This is the third instalment of the ANC 2016 Election Manual _____
ANC Election Campaign Manual 2016 Appendix B STANDARD Answers to voters' questions STILL TO BE UPDATED 1. 'How is the ANC tackling poverty?' We need to tackle poverty among our people on many fronts. In the longer term, we need to create enough jobs for all the people in the workforce. To do this we are making our economy stronger by building infrastructure like power stations, dams, ports, airports, roads, rail networks and better communications. We are improving skills among our workforce and training more engineers, managers and professionals in our universities. Government gives support to new and small businesses. We are also working hard on rural development and helping small farmers. We try to attract foreign business investment and help South African companies to find new export markets. Economic growth has been held back by the global economic crisis. We also need to continue our efforts to meet people's basic needs for water and sanitation, housing, electricity, health care and education. Since 1994, the ANC, working together with the people, has: . Provided subsidies for more than 2.8 million new houses, . provided clean water to an extra nine million people, . brought health services within easier reach of about six million additional people by building 500 new clinics in largely under-served areas, . brought about nearly four million new electricity connections and over two million new telephone connections; . provided a free daily meal to over five millions primary school children . provided grants to more than 13m people - mostly children and pensioners . 2. 'Unemployment has gotten worse since the ANC was elected.' When the ANC came into office in 1994, the economy was in serious decline. Unemployment had been growing for the last 16 years, many industries were not prepared to compete in the changing international market, and the introduction of new technology was leading to a shedding of jobs worldwide. Faced with this difficult situation, the ANC has managed to halt the decline of the economy. It has overseen the restructuring of many sectors of the economy and the achievement of stability, laying the foundation for faster progress in rebuilding the economy. The people most affected by unemployment are the youth who are unable to find work after leaving school. Our economy needs to create jobs faster and in greater numbers. To do this we need to work together to produce more and more skilled workers, increase investment and encourage higher levels of economic growth. We need to build partnerships between government, business, labour and communities to achieve these goals. Unemployment will not be eradicated overnight. The ANC government is responding to the challenge now by: . increasing social welfare protection for the poor; . spending over R500 billion on infrastructure over the next five years, creating new jobs in a number of areas; . expanding our public works programmes, providing employment directly to the people; . implementing skills development and education policies to prepare people for employment in new economic sectors; . supporting small business with training and finance to unleash the economic potential of our people; . focusing on programmes to address youth unemployment such as learnerships, the national youth service programme and initiatives by the Youth Development Agency. 3. 'The minimum wage is causing unemployment.' There is no evidence that the minimum wages introduced by the ANC to improve the conditions of working people has increased the levels of unemployment in the country. This argument is often used by employers and those who act in their interests to justify paying workers as little as possible. On the contrary, part of the problem of poverty that we face is the problem of the 'working poor' - people working in certain sectors, but paid such low wages that they are still very poor. This is particularly true of farm and domestic workers, and casual or contract workers. The causes of unemployment are to be found in the structural problems of the apartheid economy, and in global changes to the way work is organised. In determining the minimum wages in each sector of the economy and each part of the country, the ANC government has undertaken exhaustive research and broad consultation to establish what is affordable to employers and sufficient for workers to earn a decent living 4. 'Foreigners are taking our jobs.' Since the dawn of democracy the number of foreigners arriving in South Africa has increased dramatically. Some are here legally, while many have entered illegally. These people are not however contributing significantly to unemployment among South African citizens. Many people who come to South Africa do so because their lives are threatened by civil war, or their families cannot survive because of poverty. While we work to tighten controls on illegal immigration, the long-term solution lies in tackling the economic, social and political problems which force people to leave their countries. It means that we need to work hard to bring economic growth, peace and development in the continent. There can never be any justification for violence against foreign nationals. All who live in South Africa enjoy the protection given by our Constitution, Bill of Rights and police services. Where people have concerns or complaints about housing, jobs or access to services, these should be addressed through engagement and dialogue. We also need to show solidarity and support to genuine refugees from other countries just as many countries showed solidarity to us during the struggle against apartheid. The ANC government has gone to great lengths to implement the country's laws on illegal immigrants. New legislation aims to streamline immigration policies and practices so the country can benefit from skilled foreigners who want to contribute to building the country; controls are tightened on people entering the country illegally; and South Africa is meeting its international and moral obligations to genuine asylum-seekers. 