overarching priorities
1. Driving inclusive economic growth and job creation
2. Reducing poverty and tackling the high cost of living 
3. Building a capable, ethical, and developmental state
These priorities were reaffirmed in the President’s Opening Address to the 7th Parliament and were further refined through extensive consultations held between August and December 2024. Cluster engagements, bilateral sessions with departments, and consultations with SALGA and provinces helped translate the priorities into measurable outcomes and sector-specific targets. The DPME also issued a strategic framework to guide departments in aligning their planning with the MTDP’s vision.

The Forum of Directors-General (FOSAD) played a key role in finalizing the results framework to ensure that the Plan is backed by clear indicators, targets, and clearlines of accountability. 

The MTDP now forms the basis for the alignment of Annual Performance Plans (APPs), budget allocations, and intergovernmental implementation across all departments and spheres of government. The MTDP was subsequently endorsed by the Extended Cabinet Lekgotla in January 2025 and formally approved by Cabinet in February.
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Ladies and Gentlemen,
The MTDP provides a strategic and integrated framework to align the government’s work over the next five years. It reflects a shared commitment to rebuilding the economy, strengthening the state, and improving the quality of life for all who live in 
South Africa. While its objectives span multiple sectors and functions, the Plan is structured around three strategic priorities that are mutually interlinked.

Economic growth that is not inclusive will only deepen inequality. Social protection that is not underpinned by job creation is unsustainable. And no policy or program can succeed without a capable, ethical, and delivery-focused state at its center.

This understanding shapes the core guiding framework of the MTDP. Implementation will require coordination across all levels of government, integration of plans and budgets, and accountability for results. Progress in one priority must unlock progress in the others. It is through this interlinked and disciplined approach that the MTDP aims to break the cycle of fragmented planning, weak delivery, and limited impact.

Let me now reflect in more detail on the three strategic priorities that define this 

Medium-Term Development Plan
Strategic Priority 1: Driving Inclusive Economic Growth and Job Creation
This is the apex priority of the Medium-Term Development Plan and the most urgent task facing the 7th administration. South Africa’s economy has not grown at the scale or pace required to meaningfully shift unemployment, inequality, or exclusion. 

Investment has been uneven, growth has lacked inclusivity, and too many people,particularly the youth remain locked out of opportunities.

The MTDP recognizes this. It does not seek to reinvent policy, but to correct the fragmentation, overreach, and weak execution of past approaches. This Plan sharpens government’s focus and strengthens delivery mechanisms to achieve growth that is job-creating, broad-based, and structurally transformative.

This priority seeks to enable rapid, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth that can shift South Africa’s trajectory on unemployment, poverty, and inequality. It is centred on building a more dynamic and competitive economy one that drives 
investment, expands employment, and supports transformation.

The MTDP places particular emphasis on removing barriers to investment, strengthening the enabling environment, and accelerating structural reforms. By doing so, the government aims to stimulate private sector growth, scale up public 
employment and livelihood support, and deepen investment in industrial and labourintensive sectors.

Key areas of focus include:
• Boosting investment in strategic sectors such as green manufacturing, 
agriculture, tourism, mining, and services. This includes finalising and implementing sector-specific industrial masterplans and reviewing industrial policy incentives to ensure they are targeted and results-driven.
• Expanding public employment programmes through the continued rollout of the Presidential Employment Stimulus, including the Social Employment Fund, the Basic Education Employment Initiative, the National Youth Service, and input support to small-scale farmers.
• Scaling SAYouth.mobi as a centralised access point for youth employment, training, and support, integrating it with other government platforms to improve reach and usability.
• Strengthening infrastructure investment through public funding and offbudget resource mobilisation. This includes expanding the role of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and scaling public-private partnerships (PPPs) in priority infrastructure areas: energy, water, transport, and communications.
• Supporting township and rural enterprise development by cutting red tape and streamlining access to finance, markets, and procurement opportunities for small businesses, cooperatives, and informal businesses.
• Structural reform remains a key lever for unlocking inclusive growth and restoring economic momentum. Phase 1 of Operation Vulindlela played a catalytic role in advancing priority reforms in energy, digital infrastructure, water use licensing, freight logistics, and visa systems. These efforts helped to unblock investment constraints and improve institutional coordination in critical 
sectors.
• We are now in the second phase of Operation Vulindlela, which is deepening and expanding the reform agenda. Phase 2 focuses not only on network industries but also on systemic delivery challenges. This includes strengthening local government, tackling spatial inequality, and advancing digital transformation. 
• South Africa’s economic recovery must also position the country within a shifting global and regional trade environment. Government will continue to maintain macroeconomic stability as a foundation for investment-led growth, while strengthening economic diplomacy to support new and existing partnerships.
• In this context, strengthening the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a strategic priority not as a substitute for current trade relationships, but as a means to expand our economic options, deepen regional integration, and cushion the economy from the volatility of global market dynamics. AfCFTA creates opportunities to grow intra-African trade, unlock industrial value chains, 
and diversify export markets while ensuring that we continue to engage constructively with all global trade partners on fair and mutually beneficial terms.

