This document is intended to open up constructive discussion and debate on the National Development Plan (NDP) - in the first place within SACP ranks. However, we are also releasing this document publicly in the hope that it will contribute to placing the discussion on the NDP onto a more constructive base. It is our view that the manner in which the NDP is being presented, by avid supporters and by die-hard opponents alike, risks exactly the opposite of what the NDP was intended to achieve. In particular, we are deeply concerned that the NDP is being turned into a divisive political football. The core theses advanced in this discussion document are exactly those that the Party has consistently articulated over the past year in regard to the NDP - namely, that the NDP is not carved in stone and that we must not allow those outside of the Alliance to expropriate the NDP`s basic vision for their own divisive and ideological objectives. These core theses are elaborated further in the document. However, this discussion document also aims to go well beyond the prevailing trends of simply embracing or rejecting the NDP. We have taken the NDP seriously, and we have engaged in a close reading of its diverse proposals. It should be appreciated, however, that it is impossible in a relatively brief discussion document to do justice to all of its 484-pages. Moreover, while a textual analysis (and therefore an actual READING) of the NDP is important - in this intervention we also seek to consider a wider context, including the institutional set-up and processes involved in the compilation of the plan.

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