The SA Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) Developing a 30-Year Review Report

As part of the celebrations planned for April 2024 which will mark 30 years since the advent of democracy in SA, and 12 years since the adoption of the National Development Plan (NDP), the DPME is in the process of developing the 30-Year Review Report, in collaboration with all government departments, to document the 3 decades of service delivery performance of the democratic government. The DPME invited EFSA as a new stakeholder in the SA economy (ecommerce now represents 1.1% of GDP and growing) to give a view from our sector for the planned “State of South African Economic Infrastructure” Report. Our Chair, Tatiana Ndlovu, supported by Board member Shamiela Letsoalo and myself, gave a presentation to the Department on 31 July. We will be preparing a paper to support that presentation – please let me know if you would like a copy ([email protected]).

Our session with the Department lasted an hour and, as always, the questions were important as they indicated governments concerns. Most questions revolved around regulation and in particular how to prevent online scams. We outlined our plan for a trustmark and our support for the Consumer Goods and Services Ombuds (CGSO). We also pointed out that the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies had said that it was bringing together a Digital Economy Masterplan which would include ecommerce. The DPME raised the issue of delivery motorbikes. The DPME was concerned that many of the estimated 50,000 delivery motorbikes which operate on SA’s roads were not insured and were being driven by inexperienced drivers. EFSA said that we were working with PnP and other interested parties to draft a code to assist delivery companies and drivers.