Pictured: Minister in the Presidency, Trevor Manuel

Minister in the Presidency, Trevor Manuel, has been fending off criticism of the National Development Plan (NDP), saying it was never meant to be a “perfect document” but the country could not afford to wait for the “perfect moment” to implement the initiative — therefore it had to start as soon as possible regardless of circumstance.

The plan has come under fire from the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the South African Communist Party (SACP), which have taken serious exception to the NDP’s chapter on the economy. The allies’ stance complicates matters for the ruling party, which endorsed the NDP at its Mangaung national conference.

“Our current development path is out of synch with the need to create full employment, we agree with our colleagues as to the many weaknesses in our economy, whether dysfunctional education or the huge wealth gap, but we cannot sit around waiting for the perfect agreement.What we are talking about is a long-term process that we have to at least commence with and work on the imperfections as we go,” explains Manuel.

Business Unity South Africa’s Raymond Parsons has praised the NDP as the kind of road map the country needed to grow the economy.

“It’s not a perfect document but we think it is a very good basis … the issue is let’s finalise areas of disagreement and get on with it,” he says.