5. 'Crime has got worse since the ANC came to power.' Crime was on the increase for several years before the ANC was elected. This was the result of the disastrous economic and social consequences of apartheid - unemployment, social dislocation, broken families and marginalisation of many communities. Taken together with the high levels of violence in society, the easy availability of weapons, and the involvement of the apartheid police in criminal activities themselves, the early years of democracy saw this trend continue. But the ANC has, together with the people, worked hard to fight crime and to fight the causes of crime. The police service has been restructured and largely transformed. It is better resourced and better trained. Specialist units like the Hawks have been set up to tackle organised crime and other major criminal activity. Special interventions have been made at police stations in the areas worst hit by crime. Community Policing Forums (CPFs) have been set up around the country to involve communities in tackling crime. The result of all these efforts is that most categories of serious crimes have stabilised, and in some instances have started to decline. While levels of crime are still far too high, the tide has turned. The challenge now is for all South Africans to work together to bring these crime levels down even further. 6. The ANC is too tolerant of corruption The ANC inherited a system where corruption was tolerated and hidden from view. We have introduced new laws to make all forms of corruption illegal and to protect those who blow the whistle on their colleagues or bosses. We have set up a highly successful Special Investigation Unit (SIU) that fights corruption in the public service. We have built strong institutions like the Auditor General, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) in parliament and legislatures and the Public Protector. We have made it compulsory for parliamentarians, members of provincial legislatures and local councilors to declare assets and gifts. We have reformed laws to make the awarding of government contracts and tenders transparent and fair and to make it difficult for politicians to influence decisions. It is largely due to these measures that where public representatives have been corrupt, their actions have been uncovered and action has been taken against them. However, this is not always enough. Members of the public need to be alert and report any instances of corruption that they come across. We are also taking steps to deal with corruption by public servants, public service managers and government contractors. 7. 'Rape and child abuse has got worse since the ANC came to power.' Violence against women and children, including sexual violence, is indeed a major problem facing our country. While there is no excuse for these kind of crimes, there is a strong link between poor socio-economic conditions, the status of women in society and violence against women and children. Therefore the fight against violence against women and children must include efforts to tackle poor conditions, to change the status of women and to empower women. As the ANC we have worked hard to expose the abuse of women and children, and to encourage people to report these crimes. We have made it clear that abuse cannot be tolerated and that we believe in treating all people with dignity and respect. More and more cases have been reported to the police and in the media. It is difficult to tell whether this means these crimes are happening more often, or whether they're simply being reported more than they were in the past. Whatever the case, violence against women and children is a problem that we all have a responsibility to address. The ANC has made progress in dealing with child abuse through ensuring more courts are "child-friendly"; introducing legislation against domestic abuse; providing support to victims; introducing education for children in schools about avoiding and reporting abuse; and establishing special police units. The ANC-led government will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute these crimes, to build awareness and support for survivors of these crimes, to tackle sexism and to promote respect for all people. 8. 'The ANC promised us free basic services, but is actually cutting off services.' Since 1994, the ANC has expanded the provision of basic services like water, sanitation, electricity, telephones and housing dramatically - achieving more in the last sixteen years than all previous governments put together. But because of the high levels of unemployment and poverty, not everyone has been able to afford these services. The ANC therefore introduced a programme of providing a minimum basic amount of water and electricity to all households for free. This programme has been rolled out in most urban areas and around 70% of households now have access. But while these programmes are being rolled-out, all municipalities should have 'indigent' policies in place to ensure that poor people are assisted in paying for basic services. While most municipalities have such policies in place, the reality is that others either do not have such a policy or do not have the systems to make it work properly. In some cases, poor residents don't know about the policy and therefore don't make use of it. This is a major challenge for the ANC, local councils and communities - to ensure that indigent policies are put in place across the country, that they work and that people know about them and access them. If people use more than the free basic amount of water or electricity, then they need to pay for the services they use. It is the responsibility of all families to monitor the amount of water and electricity they use to ensure they can afford what they use above the free amount. Unfortunately we can only give people what we can afford as government. Our money for water and electricity comes from taxes and from those who pay for using more than the basic amount. 