The ANC's election manifesto focuses heavily on turning the country’s beleaguered economy around while acknowledging that under the party’s watch the country has “witnessed the loss of integrity” in several key institutions.
The manifesto document, unveiled at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday by party president Cyril Ramaphosa, dedicates at least 20 pages of the 68-page document to the economy.
Other categories included social transformation, crime prevention, gender-based violence, corruption, strengthening public institutions, building national unity, and outlining the ANC’s pan-African and global perspectives.
The manifesto notes that the “economy has not been fundamentally transformed to serve all people”, recognises that unemployment remains high at 27 percent, and that “the land question has not been fully addressed”.
Since the ANC came to power in 1994, the South African economy has “seen sustained growth, tripling the size of the economy and improving the GDP per capita” and employment has grown from seven million people to 16 million.
The document also notes that sustained growth is necessary for enabling “redistribution of public resources to meet the basic social needs” of the majority of poor South Africans.
It says the goal is to have 24 million South Africans employed by 2030.
- African News Agency (ANA)
