ANC to unveil its manifesto on August 23, says Mbalula

The ANC is expected to unveil its manifesto on August 23, when it will present to the electorate its bouquet of promises before the November 4 local government elections.

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula revealed the date on the sidelines of the party’s national executive committee’s (NEC) meeting at the Birchwood Hotel in Ekurhuleni on Friday.

“We are 93 days out and the ANC is doing the unglamorous work of choosing candidates through communities and not in backrooms, taking the manifesto to the people in its final leg and fixing water where it is broken,” he said.

He hinted at the foundation of the manifesto they are deliberating on, saying it will be rooted in addressing the challenges faced by voters.

“Water, the cost of living and the indigent are its spine. A grant of R580 is meant to feed a child who needs R980 of food a month. That is not a statistic; that is a mother choosing between hot water and a hot meal this winter. Food basket costs are rising, and we want to mitigate against that.

“The manifesto is not written at Luthuli House and taken to the people; it is written by the people and taken to Luthuli House. We are on the final leg of that consultation.”

The party is expected to hold a policy meeting this week in preparation for the manifesto, which will be launched at an event headlined by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Mbalula took a jab at the campaign tactics employed by rival parties in the run-up to the polls, criticising the humorous elements incorporated in highlighting genuine service delivery failures.

“Others are making jokes and being new Mrs Leon Schuster on social media. Our people’s spatial settlements are not a joke; decaying infrastructure is not a joke. We are at the door of solving these issues; even in Cape Town we will solve them.”

Mbalula conceded hardships faced by citizens, from increasing municipal electricity rates to rising fuel and diesel prices.

“These are the hard things that government is elected to deal with. We are clear-eyed on these things, feel them and feel for the people. We will get on with the work on fixing them or softening the blow. Our fixing must be responsive and must have eyes and ears.”

On immigration, he said the ANC’s stance is to be firm on the law and humane on the person.

“That is what people do not understand when they argue that the ANC promotes illegal immigration. What they’ve misunderstood and what we want to reiterate is that we are firm on the law. That is why we said the law must take its course and the state alone has the responsibility to do that.”

Mbalula said the party was not opposed to people raising their concerns about illegal immigration but insisted this activism take place within the confines of the law.

“No citizen of our country must take the law into their [own] hands, chase people, show hatred, call people ‘amakwerekwere’ in the streets; that is not ubuntu, that is not South African.

“These are Africans; they might have landed in our country illegally, and we believe that through the law and in a dignified manner, they must be assisted to go back.”

He called for border controls to be tightened to combat illegal immigration.

“Our emphasis has been firm on the law, humane on the person and Pan-African on the cause. Many African states have agreed with us. We will not let a real grievance be harvested by people who have no solution and no intention of finding one.”

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