Reforms required for the successful implementation of a national development plan (ndp)

Challenges with the successful implementation of policies, strategies and plans have been identified as reasons for South Africa not reducing unemployment, poverty and inequality. The aim of this paper is to identify the obstacles that prevent successful policy implementation in South Africa. This research firstly proposes a model to determine the barriers for policy implementation within the policy process. The model for determining implementation barriers is then applied to the first two 5-year implementation plans of the National Development Plan (NDP), vision 2030. The application of the model to the first 5-year implementation plan, the 2014-2019 Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF), identified slow progress, and challenges with the design and mechanism for implementation as blockages for the implementation of the NDP. The focus of the current 2019-2024 MTSF has changed to facilitate greater institutionalisation accountability and reporting. The application of the model to the 2019-2024 MTSF confirmed improved institutionalisation/incorporation but does not build on the previous cycle. Monitoring of the progress made with the implementation of the 2019-2024 MTSF is almost impossible. This phenomenon could be ascribed to the non-availability of reports, specifically on the 2019-2024 MTSF and the quality of reporting on Annual Performance Plans.