The African National Congress steps up efforts to create jobs, grow the economy and expand access to welfare subsidies and health care as it launches campaign for elections, its toughest test in 30 years in power Then he said.
In its election manifesto released in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday, the party said it would ensure better coordination of fiscal and monetary policy and tweak the tax system to uplift the people. . South Africans will go to the polls on May 29th.
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The party also pledged to transform the financial sector to ensure access to adequate financing for industrialization and economic development, provide affordable credit, and invest in infrastructure and job creation.
“I have said publicly on several occasions that as the ANC we have made some mistakes,” President Cyril Ramaphosa told more than 56,000 supporters packed into the port city's Moses Mabhida Stadium. Ta. “The ANC is now working hard to restore your trust and confidence in us as leaders of fundamental social and economic transformation in our society.”
From praise to disapproval
Founded in 1912, the ANC is Africa's oldest political movement and has fully ruled South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994. During the first half of its reign, the party won praise for economic growth and expanded access to water, electricity and welfare subsidies. Jacob Zuma's nearly nine-year tenure as president has been marred by a spate of corruption scandals, bad appointments and policy missteps.
The ANC forced Zuma's resignation in early 2018 to stem a loss of support and replaced him with Ramaphosa, who has struggled to deal with chronic power shortages, logistics constraints and rampant corruption. A series of opinion polls has shown the party's approval rating below 50%, meaning it will need to form a coalition with one or more rivals to remain in power.
Other promises
Other ANC election promises include phasing in a permanent monthly income subsidy for vulnerable people, implementing a national health insurance scheme awaiting Mr Ramaphosa's approval, and creating 2.5 million “job opportunities” through community programmes. This includes creation, etc.
It also worked to step up the development of new infrastructure, particularly in power projects needed to end rolling blackouts.
Mike Davis, founder of political advisory firm Kigoda Consulting, said with three months to go until the election, it was too early to dismiss the ANC, which remains a formidable force with the largest national presence. He said he was deaf.
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“There is still a loyal ANC voting bloc that cannot be ignored,” he said in an interview in Cape Town. “A lot will depend on turnout and whether the party can get its supporters to come out and vote.”
election battleground
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa's second most populous province, will be a key battleground. The township was rocked by violence in the 1990s and was jointly ruled by the ANC and Inkatha Freedom Party until the ruling party secured full control after the 1994 vote.
Support for the ANC reached 65% in the state during Zuma's tenure, but the party has increasingly lost ground to the resurgent IFP, which won a number of recent local by-elections.
Zuma's new political party, Umkhonto Wisizwe, also poses a threat. His rallies attracted large audiences and he performed well in his first municipal by-election.
Zuma was jailed in 2021 for refusing to testify at the Judiciary Commission, which spent four years investigating corruption during his tenure, but was released on medical parole after serving less than two months, and Ramaphosa He was granted amnesty last year. Despite his concessions, Mr Zuma said he could not support the ANC under Mr Ramaphosa's leadership and the party suspended him from membership in January.
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