Ruling party presents mixed-bag manifesto

FREE education for all, salary increases for domestic workers, the taking back of land and ending of all HIV infections. These are some of the promises made by political parties as they criss-cross the country for the next two months trying to lure your votes. Reporters THULANI GQIRANA and MKHULULI NDAMASE look at how the ANC, DA, UDM and EFF – which have already launched their manifestos – plan to deliver on health, land, economic development, education and jobs.

HEALTH :

Reduce private health care costs;

Build 213 new clinics and community health centres and 43 hospitals under National Health Insurance;

Train 2000 doctors a year in South Africa and globally;

Increase the number of people on ARVs from 2.4 million to 4.6 million by 2016;

Screen and treat for TB 150000 inmates at all 242 correctional facilities, 500000 mine workers and an estimated 600000 people living in mining communities; and

Empower hospital chief executives to order medical supplies directly from suppliers.

EDUCATION :

Work towards realising two years of compulsory pre-school education and formally employing and paying Grade R teachers;

Ensure about one million families will benefit from access to an early learning stimulation programme through community- based initiatives and home visits to prepare children before the foundation phase of formal schooling (Grade R to Grade 3)

Introduce mobile devices like tablets into schools to distribute learning content;

Ensure that every child has a textbook for every learning area;

Open two new universities to students in the next five years;

Implement community service for all graduates; and

Build 1000 new schools to expand access to education and respond to the challenges of rural schooling and urban population growth.

JOB CREATION :

Address youth unemployment by:

Providing internships for students from FET colleges;

Increase the number of people in the Public Works Programme;

60% of jobs on infrastructure projects will be for the youth;

Promote cooperatives and youth enterprises;

Encourage the private sector to employ the youth;

Introduce a national minimum wage;

Create six million work opportunities through the Public Works Programme by 2019; and

Enforce and accelerate the implementation of employment targets.

LAND REFORM :

The ANC believes the willing-buyer, willing-seller approach to land reform has not worked and is being replaced by the principle of just and equitable compensation in line with section 25 of the constitution.

The party says it has a comprehensive programme of land reform, underpinned by deracialisation of the rural economy, democratic allocation and use of land and production for guaranteed food security.

It promises, in the next five years, to:

Further intensify the development aspect of land reform, ensuring that all land-reform farms are productive and contribute to food security;

Increase the number of youth participants in the National Rural Youth Service Corps from 14000 to 50000;

Reopen the lodgement of claims for the restitution of land for a period of five years, starting this year; and

Create a law that will allow for Khoi and San descendants to claim land. The ANC says it also plans to identify affected heritage sites and historical landmarks.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT :

The ANC is determined, in the next five years, to act decisively and boldly to increase investment in the real economy and infrastructure, stimulate faster levels of inclusive growth, speed up social development and substantially reduce poverty and unemployment;

Promote local procurement to increase domestic production and the creation of decent jobs by directing the state to progressively buy at least 75% of its goods and services from South African producers and support small enterprises, cooperatives and broad- based black empowerment;

Accelerate the rollout of its economic and social infrastructure programme especially in energy, public transport, ICT and water supply to unlock economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life of the people; and.

Invest in infrastructure that can unlock the vast mineral wealth of South Africa, create jobs and support the beneficiation of mineral deposits for the benefit of all South Africans.