ANC promises from 2014: Has it delivered?

Jacaranda FM News has taken five key elements of the party's election manifesto, released under the leadership of then president Jacob Zuma in 2014.

 

The manifesto promised to grow the economy, create job opportunities, to implement the National Health Insurance to cater for the poor citizens without access to quality medication and to fight crime and corruption. 

 

The party also made mention of land reform and the allowance of Section 25 of the Constitution to expropriate land.

 

Below we take at the ANC's last five years in government.

 

ECONOMY

 

The ANC committed itself to promoting "investment and access to credit in the productive economy by the financial sector including development finance institutions, through bolder and far-reaching reforms".

 

However, a year later Zuma fired Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister and the rand plummeted against major international currencies.

 

The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) reportedly lost nearly R100 billion within 48 hours of Nene being fired and being briefly replaced by unknown ANC MP Des van Rooyen.

 

In the second quarter of 2009, according to Statistic South Africa (StatsSA), when Zuma assumed presidency the of the country, the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell to a - 2.7% from 5.1% during Thabo Mbeki's tenure as head of state.

 

GDP in 2014 stood at 1.4% when Zuma won his second term to the presidency.

 

In the third quarter of 2017, before Cyril Ramaphosa was voted in as president of the ANC, the GPD was at 0.8 and increased to 1.5% in the fourth quarter of the same year.

 

EDUCATION

 

In the manifesto, the governing party made a commitment to "the progressive realisation of free education at all levels" of educational institutions.

 

The country saw a spate of protests during 2015 and 2016, as students called on the government to offer free higher education.

 

President Jacob Zuma eventually announced free higher education in the country for the poor and working class on the eve of the ANC's national conference in December 2018.

 

"We will now introduce fully subsidised free higher education and training for poor and working-class South African undergraduate students, starting in 2018 with students in their first year of study at our public universities," said Zuma.

 

The manifesto also promised on the expansion and improvement of higher education in the country by opening two new universities.

 

In 2014 the Sol Plaatje University was established in Kimberley in the Northern Cape, while the University Mpumalanga was opened in Mbombela.

 

However, Stats SA's General Household Survey of 2017 reveals the percentage of persons aged between 18 to 29  who enrolled in higher education institution in the country have remained the same at 4,3% since 2002.

 

The governing party made a bold statement by announcing, "we will enrol more than one million students in FET colleges in 2014."

 

According to a report Statistics on Post-School Education and Training in South Africa, in 2014 - only 702 383 students were enrolled - making a slight improvement from the 639 618 TVET (former FET) student enrolment in 2013.

 

LAND

 

The land debate has been a big topic in the country since the dawn of democracy. However, with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) joining the election race in 2014 the ANC amplified its voice when it came to land reform.

 

In the manifesto, the governing party assured voters  "we have a comprehensive programme of land reform, underpinned by de-racialisation of the rural economy".

 

At the time the party acknowledged the willing-buyer, willing-seller approach "has not worked" and stated it is replaced by the principle "of just and equitable compensation" which the Section 25 of the Constitution allows.

 

The High Level Panel report into land reform by former President Kgalema Motlanthe revealed there had been a downward trend in the pace of redistribution during the tenure of Zuma as the president.

 

The high point of redistribution was in 2007/08 during the tenure of former President Thabo Mbeki, and 2015/16 was at the lowest level since 2000/01.

 

The pace of redistribution has fluctuated with the changing of ministers but also in response to changes in budget allocation, according to the report.

 

However, with the growing calls from the EFF to compensate land without compensation, the governing party caved in.

 

The governing party established a Constitutional Review Committee tasked with fleshing out the expropriation of land without compensation.

 

HEALTH

 

The party promised to implement the National Health Insurance through the creation of a publicly funded and publicly administered NHI Fund. Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has been working around the clock for the bill to be passed by Parliament.

 

In December of 2018, cabinet rejected the bill and sending it back to the health department for further work.

 

The governing party hopes to the NHI will reduce the costs of private health care. The bill is expected back in Parliament this year.

 

The General Household Survey in 2017 revealed only 55,1% of people using public health facilities in the country are 'very satisfied' with the services rendered while 91,5% of citizens using private healthcare facilities are 'very satisfied.'

 

The country's public health sector has been under the spotlight in recent times with the Life Esidimeni tragedy where more than 140 mental health patients died when they were removed from the hospital to ill-equipped NGO's in 2016.

 

Last year former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke ordered the government to pay R1.2 million to the families whose relatives died.

 

The survey by StatsSA shows there's been a marginal increase of people being covered by the medical schemes from using public health from 2002 - 2017.  Individuals covered by medical plans moved from 7.3 million in 2002 to 9.5 million in 2017 as more people lose trust in public health.

 

CRIME AND CORRUPTION

 

The ANC promised in the 2014 manifesto to "intensify the fight against corruption", stating the party will pursue action against companies involved in bid rigging, price fixing and corruption.

 

According to the Victims of Crime survey, 2017/18 by StatsSA, house crime dropped from 2 114 871 in 2013/14 to 1545 701 in 2017/18. While individual crime decrease from 2 034 854 in 2013/14 to 1 682 624 in 2017/18.

 

There is also concern over an increase in murder over the past year.

 

One of the country's most noticeable fight against corruption has to be the state capture inquiry set up by Zuma after public pressure by civil society organisations and political parties on the former president to implement recommendations made by former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela in her State of Capture report.

 

The report by Madonsela implicated Zuma's son Duduzani Zuma and the Gupta family, detailing how they used their influence to capture the state by thought state-owned enterprises and the appointment of cabinet ministers.

 

Zuma appointed Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo to chair the inquiry. Various ANC heavyweights have appeared in front of the commission.

 

Former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene was the first  ANC official who resigned from cabinet after admitting to Zondo he lied to parliament when he said he had no knowledge of meeting with the Gupta family. 

 

The "The Great Bank Heist" report by Advocate Terry Motau also shocked the country when it revealed how 52 individuals looted almost R2 billion from the VBS Mutual Bank.

 

The explosive report implicated top ANC officials in Limpopo, including the deputy chairperson of the party in the province Florence Radzilani and provincial treasurer Danny Msiza.