A road map to take SA where it needs to go
This week's adoption by the cabinet of the National Development Plan "as a strategic framework to form the basis of future government detailed planning" is a landmark moment for this country.
It places obligations on government ministers to view their work through the lens of achieving definite targets set for 2030, most notably the creation of 11 million jobs, high-quality schooling, and a stable society.
Speaking after this week's cabinet lekgotla, the Minister of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, Collins Chabane, was unequivocal.
Where the new policy framework conflicted with existing policy, "the national plan will have an overriding effect".
"It's a matter which has been accepted. We don't think there'll be any problems in the short term, or any problems in the long term in that regard," he said.
The plan's vision for turning around the economy is detailed and, thankfully, free of the ideological language that frequently signals the triumph of jargon over reality.
It supports tax incentives to boost youth employment - a repackaging of the "youth wage subsidy", which has been rejected by Cosatu, into more palatable form.
The plan deals with detailed interventions in all areas of governance with the aim of taking South Africa forward.
Most notable are its suggestions on how education can be turned around: "Top performing schools in the public and private sectors must be recognised as national assets. They should be supported and not saddled with unnecessary burdens."
It is high time the government takes the heat out of the discussion on South Africa's top government schools - many of them derisively referred to as "Model C schools", even though they now have totally open admission criteria and serve all communities.
Attention must be placed on replicating the model that works rather than dragging the best schools down to the lowest common denominator.
The plan says "newly qualified teachers would need to demonstrate certain competencies before they are employed in schools, and after that they would be offered preliminary or probationary certification, to be finalised based on demonstrated competence. The professional certification of all teachers would need to be renewed periodically."
This represents a vital intervention.
And it calls on changes to the way school principals are appointed, including a move to "eliminate union influence in promoting or appointing principals".
The effort made by the Minister of Planning, Trevor Manuel, and his fellow commissioners has produced a road map to a South Africa which occupies its rightful place as a leading nation. The government must rise to the occasion by finally dealing with our pressing problems.