Campaign season heats up as ANC targets six million jobs
African National Congress (ANC) President Jacob Zuma told members of the ANC that his party is committed to creating six million new jobs in the next five years.
JOHANNESBURG – A loud cheer and applause followed after President Jacob Zuma said the ANC will be creating six million new jobs when launching the party’s Manifesto ahead of elections in 2014.
President Zuma said, “The Manifesto commitments to our people are based on the ANC’s 53rd National Conference in Mangaung, 2012 which calls for decisive action to effect economic transformation and democratic consolidation.”
While since 2009, a number of service delivery protests have erupted, the ANC has promised to improve service delivery. Among some of the key areas the ANC will be focusing on are education, health, rural development, land reform and food security, the creation of more jobs, decent work and sustainable livelihoods, and the fight against crime and corruption.
President Zuma promised, “The ANC will expand our already significant public employment programme and we aim to provide 6 million work opportunities. The majority of these jobs will be reserved for young people.”
However, South Africa’s biggest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA) believes the ANC’s manifesto will not reduce unemployment as promised by President Zuma.
The DA’s Federal Chairperson Dr Wilmot James said in a statement, “The ANC’s manifesto shows that there will be no significant changes in how the country is run if the party is voted into power for another five years. The ANC is repeating promises.
“It has shown itself to be either incapable or unwilling to deliver during the 20 years that South Africans have already given them to prove themselves in government.”
James believes, “To achieve the kind of job opportunities the ANC has in mind, we will need commitments from government beyond boosting jobs numbers through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).
“Feedback on the EPWP from the Department of Public Works shows that it has only reached around 68 per cent of the targeted 4.5 million EPWP opportunities (2 million full-time equivalents) promised in 2009.
“The Western Cape is one of only three provinces that have over-performed on their EPWP targets. The ANC cannot demonstrate how it will deliver on the new inflated promise of 6 million EPWP jobs by 2019.”
While the ANC said it is committed to dealing with corruption, the DA believes this is just the party trying to regain credibility in the fight against corruption.
James explained, “The promise to fight corruption was a core pillar of the ANC’s 2009 Manifesto and also features prominently in the 2014 document.”