Critical to the first Strategic Priority is to ensure economic transformation for a just society, focusing on empowering previously marginalised groups, in particular Black people, women, youth, and persons with disabilities. 

Facilitator of the Session,
Strategic Priority 2: Reducing poverty and tackling the high cost of living The second strategic priority aims to reduce poverty and tackle the high cost of living, with a sharpened focus on delivering basic affordable services, decent living conditions, access to healthcare and education, while protecting the country’s most vulnerable.

South Africa’s social protection system remains one of the most extensive on the continent, reaching over 18 million people monthly. But persistent poverty, spatial inequality, and high living costs demand more than redistribution they require a structural response that links social protection to human development, asset ownership, and increased opportunity.

This priority centers on building a more just and caring society by:
• Strengthening the social wage
• Expanding access to essential services
• Investing in people
• Making the cost of living more manageable for working-class and poor households

Crucial to the government’s plan to reduce poverty and to tackle the high cost of living is to support basic needs. In the 7th administration, we are ensuring that local government continues to implement the indigent policy to support the elderly, the vulnerable and poor with basic services payments such as electricity and water. We will also introduce a basket of high protein basic foods that is affordable to all through a partnership with the food industry and civil society. We will also ensure the protection of the value of social grants for children, the elderly and persons with disabilities, and ensure that the National Minimum Wage increases with inflation and enforce compliance.

To reduce the cost of living, the MTDP sets for the review of current administered prices, which include the fuel price formula, to identify areas for reduction. Government is also working to return to all passenger rail corridors to service as a low-cost transport 
option, and implementing an integrated transport network in line with the National Rail Policy. 

The MTDP also targets asset poverty reduction by prioritising the provision of title deeds for land and subsidised housing.

Government is reviewing the housing policy to enable people to live closer to economic opportunities, including releasing public 
land and demand-side subsidies, and provide appropriate support that prioritises rental, social housing and rent-to-own options.

The MTDP also focuses on transforming healthcare to ensure that all have access to equitable, accessible and affordable quality health care. The MTDP recognises the need to strengthen healthcare infrastructure, to improve the training of healthcare 
personnel, and to use technology to improve healthcare management. 

Through the second strategic priority, government plans to invest in education and skills development by focusing on achieving universal access to early childhood development. Government also aims to ensure that schools are conducive to education, with enough classrooms, safe and appropriate sanitation facilities, clean water and a daily meal for those who need it. To deepen skills development, government also plans to expand vocational and technical training and take a demandled approach to skills development. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Strategic Priority 3: Building a capable, ethical, and developmental stateThe third strategic priority focuses on building a capable, ethical, and developmental state the institutional backbone required to realize South Africa’s long-term development goals. Without a functioning, professional, and accountable public administration, neither economic reform nor social progress can be sustainably achieved.

This priority recognises that the state must be effective. That means restoring the integrity and performance of public institutions, strengthening oversight, and embedding a culture of ethical leadership and service delivery excellence across all spheres of government.

Therefore, effective state capacity is crucial for implementing the interventions outlined in the other strategic priorities, making it a cornerstone for the overall success of the MTDP. 

