President Cyril Ramaphosa gestures to his supporters during his speech at the launch of the African National Congress election manifesto at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on February 24, 2024. (Photo by RAJESH JANTILAL/AFP) Getty Images)
The ANC made a big show of strength to voters at its 2024 election manifesto launch in Durban on Saturday, but there was little new information.
President Cyril Ramaphosa handed over to a packed Moses Mabhida Stadium his manifesto, an abbreviated version of the 2019 edition, which sets out six key areas of focus over the next five years.
The 58-page document provides little outline of what different steps the ANC will take to implement policies aimed at creating jobs. Promotion of industrialization. Coping with the high cost of living. Investing in people. Defending democracy and building a better Africa and world.
The aim is to commit to putting the manifesto at the heart of government spending and resource allocation over the next five years.
Not only will individual ministers' performance contracts be tied to the implementation of the manifesto's key areas, but its content will also be “integrated into existing government systems” across the state.
The manifesto focuses in detail on the achievements of the past 30 years since 1994 and the last five years of the ANC's “renewal” led by Ramaphosa, including progress in housing, education, social welfare and the delivery of basic services. is being evaluated.
Rather than promising anything new, the manifesto is a call to voters to give the ANC another five years to achieve what it has achieved for 30 years, avoiding any extravagant promises. ing.
There is also no real target set out for the ANC government to implement after May 2024, with the only major initiative being a national effort to create and sustain 2.5 million “work opportunities” over the next five years. This is a commitment to use the
Although far more ambitious and less flashy than the promises it made to voters in 2019, or for that matter any other election, the ANC said in its manifesto that South Africa had “a fundamental commitment to a wide range of policies”. They acknowledge that they have a choice: to transform or to stagnate without making a shift. Based on industrialization, employment and empowerment of youth and women by 2030.”
South Africa at a crossroads as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, load shedding, global political conflict, state capture and the July 2021 unrest “tested our democracy, resilience and leadership” The report states that
In its manifesto, the ANC does not promise to create “decent work” as it has said in the past, but rather to create “work opportunities” if it returns to government after national and local opinion polls. is promised.
The administration is committed to using the President's Jobs Stimulus to leverage partnerships between the state and the private sector to create these opportunities. Fund civil society and provide job opportunities to unemployed graduates.
It also pledges to work with the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) to expand and institutionalize the National Youth Authority to include 100,000 young people over the next five years.
It also promises to increase support for small and medium-sized enterprises, entrepreneurs and cooperatives, claiming that one million job opportunities could be created this way.
The manifesto focuses on helping to build South African industries that drive job creation by addressing the energy, transport and logistics crisis. Invest heavily in infrastructure, protect strategic domestic industries such as steel, and support the creation of new industries.
The ruling party will address high costs of living and strengthen the social security system, including by expanding and improving the coverage of the R350 monthly Social Distress Relief Grant for the unemployed and gradually implementing the Basic Income Grant. I promise to do it.
Other measures include ensuring the national minimum wage increases in line with inflation. Unemployment insurance. A wide range of food products will not be subject to value added tax. Maintain and expand subsidized basic services such as water, housing, and electricity for the poor.
Unlike previous manifestos, the ANC has not made any major promises or set targets in any way on housing provision, saying only that it will “develop further subsidized human settlements”. There is.
The party called for “continuing the construction of subsidized housing for vulnerable groups”, improving informal settlements to provide basic services and regulating housing rentals to protect consumers. We promise to improve.
The manifesto also does not set targets to address the service delivery crisis in municipalities and regions, but instead aims to fill vacancies with qualified personnel and ensure that their public representatives and staff are It is committed to ensuring “responsibility for essential services to local communities.” form part of their responsibilities. ”
The group promises to track activities carried out at the local government level and “take action, including possible recall, against public representatives who are not performing their duties.”
The water crisis has received immediate and critical attention, and interventions can be made where “local governments struggle to adequately deliver this service, build maintenance capacity, and complete water infrastructure projects.” It is promised that the intervention powers of the state and government will be strengthened.
The manifesto pledges to continue the fight against state capture, including by giving permanent status to the Directorate General of Investigation and strengthening law enforcement and prosecutorial services.
Internally, the ANC has introduced an “exit rule” for those accused of corruption pending the outcome of the case, with “skills, educational knowledge, experience and integrity prioritized”, the report said. The government has strengthened the selection criteria for candidates for public election.
Former veterans are also promised a “restoration of dignity”, with the ANC pledging to ensure that “all sectors of society, government and business contribute to this” to ensure their welfare is protected.
The manifesto points out that some of the party's failures and that “the suffering and suffering of so many people make it clear that the ANC leadership only cares about themselves, that we are tolerant of corruption and that we are tolerant of the suffering of ordinary people.” “I led them to believe that I wasn't paying attention.” ”.
“We acknowledge that the ANC has made mistakes on the part of some of its members and leaders to undermine the institutions of a democratic state and advance selfish personal interests.”
Committed to the updated program approved at the last two ANC elective conferences, it said it would “continue to more effectively address society's challenges, conduct its affairs in line with its core values, serve and lead its people.” The aim is to revamp exercise so that it is possible to do so.
The ANC says it is currently “developing the intellectual capacity and strengthening the moral and ethical orientation of its members” so that they can “exemplify exemplary behavior in society.”
The party says it wants to ensure that its manifesto pledges are “embedded” into the government's core policies and that resources are allocated to make them a reality.
The government has committed to aligning ministerial performance contracts with the implementation of specific manifesto items, as part of a plan that also includes setting the government's medium-term strategic priorities.