This year marks 14 years since the cabinet adopted the National Development Plan (NDP). When it was adopted, the NDP was touted as the country’s long-term vision and development blueprint, intended to pump lifeblood into efforts to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030, which, at the time, was a 20-year plan.
The plan was meant to be realised by harnessing the energies of South Africans, growing an inclusive economy, building capabilities, strengthening the capacity of the state, and promoting leadership and partnerships throughout society.
We are now four years away from 2030, and no closer to building an inclusive economy. Unemployment is at its highest at 32.7%, many state institutions are largely incapable of delivering on their mandates, and maladministration and misconduct are frequently reported and associated with the leadership of public institutions.
The NDP was envisioned as a plan that would mobilise the energies of all South Africans to drive the country’s development. Yet, 14 years into its implementation, indicators suggest that the plan has not been meaningfully implemented.
Who was tasked with galvanising South Africans behind the NDP, and what consequences will follow in 2030 if the plan fails to produce meaningful outcomes? As it stands, the NDP remains an excellent document on paper — a beautiful heart that cannot pump blood.
The unenthusiastic attitude to monitoring and maintenance is pervasive. Mining mogul Daphne Mashile-Nkosi, who lost her 19-year-old daughter to haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis — a rare blood disease diagnosed too late — raised funds through the Stanley and Daphne Nkosi Foundation to build a clinic at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Soweto. The clinic was constructed and fully equipped within a year to serve patients from across the country who had been referred for specialised treatment.
The clinic was named after her daughter, Zakithi “Zaza” Nkosi, and Mashile-Nkosi wanted to ensure that no other mother would lose a child in the same way because of a lack of resources. The Zakithi Nkosi Clinical Haematology Centre of Excellence is a state-of-the-art facility specialising in the treatment of aplastic anaemia, cancers of the lymph nodes, benign blood diseases and bone marrow cancers such as leukaemia, all at no cost to patients.
When the centre was launched in 2019 the head of clinical haematology at the hospital, Dr Moosa Patel, assured the public that patients would receive the best care possible. The centre was officially handed over to the government for operation and maintenance.
One can only imagine the pain of returning to the centre less than five years later to find broken taps, damaged showers and blocked drainage systems due to poor maintenance by the very government entrusted with preserving the facility in memory of her daughter.
As a result, the Mashile-Nkosi family continues, unofficially, to monitor and maintain the centre to ensure it remains the world-class facility it was intended to be. This is despite the fact that Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital has a fully equipped maintenance department whose purpose is to maintain hospital infrastructure.
Instead, maintenance appears to be treated as an afterthought, resulting in the gradual deterioration of infrastructure meant to preserve the dignity of ordinary South Africans seeking healthcare. Without effective monitoring, maintenance, evaluation systems and controls, governance and service delivery cannot improve.
It was therefore refreshing to watch the hearing on May 20 of parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) involving the eThekwini metropolitan municipality regarding its 2024/25 audit outcomes, procurement irregularities, infrastructure failures and Special Investigating Unit investigations.
Led by mayor Cyril Xaba and city manager Musa Mbhele, accompanied by senior municipal officials, finance and infrastructure executives, as well as governance and accounting officers, the delegation exposed glaring weaknesses in the municipality’s management.
The preparedness of Scopa members, led by chair Songezo Zibi, was impressive and reflected the standard expected of oversight bodies. Their questioning revealed that the municipality may be led by senior officials who are not operating at the level of competence their positions require. This was the kind of rigorous monitoring necessary for good governance.
After watching the proceedings, I expected stronger corrective measures to follow such an appearance. However, Scopa’s role is limited to accountability oversight rather than direct enforcement. As such, the officials were expected only to account for the issues raised before the committee.
Nevertheless, the proceedings exposed serious administrative weaknesses and competence deficits that help one deduce why the NDP remains unrealised. These clogged veins are restricting the functioning of the beautiful heart that is meant to sustain social cohesion and national development.
Where governance fails to maintain its own arteries, no national vision — no matter how beautiful — can keep a nation alive.
• Dr Vilakazi is an academic and organisational development practitioner whose work focuses on how governance and power are exercised in institutions, particularly where they are misunderstood and misapplied.
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