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Abstract
The formulation of grand economic policy strategies to promote growth, job creation, and industrial development has been a regular feature in South Africa's democratic transformation. The National Development Plan (NDP) is the latest in a line of such strategies dating back to the Reconstruction and Development Programme in 1994. While the creation of these strategies at various points in the country's transition has been indicative of the state's commitment to economic progress, implementing this commitment has been severely tested by the locus of authority, cohesion among and capacity of state institutions. In this paper, we critically examine the institutional arrangements behind the implementation of grand economic policy strategies in South Africa, observe how these produced variable implementation effectiveness across these initiatives, and consider the lessons for the implementation of the NDP. We will specifically focus on how ‘co-ordination’ was configured through the institutional arrangements, and look at how this shaped implementation.
Notes
1. Concerns were expressed about South Africa's underlying business competitiveness environment to achieve jobs growth (see KPMG Citation2012); and economist Phillipe Burger (Citation2012) has questioned the feasibility of the NDP's projected export-led growth given South Africa's international wage competitiveness and productivity.
2. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has expressed concern about the Plan's prospects for job creation through dampening wage growth; ignoring previous government plans such as the NGP and the Industrial Policy Action Plan; and renewing GEAR's fiscal conservatism (see COSATU Citation2013; Taylor Citation2013).