Through the third strategic priority, the government is focusing on stabilising local government and improving water services. To ensure this is realised, we are focusing on bringing stability to governance in metropolitans and municipalities and improving 
the delivery of basic services. We have seen the Department of Water and Sanitation completing and upgrading kilometres of pipelines in communities around the country. 

This will continue to be a particular focus in efforts to stabilise and transform local government. We are also focusing on strengthening the regulation of municipal water functions and fast-tracking the development and maintenance of water infrastructure.

Through the District Development Model (DDM) and Operation Vulindlela, the national government is strengthening its capacity to intervene in dysfunctional municipalities and support institutional recovery. The standardisation and professionalisation of 
municipal manager and CFO appointments is also a core part of this work, with independent oversight mechanisms being implemented to ensure transparency and merit-based recruitment.

A capable state depends on professional and merit-based public administration. 

Government is rolling out the Public Service Professionalization Framework and is set to launch a Graduate Recruitment Scheme including introducing public service entry exams to strengthen meritocratic appointments.

These efforts will be supported by a more coordinated centre of government. The Presidency, including the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, the department which I have the responsibility to lead, is being strengthened to improve 
strategic planning, coordination, and performance tracking across the state.

We are also focusing on strengthening government effectiveness by strengthening the role of the Presidency, which includes the Department that I lead, in planning and coordination. We are also focusing on strengthening the role of the Public Service 
Commission (PSC) to provide oversight in the appointment of Directors-General, state-owned enterprise (SOE) board directors, and key positions such as the National Director of Public Prosecutions. We will be implementing the recommendations of the 
Presidential State-owned Enterprises Council (PSEC) on the management of SOEs.

The third strategic priority also focuses on enforcing anti-corruption measures, which include strengthening law enforcement agencies such as the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Hawks, strengthening whistle-blower protections through 
stronger legislation, implementing the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, and strengthening accountability and conducting lifestyle audits for government officials.

The MTDP also focuses on enhancing public safety by tackling priority crimes such as gang violence, cash-in-transit heists and the construction mafia through specialised police units, and moving towards evidence-based, data-driven policing.

We are also committed to deepening our fight to tackle gender-based violence and femicide by further implementing the National Strategic Plan on Gender-based Violence and Femicide, expanding victim support services such as the Thuthuzela Centres and Gender-based Violence (GBV) desks in police stations.

We are also focused on combating transnational crime and ensuring effective border management to limit transnational crime and strengthening anti-money laundering efforts. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, 
The successful implementation of the MTDP will be demonstrated through the achievement of its results frameworks, which include clear interventions, indicators, baselines, as well as mid-term and end-term targets. These results frameworks are aligned to the strategic priorities of the 7th Administration and will be the basis for tracking improvements in the living conditions of our people. We are committed to ensuring that effective service delivery builds public trust and confidence in government institutions.

To ensure accountability and drive implementation, a “program of action” will guide annual cluster workplans. These will be monitored by the DPME and the Presidency, who will track progress, identify bottlenecks, and introduce corrective interventions where necessary.

As the South African Government, we will continue to advance both a whole-ofgovernment and whole-of-society approach to drive inclusive growth and job creation, reduce poverty and the cost of living, and build a capable, ethical, and developmental 
state. The MTDP recognises that no single institution can resolve South Africa’s structural challenges alone. This is a moment that calls for coordinated action across political mandates, institutions, and sectors.

To this end, government is strengthening partnerships with a wide range of non-state actors. These include research institutions such as the Bureau for Economic Research (BER), organized labor, business formations, non-profit organizations, academia, and 
civil society. These partnerships are critical for policy development, implementation support, and independent accountability.

Non-governmental actors bring unique strengths analytical insight, oversight, and different perspectives, and grassroots reach where the state may face constraints. 

Whether through applied research or independent monitoring, they are essential to translating the MTDP into practical, measurable improvements in the lives of all South Africans

The success of the MTDP, and the national renewal it represents, depends on our ability to work together in a sustained, accountable, and constructive way. If the GNU demonstrated the possibility of political cooperation, then this Plan must demonstrate 
the possibility and necessity of developmental cooperation towards a better life for all.

I thank you!

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