This article assesses the evolution of the macro-economic policies of government in South Africa, covering the period of 1994 to 2014. The aim of this article is to examine how these policies, namely the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) strategy, the New Growth Path and the National Development Plan (NDP), have impacted individual and national development. The article employs a qualitative approach precisely because it is descriptive in nature. The article argues that privatisation of services/state assets through the GEAR policy benefited those who were associated with the ruling party. There is little scholarship available in the discipline of Public Administration and other related disciplines of social sciences on how the ruling class is using strong networks (associated political, social and capital resources) in their effort for personal accumulation, while the majorit