TREVOR MANUEL OFFERS NEW APPROACH TO GOVERNMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRETORIA 002030 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/07/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM AU GV SUBJECT: TREVOR MANUEL OFFERS NEW APPROACH TO GOVERNMENT THINKING PRETORIA 00002030 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: Political Counselor Walter N.S. Pflaumer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Minister in the Presidency for National Planning Trevor Manuel's "National Strategic Planning" paper (often referred to here as the "Green Paper") offers a new approach to the way South Africa does government business. The paper suggests that greater planning and coordination will lead to better results for this administration, and the country, beyond the next five years. The document is not without controversy, as the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has accused Manuel of seeking to position himself as the country's de facto Prime Minister (a charge Manuel denies). The paper has now been endorsed by both the Cabinet and Parliament. Manuel has, in any case, shown no signs of slowing down his planning process in the face of COSATU's opposition. How President Zuma balances demands from his alliance partners for "consultation" on economic planning with the need to make executive decisions will be an important test for his amdministration, and an early indicator of how bumpy the next few years will be politically. End Summary. -------------- A Green Paper with New Ideas -------------- ¶2. (C) Minister in the Presidency for National Planning Trevor Manuel released his office's "National Strategic Planning" paper in late September. The paper, which is the result of months of writing and Cabinet discussion, proposes a framework for the government's policy implementation over the next fifteen years. The draft represents the first effort by the ruling party to plan government policies for a period of more than five years, and already has caused controversy throughout the ruling tripartite alliance. The paper includes the following key points: -- Manuel's team says South Africa needs a long term perspective to realize the ruling party's vision for the future. The document says that "a single term of government is too short a time to complete our project of building a prosperous, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa." The ministry notes, "Governments in democracies tend to focus on policies that provide benefits within a single term of office. Yet many challenges that confront societies require a much longer time frame." -- Manuel's office admits that lack of coherent long term plans has weakened the government's ability to provide clear and consistent policies. His ministry spells out how the government is determined to fix the weaknesses of policy inconsistencies and poor service delivery. The draft makes it clear the government wants consensus and views from a wide range of strategic thinkers, both inside and outside the administration. -- The ministry argues that South Africa must overcome several deficiencies in the current planning system. First, the government must agree on a vision about the country's direction with mechanisms to keep the government on track. Second, the administration must avoid the tendency "towards voluntarism and short-termism." Third, the administration needs to ensure that all strategies, plans, and frameworks "speak to one another and inform the national plan." -- The paper proposes a National Planning Commission which Q-- The paper proposes a National Planning Commission which would consist of respected intellectuals and experts outside of government. From this commission, the ministry would produce a Medium Term Strategic Framework every five years and a Program of Action annually that tracked with the Framework. The Commission's ultimate aim would be to break down the country's ambitious aspirations into focused strategies, reviewing those strategies regularly. The team argues that the Commission would "not be the place to resolve philosophical debates." -- The draft makes it clear that Manuel sees power residing in the Presidency, not in the African National Congress (ANC) PRETORIA 00002030 002.2 OF 003 or the ruling alliance. The ministry says, "The Presidency is responsible for policy coherence and policy coordination. Policy coherence is promoted by a process that produces a clear and coherent plan for the country. Policy coordination is about ensuring that the plan informs the work of all government departments, entities, spheres and agencies." The report adds that the Presidency has the core responsibility to ensure policy coherence, coordination, and performance monitoring and evaluation. (Comment: This point has been controversial because President Jacob Zuma ran on a platform that promised consensus from all levels of the ANC, South African Communist Party (SACP),and COSATU. Many within this triple alliance have publicly accused Manuel of seeking to undercut the importance of the alliance in policymaking by placing the Presidency at the top of the decision-making process. End Comment.) -- Manuel's team makes it clear in the paper that the National Planning Commission, and his ministry, will not do any micro-planning or sector planning, gatekeeping, or budgeting. They see individual ministries carrying out these functions because they are closer to the problems they seek to address. -- Manuel's team argues that it will take decades to change South Africa's economic structure into one that is more inclusive and labor intensive, more equitable, more productive, and more diverse. The draft shows, however, that such a long term frame does not excuse the government of today from action. The paper relates that "markets on their own cannot initiate and lead fundamental change." The draft says the state has to play a leading role in reshaping the economy so that it is better able to meet the needs of the majority. (Comment: This point also has been controversial because the SACP and COSATU want to see different macroeconomic policies under the Zuma administration in the next five years that differ from the pro-business policies maintained under former President Thabo Mbeki. End Comment.) -- The draft provides two examples where the South African Government needs immediate long term planning: energy security and social security reform. In both cases, the paper shows how South Africa will face real crises if there is a lack of planning, coordination, and implementation. -- The draft outlines how Cabinet, the Minister in the Presidency for National Planning, and the National Planning Commission would operate. Manuel's team envisions the Cabinet and the Ministerial Committee on Planning (which would be a new team composed of Cabinet members) reporting to one another. The draft spells out that Manuel himself would report to both the Ministerial Committee on Planning and the National Planning Commission while receiving inputs from a newly created Secretariat to the Commission. (Comment: This structure of operation so far has been the most controversial element of the paper. COSATU leaders accused Manuel of seeking to insert himself as a Prime Minister, or "Super Cabinet Minister." As it is spelled out in the draft, it is easy to see how commentators might see Manuel's position as one similar to a Prime Ministerial post. However, Manuel's team has denied that it was his intention to position himself Qteam has denied that it was his intention to position himself as such. End Comment.) -- The team outlines ways in which it would look to the broader public for inputs into the decision-making structure. Manuel's team sees the Minister in the Presidency for National Planning as leading the effort to hold dialogues across society. However, the draft makes it clear that Manuel's role would be under both the President and the Deputy President. Interestingly, the draft also discusses ways in which the Minister in the Presidency for National Planning would direct Parliament to help the legislature "interrogate and enrich the vision." (Comment: The proposal for the ministry to direct Parliament is another element that has led to COSATU saying that Manuel wants to be a de facto Prime Minister. End Comment.) -------------- Comment -------------- ¶3. (C) Now that the Zuma administration has formally endorsed Manuel's paper, we can expect many of its elements, PRETORIA 00002030 003.2 OF 003 such as the National Planning Commission and a Medium Term Strategic Framework, to be adopted by the government. What additional elements are adopted will depend on the give-and-take between the Presidency and the tripartite alliance. The paper is a test for Zuma because it will delineate how consultative his administration will be before it opts for implementation. Some ANC members, the SACP, and other members of the alliance probably will push for time to develop their own vision for planning. However, Zuma and Manuel so far have shown few signs of slowing down. End Comment. LA LIME