THIS last chapter assesses our divided past and paints a picture of our shared future. It describes the themes of transformation and unity, looking at their role in the National Development Plan (NDP).
On one level, transforming society and uniting the country are pretty ephemeral things compared with other targets in the NDP. It's not as easy to measure progress in achieving transformation as it is to calculate unemployment, and growth in national unity can't be plotted against the matric pass rate. How do you prioritise a goal that is difficult to measure or compare?
And yet, on another level, the call to create a social compact and for all South Africans to work towards the common good is a critical factor to the overall success of the plan. To seriously tackle unemployment there needs to be compromise and trust between government, labour and business.
Recommendations aimed at building social cohesion include a Bill of Responsibilities for young people; a media-sponsored Constitutional Friday once a month; and learning at least one official African language.
The Commission knows that a social compact is an enormous challenge. It also knows how important such a compact is to the overall success of the national development plan. t is now up to the rest of us to create and sustain it.
Login OR Join up TO COMMENT