And as a government we will undertake such implementation in partnership with all the relevant stakeholders - business, labor, and communities. As we implement our policies we seek to build on the success we have scored over the past five years. Today millions of our people, especially in the deep rural areas and in the urban periphery have gained access to health care, education, clean water, housing, and electricity. The task of the second democratic government is to accelerate delivery of these basic services to our people. The basic policy framework within which we seek to deliver development and growth remains the Reconstruction and Development Programme.
GEAR remains our guiding macro framework.
GEAR sets out a number of macro principles and targets to which we remain committed. The rationale behind our macro policy is based on the simple reason that we believe that macro-economic stability is a precondition for economic growth and development. Fiscal discipline and curtailing inflation are necessary to restore confidence and create the basic environment within which growth can occur. We have managed to maintain the macroeconomic targets we set ourselves in GEAR without sacrificing our commitment to increase expenditure directed at basic services for the deprived majority. We have done so through a significant reprioritization of the budget.