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- The ANC has committed to creating 2.5 million work opportunities over the next five years.
- The party launched its election manifesto at a rally in Durban on Saturday.
- The country will vote in provincial and national elections on 29 May.
The ANC has promised voters that it will create 2.5 million work opportunities in the next five years and progressively increase the R350 social relief from distress grant for unemployed people.
While the ANC does not promise to end load shedding in its manifesto, it has pledged to invest in infrastructure, especially energy infrastructure, roads and railways, is critical for inclusive economic growth.
On Saturday, President Cyril Ramaphosa launched the party's manifesto which lists its promises to voters should they vote for the ANC for another five years.
The ANC will contest the 29 May general elections with a looming threat of losing its majority nationally.
According to the party's manifesto, its lofty target to reduce unemployment will require the creation of 500 000 job opportunities annually for the next five years.
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The ANC says its ambitious promise to create work opportunities will be achieved through a basket of initiatives that include the Presidential Employment Stimulus, funding non-profit companies to provide work opportunities, and expanding the National Youth Service so that young people can work for the South African National Defence Force.
The promise of 500 000 new jobs is almost double what the party pledged to achieve in 2019.
In the run-up to the 2019 general elections, the ANC promised to create around 275 000 jobs annually.
The pledge to create work opportunities comes as data this month pegged South Africa’s unemployment rate at 31.9 %.
In 2019, when the ANC promised to create 275 000 jobs a year, the unemployment rate was at 29.0%.
The ANC would "increase support for small enterprises, entrepreneurs and cooperatives, especially in townships andvillages, providing additional one million work opportunities, with set-asides for women, youth and persons with disabilities", the party said in its manifesto ahead this year's elections on 29 May.
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It has also committed to engaging the private sector on the issue of job creation in order "to protect jobs and contribute to national efforts to create employment and get South Africans working".
The second priority the ANC has is building industries to achieve an inclusive economy.
It has detailed plans to invest in infrastructure to deal with the country's water crisis and persistent power cuts due to load shedding.
"Investment in energy, in particular, is necessary to end load shedding and ensure a secure supply of electricity," the party said in its manifesto.
To expand and modernise industrial capacity, the ANC has promised to promote industrial sectors that are labour-intensive in an effort to deal with the jobs crisis.
"[The ANC will] continue to cultivate partnerships to expand domestic industries with significant potential to create sustainable jobs such as mining (including artisanal and small-scale mining), agriculture, energy, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, the green and blue economies, tourism, the creative sector and the digital economy," the manifesto reads.
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The ruling party has also pledged to leverage the state’s procurement budget to bolster local businesses producing goods and services, while incentivising private enterprises to follow suit.
The black industrialists' programme would also be increased to support 2 000 people.
Among the ANC’s plans to improve the state of the economy is the establishment of a public sovereign wealth fund, work towards a state banking sector, and empower provinces to establish their own financial institutions.
As a third priority area, the ANC said it would tackle the high cost of living "by taking steps to make everyday life more affordable for workers, unemployed people and the middle class by addressing key needs like food, housing, health care, energy and wages".
This is as household budgets are being stretched to the limit, with food prices continuing to climb from already intolerable levels. The prices of staples like maize meal and samp are almost 30% higher than a year ago.
The ANC says it will invest in people by "meeting the basic needs of all, investing in education, improving health outcomes and improving service delivery".
"The ANC will ensure that its public representatives and deployees are held accountable for the basic services to communities that form part of their responsibilities and our 2021 Manifesto undertaking to fill critical vacancies with qualified people."
On the issue of providing clean water, the ANC said it would give national and provincial governments more powers to intervene so as to provide clean water where municipalities are struggling to provide this service properly, build maintenance capacity, and complete water infrastructure projects.
Turning to the scourge of crime, the ANC said it would modernise policing with more frontline police officers and develop capabilities to combat cybercrime, essential infrastructure crimes, illegal firearms, gang violence, crime syndicates, human and drug trafficking, and corruption. It would also provide additional capacity to the Hawks to tackle organised crime.
