The National Development Plan (NDP) offers a long-term perspective. It defines a desired destination and identifies the role different sectors of society need to play in reaching that goal. As a long-term strategic plan, it serves four broad objectives:
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Public engagement is what is needed, so that citizens can help government make laws that better suit citizens needs, writes
Patricia de Lille.
Throughout the history of the democratic process, the importance of public participation has always been paramount. Public consultation engenders transparency, which is a key characteristic of an accountable representative government.
The two, transparency and public involvement, help in the attainment of democratic objectives, thus assisting in generating better, more advised policy resolutions.
That is what happened with the Land Expropriation Bill of 2020, the legislation regulating land reform - including expropriation at nil compensation, to accelerate the land redistribution programme, redress historical injustices of land dispossession and displacement and make more land available for cultivation towards food security, rural development and poverty reduction whilst equally responding to equitable spatial planning and settl