As this year’s general elections edge closer, political parties are showing the one thing they all have in common: empty promises and lies.
The ANC, DA and EFF are among a slew of parties that launched their election manifestos in the past month.
The ruling party promised to create 2.5-million “job opportunities” over the next five years during its manifesto launch at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
The official opposition, for its part, said recipients of the R350 social relief of distress grant would have to prove they were actively looking for work. It also said it planned to raise the child support grant from R510 to R760, which it said would bring the amount up to the “official food poverty line” — at an extra cost of R39.6bn if done in the next financial year.
The EFF said that, under its rule, social grant payments such as child support, pensions and disability benefits would more than double.
Party leader Julius Malema also said his party was committed to expropriating land without compensation to end the “economic apartheid” that “replaced” apartheid after 1994. “When we get the majority, we will amend the constitution for land expropriation without compensation, [and] 50% of the land will be redistributed before 2025.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced May 29 as the date for this year’s hotly contested polls.
