The recent affirmations by global credit ratings agencies were indicators that some improvements were starting to emerge as South Africa implemented its National Development Plan (NDP), Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Jeff Radebe said earlier this month.

Shortly after Moody’s Investors Service maintained South Africa’s long-term foreign currency rating of two notches above investment grade, at Baa2 with a negative outlook, in May, fellow ratings agency Standard & Poor’s affirmed the nation’s sovereign rating a notch lower at BBB– with a negative outlook, on June 8. Fitch followed suit, affirming its investment grade rating and providing the country some breathing room to continue its urgent economic turnaround in a severely depressed climate.

Speaking at the Vision 2030 Summit, Radebe assured the country that progress was being made on the long-term blueprint that was developed to pull South Africa out of its economic slump.

Further, government, business and labour were collectively intensifying efforts to expand growth, with the country’s rankings on the World Economic Forum’s competitiveness index starting to show improvements.

However, the currently unfavourable economic conditions, locally and globally, required that efforts be further focused on bolstering growth.

The pronouncement came as 14 Ministers prepared to present first-quarter progress reports to Cabinet, addressing respective priority outcomes for the five-year Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) for the period 2014 to 2019 related to the implementation of the NDP.

The MTSF has prioritised specific goals based on the NDP and was structured around the focus areas of education, health, safety and security, economic growth and employment, skills development, infrastructure, rural development, human settlements, local government, environment, international relations, the public sector, social protection, nation-building and social cohesion.

The 14 Ministers, who had signed performance agreements with President Jacob Zuma, were tasked with driving the outcomes identified through clearly defined roles, measurable indicators with targets and timeframes and systematic and evidence-based monitoring.