(AsgiSA) Annual Report 2008 - South African Government Information

Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa
ANNUAL REPORT
2008
• maintaining as far as possible infrastructure spend, thus providing a stimulus to the
economy and reducing constraints to growth
• enhanced skills development, making it possible for the economy to have a skilled labour
force ready for after the crisis
• social security interventions, such as smoothing access to social relief of distress for destitute
families and the UIF, linked to skills development.
Beyond the crises interventions, focus should be on implementing an industrial strategy aiming
at labour-intensive sectors such as agricultural, mining, tourism, other services (health,
education, finance, and cultural industries), construction and electrical and electronic consumer
equipment sectors.
Another key intervention for the immediate future would be driving aggressively rural and
agrarian reform. This means accelerated land and water access rights reform, linking farmers
to markets, sorting out agro-logistics, upgrading, resuscitating and building new irrigation
schemes and universalising access to basic services, and extension services.
Ensuring co-ordination, prioritisation and monitoring of these interventions will be the responsibility
of the increased national planning capacity planned to be located in The Presidency.
The AsgiSA programme has provided the opportunity for The Presidency to learn to
drive cross-cutting programmes and has helped to shape the design of the future executive
of government.
74