THE 1ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT SUMMIT (GDS) AGREEMENTS

7 June 2004

Nedlac's most important achievement last year was the successful convening of the Presidential Growth and development Summit on 7 June 2003. The summit identified key areas that require joint interventions from the Nedlac constituencies. They were: more jobs better jobs and decent work for all, skills challenge, setting targets for investment that has to be directed towards socially responsible opportunities and Local Action.

Today marks the first anniversary of the GDS agreements and it is time to take stock of the progress made to implement the agreements. The Nedlac Executive Council (Exco) has the responsibility of making a comprehensive annual review of the implementation of the GDS agreements. The Nedlac Management Committee is compiling a comprehensive GDS progress report for discussion at the next Exco meeting in July.

Nedlac believes it owes the nation an interim report on progress to date, bearing in mind that the full report for the Exco will be made in a few weeks time. Today's presentation therefore represents a provisional assessment as at 7 June 2004 of outcomes to date, work-in-progress and the early identification of any bottlenecks or obstacles that may still exist.

The Nedlac Constituencies have been working tirelessly to give effect to the agreements, including picking up on the outstanding issues that were identified at the summit.

What follows is therefore a brief overview of progress in one or two key GDS flagship projects under each of the four themes. The details of these and other projects will be released once Exco has approved the comprehensive report.

It is safe to say that the journey that we undertook in June 2003 after the Summit is well on track. Our approach is to emphasise quality and sustainability of outcomes rather than mere quantity. We would be the first to admit that delivery has been a bit slow in some areas; it has been nonetheless, top class in terms of quality and sustainability.

The final report that will be presented to the Exco in a month's time will:

• Cover the details with respect to areas where the GDS has made exceptional progress,
• Indicate where there is still work-in-progress,
• Identify the areas where future action is required,
• Expedite the issues that were to be fast tracked including the issues that were covered by the President in the State of the nation address in May 2004.

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GDS AGREEMENTS IS UNDERPINNED BY INTER ALIA, THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES;

• Building sustainable partnerships that delivers on the key challenges facing the country on the social and economic front.
• Using the GDS agreements as one of the many interventions that are required to halve unemployment by 2014.
• The GDS is premised on doing what is doable rather than to do everything. The GDS is about targeting carefully selected areas which are capable of delivering on a greater scale.
• The GDS is not a panacea for all economic growth and development ills but an important intervention towards addressing these challenges. The impact of some of these efforts will therefore not be immediate but medium to long term.
• The implementation of the GDS agreements is not an event, but a set of multiple processes aimed at defining concrete steps and interventions at various levels.
• The GDS is about making a difference and it is about real delivery on the commitments.

WHAT FOLLOWS, IS THE BROAD INDICATION OF PROGRESS ON SOME FLAGSHIP PROJECTS UNDER EACH THEME;

• More Jobs, Better Jobs, decent work for all
  • The National Expanded Public Works Programme was officially launched by the President in May 2004 in the Province of Limpopo. Provincial governments are following suit.
  • The local procurement - Buy Local Campaign is gaining momentum. The clothing retailers have committed themselves to sourcing apparel, hometextiles, footwear and textiles from local manufacturers.
  • Sector partnership strategies to retain the existing jobs and create more jobs are already in place in a number of sectors. The Metal, Chemical and Construction sectors are planning sector summits by the end of this year.
  • The Labour Job Creation Trust, founded by three trade union federations, COSATU, NACTU and FEDUSA, is continuing to create jobs. It has raised R80 million through contributions from workers who donated a day's wages. It received approximately 3500 applications to the value of R4 billion. To date it has assisted 39 projects with grants and 29 with interest-free loans, creating more than 6 000 permanent or temporary job opportunities, as well as other indirect jobs. Even more important are the thousands of skilled people these projects have produced. The trustees have mainly focused on projects that target unemployed women and youth, HIV/AIDS projects and projects promoting skills development.
• Addressing the Investment Challenge
  • The project plan and the logistics for hosting the conference on Cooperatives are being finalized.
  • The Nedlac processes on the Cooperative Bill have been completed.
  • The logistical and organizational matters for hosting the Conference for Retirement Funds Trustees are well under way.
  • The task team dealing with the 5% investible income is fast tracking its work in the light of the urgency spelt out by the President in the State of the Nation Address.
• Advancing Equity, Developing Skills, Creating Economic Opportunities For All And Extending Services
  • A number of initiatives to strengthen the SETAs have been undertaken to ensure delivery on skills in general and the learnerships targets in particular.
  • We have made significant progress on the employment equity front.
  • The task team on Jobs Impact and monitoring has made substantial progress in identifying the mechanisms to monitor trends in the jobs market.
• Local Action
  • At least two provinces have held Provincial Growth and Development Summits. The remaining provinces are either planning or at advanced stages in preparing for provincial summits.
  • Initiatives for mobilizing the Nedlac social partners at provincial and local levels to develop partnerships are on course.