Provincial Growth and Development Plan

 

The Eastern Cape Provincial Government and its social partners prepared  a Provincial Growth and Development Plan (PGDP) to guide the development of the province over the next ten years (2004-2014). The PGDP sets out a provincial vision, targets and programmes aimed at economic growth, employment creation, poverty eradication and income redistribution. It targets rapid improvement in the quality of life for the poorest people of the province.  As a whole, the PGDP captures the following:

·     A ten year vision of sustainable growth and human development in the province.

·     A strategy plan, a set of feasible programmes and a fiscal framework designed to expedite achievement of the national goal of "a better life for all" and the province's vision of an "Eastern Cape devoid of the imbalances and inequities of the past, with intergrated and balanced development".

·     Growth and poverty reduction targets that inform a set of feasible and affordable programmes underpinned by broad-based consensus on the human development path to be followed by the province.

·     Programmes to address the short-term needs and crisis of the province, as well as community-based human and income poverty reduction initiatives. It will provide a framework for the development of more realistic and feasible Integrated Development Plans, guide the planning and development of Provincial Government Programmes, and reinforce provincial priorities and targets that must inform budgeting and fiscal planning for the future.

 

In 2007 provincial government embarked on a comprehensive assessment of the first four years of implementation of the PGDP. The assessment analyses the evolution of the national and provincial policy framework over the past several years, reviews broad economic and social indicators in the Eastern Cape, charts the progress of the PGDP, analyses the efficacy of programmes and makes recommendations.

The assessment concludes that the strategic focus of the PGDP is still relevant, and the essence of the strategic framework and the six objectives should remain in place. The objectives of systematic poverty eradication and social protection, agrarian transformation and food security, and manufacturing diversification should remain the core pillars of the PGDP, underpinned by human resource development and education and social and economic infrastructure.

 

PGDP Programmes

 

In essence, the analysis of constraints and opportunities show that the PGDP needs to deal with:

·        The high levels of poverty and unemployment and their spread across the province.

·        The inequalities between different parts of the province.

 

 

The framework has six strategic objectives, divided into three key objectives and three foundation objectives.

The three key objectives are:

·         Systematic poverty eradication through intergrated and multi-dimensional approach to pro-poor programming.

·        Transformation of the agrarian economy and adding strength to household food security.

·        Consolidation, development and diversification of manufacturing and tourism.

 

These three key objectives for growth and development are linked and dependent on each other. Similarly, they depend upon three foundation objectives that provide the necessary conditions and support for growth and development.

These are:

·         Infrastructure development

·        Human resource development

·        Public sector and institutional transformation