Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma and members of his Cabinet will congregate in Bela Bela, Limpopo, from today, where they will over the next few days thrash out the national agenda of government for the year.
The January 2012 Cabinet Lekgotla - described by Cabinet spokesperson Jimmy Manyi as the most important strategic planning session of the National Executive - is being held from today until Friday.
Ministers and deputy ministers will hold deliberations on the first three days of the meeting and on the last day, premiers and representatives of the South African Local Government Association will participate, with Directors-General joining as observers.
The meeting will provide the basis for President Jacob Zuma's State of the Nation Address on 9 February as well as give direction to government's programme for 2012.
"Cabinet is expected to do a mid-term assessment of government's performance on the five national priorities - job creation, health, education, crime eradication, rural development and land reform - with a view to enhancing performance in 2012.
"It will also review progress made since the decision to establish the Infrastructure Coordination Commission chaired by the President and the Short Term Job Creation Commission chaired by the Deputy President, at the July 2011 Lekgotla," said a statement by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS).
The economy will also be high on the agenda, with Cabinet expected to assess the global and domestic economic outlook with a view to identify new opportunities and risks for South Africa and the continent as a whole.
The global security context and an international relations programme for South Africa will also form part of Cabinet's agenda.
President Zuma will officially close the event on Friday.
