Johannesburg - The African National Congress (ANC) is gearing itself for a busy year ahead as it deals with the socio-economic challenges facing the country at its National Executive Committee (NEC) lekgotla.
Among the issues under the microscope - at the three-day lekgotla ending on Friday - are job creation and poverty, which remain major challenges for the ruling party.
Other issues include plans to deal with education, health, crime, jobs and rural development, which remain top of the ANC's electoral polity
The ruling party is also trying to strike a balance between maintaining relations with its alliance partners and building the organisation, especially with the upcoming local government elections, set to happen in the first half of the year.
ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe told the media on Thursday that the NEC lekgotla will come up with practical steps to these socio-economic challenges.
Mantashe said the first day of the lekgotla, which took place at Gallagher Estate in Midrand, was an ordinary NEC gathering. The other two days were set to include the ANC leagues, government officials and the alliance partners - the Congress of SA Trade Unions, the SA Communist Party and the SA National Civic Organisation.
The top brass has already received the report on the monitoring and evaluation, Mantashe said, adding that they were looking at the much talked about economic growth path.
Other issues that made it to the agenda were the merger between the Medical University of South Africa and University of Limpopo, the reopening of teaching colleges and skills shortage in the medical sector.
Mantashe said the focus will be on practical steps of solving these problems, rather than looking at the theoretical side. The secretary general said policies evolve with time, adding that they will be implementing their plans and correcting the weaknesses with time.
But with reported tensions within the alliance over policy refusing to subside, it is not clear how these plans will pan out or how they will affect government's programme of action.
At the meeting, Cosatu is likely to present a detailed critique of the economic growth plan at the ANC's lekgotla, as well as at the alliance summit due at the end of the month.
Cosatu previously indicated that it objected to the call in the plan for pay restraint, which it said would negatively affect workers, while bosses would disregard any such measures when it came to their own pay.
Cosatu's Central Executive Committee has indicated that government's proposed new economic growth plan is flawed because alliance members were not properly consulted.
It agreed it would help government implement the plan even though Cosatu feels it does not go far enough in creating jobs.
Responding to this, Mantashe said the ruling party has always welcomed discussions with its allies, as well as other sectors.
Mantashe said the lekgotla will not be "derailed into focusing on specific class interest ... Rather, lets focus on creating jobs."
Last weekend, Zuma publicly endorsed the plan for the first time. He called on the government, business and labour to work together in a "social partnership" to make the plan work and share benefits and sacrifices equitably.
In terms of policy, critics will also be watching for more on the economic growth path, National Health Insurance (NHI), de-unionisation of the defence force and the media appeals tribunal.
These plans, discussed at the lekgotla, will also find themselves at the looming Cabinet lekgotla, as well as President Zuma's State of the Nation Address next month.
