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[LISTEN] Party Manifesto Launches and their Impact on the Vote

Umm Muhammed Umar

While the EFF and the DA had launched their manifestoes over the weekend, the ANC manifesto was launched last night. Radio Islam spoke to political analyst, Ntabogoleng Twela, who explained that unusual as it may seem, the ANC launching its manifesto on a Monday night was to ensure that the spotlight was not shared amongst the top three political parties, and that they had the full attention of people, which they might not have had, seeing that the past weekend was a long weekend. Further, if the ANC had chosen to launch its manifesto at the weekend, it would have had to share the attention of the public with the DA as well as the EFF. Another reason for choosing a Monday night might have been the fact that we are in the midst of a pandemic.

The ANC had brought in the ‘big guns’, so to speak, in the form of the presence of former Presidents Kgalema Motlanthe, and Thabo Mbeki. President Cyril Ramaphosa had acknowledged some of the ANC’s shortcomings and failures. The ANC had also vetted the candidates with the localities that they are standing in.

Twela said that she had to commend the ANC for having acknowledged that they have not done well, the fact that a lot of corruption has been has removed, and the fact that some of the local candidates that they have, have not always been of wonderful qualifications or capacities, and that they are addressing such issues. Twela added that candidates, who will be working with communities, are people from the community, “it only makes sense to bring someone who knows the frustrations and the issues that the community are dealing with, and are able to help them accordingly. She said that people would feel comfortable with going to that candidate or going to their counsellor, and addressing the situation, and even holding them accountable. Twela also expressed hope that the ANC would consider that despite the need for local development, not everything needed to be outsourced. This would help with the labour brokering and also ensure that jobs are created within the government institution itself.

If one had to compare the manifestoes of the DA, the EFF, and the ANC, Twela’s opinion was that the ANC still was a level above that of the other two party’s in that the EFF were still simply too idealistic. She said that much of what was promised by the EFF was just impractical to implement. The EFF has not had the opportunity yet to govern any municipality, and as a result their ideas are not realistic. While they do seem impressive, but are not going to be easy to implement. Regarding the DA, Twela said that the party has more of a realistic input, having governed municiaplities, as well as at a provincial level. However, it still is not broad-based and thus it’s not for everybody. Twela said, “the ANC has a notch up because they know their reality from a national, provincial and a local perspective, and they see what their shortcomings are.” She added that, however, it remains to be seen who can implement their manifesto, if they get voted in.

When questioned about whether voters, in the main would actually make a decision based on what was in the manifesto, or consider other factors, Twela said, that in South Africa manifestoes were not easily accessible. Further, literacy levels were also not high. Policies are also not written in laymens English, so that people could understand them. Twela said that for a lot of people, the partys’ having launched their manifesto simply meant that campaigning had begun. She said it remains that much of what informs a voter, is what has previously occurred, and what is currently happening.

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