Cape Town - Collins Chabane, minister in the presidency responsible for performance monitoring and evaluation, dodged questions concerning who is responsible for determining the country's economic policy on Thursday.Since the announcement of President Jacob Zuma's cabinet last week, the burning question has been whether Trevor Manuel, also a minister in the presidency but charged with the new planning commission, will have an influential hand in determining economic policy, or whether other appointments will taken over this function.
Chabane was pertinently asked who will be responsible for establishing economic policy. He said: "I didn't think there was any confusion around this issue; I think quite a few ministers have spoken about this. I think it's important to leave it at that, because they are the ones responsible."
The specific parameters of the planning commission have not yet been determined, but according to Chabane, Manuel will be responsible for the "wall to wall" planning. "He will co-ordinate the planning framework for the whole country - including provinces and municipalities, though at this stage some people feel this won't be possible."
Various cabinet sub-committees met on Wednesday to discuss the exact mandate and role of the planning commission, and on Thursday Chabane could not provide much detail on the matter.
According to him there were several options on the table regarding how the commission should function, but eventually it was decided that a minister should be at the head of a large unit in the presidency. Besides support personnel, the unit will consist of several commissioners who will be recruited from outside the public service.
"They won't be technocrats, but people who have specific expertise. They will then have to interact with the bureaucracy regarding policy and planning."
* Beeld