9. 'RDP houses are too small and are badly built.' The housing subsidy which the ANC introduced - and which has resulted in the building of over 2.8m million houses - is the government's basic contribution towards the cost of building houses. While government has been able to increase the value of the subsidy over the years - and has done so again this year - people have had to supplement this subsidy, where possible, with their own savings or loans from banks. The size of the houses is determined by the additional resources that people have been able to access. The ANC has introduced new legislation to encourage banks to make housing finance more accessible to poorer people. Over this time, it has become clear that some builders have not been adhering to basic building standards. To prevent this, the ANC has established the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC). All houses built with subsidies are being enrolled with the council to ensure all houses meet the minimum standards contained in the National Building Regulations. The NHBRC will apply a five-year warranty cover to all enrolled houses, to ensure that any structural defects in these houses are rectified. Some contractors and housing officials have been found to be corrupt. Where this has happened, housing departments have acted and the cases have been handed over to the police. The ANC is determined to stamp out this kind of corruption because it takes away resources that should be going to the poor. Anyone who comes across such criminal behaviour should report it to the government or the police so that action can be taken. 10. 'Why does the government refuse to give everyone with HIV antiretrovirals?' The ANC-led government has implemented the biggest treatment programme in the world and around 1 million South Africans are now on antiretrovitals. We also provide treatment for all HIV-positive pregnant mothers. In the last three years we have tripled the number of people who receive treatment. We are revising the criteria for when people can go onto antiretrovirals and have already made it easier for people who also suffer from TB. Cost is a major issue. Not only are the drugs themselves expensive, but so too is the testing, support and monitoring mechanisms that need to accompany the treatment. We are also spending a lot on prevention and education programmes to stop further infections. Government has also launched voluntary testing campaigns to encourage people to take responsibility for their own safety and the safety of those they love. 11. 'Councillors are lazy, ineffective or corrupt.' Most councilors are hard-working and committed to the people they serve. In a short space local councillors have made great strides in transforming many areas of life in our communities and ensuring that a solid start has been made in delivering basic services to the people. It is true that in many cases they have not been consistent in reporting-back to their constituencies, leaving people unaware of the work that has been done or the challenges faced in ensuring faster delivery. Some councilors have not however been up to the tasks required of them, and the ANC has acted in many of these cases to replace them with people who can better attend to the people's needs. The process of choosing candidates for the 2011 election will ensure that only those who are experienced, hardworking and above corruption will be re-elected. We will bring in new candidates where we need them. If you have any complaints about your ANC councilors, please tell us. We will not tolerate corruption, laziness or inefficiency. Councillors are the representatives of the people and the ANC expects them to do their work with dedication and selflessness.. 12. 'The ANC only cares about us when it wants our votes.' This is not true. Since 1994, the ANC has worked continuously and consistently to implement the mandate which it received from the people. Every day since 1994, houses have been built, water has been provided, higher pensions have been paid to more people, houses have been electrified, schools have been improved, criminals have been arrested and prosecuted, clinics have been built, free health care has been provided to children and pregnant women, land has been transferred to the landless. Every day since 1994, thousands of ANC public representatives have been working to build a better life for all South Africans. During election campaigns we return to the people to get a new mandate. It always gives us new insights into the challenges we face and we will continue to work hard to solve them, together with the people. We expect our councilors to stay in touch with the people and they will commit themselves to regular consultation and report-back meetings. 13. 'Why are there quarrels between the ANC and its Alliance partners.' The ANC and its alliance partners - the SACP, COSATU and SANCO - are each independent organisations, with their own membership, programmes and policies. On some issues their policies and positions differ, but they all agree on the need and programme to transform South Africa into a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic, united and prosperous nation. We regularly meet and debate the best way forward, and sometimes the arguments get very heated. But all partners in the Alliance remain committed to discuss and, where possible, resolve these differences. In recent times there has been greater unity and more meaningful discussion about critical issues. 14. 'Why does the ANC not discipline its members who cause divisions and confusion about ANC policy?' The ANC is a democratic organisation and members are free to debate issues and express their views. They are also free to lobby and campaign for different leaders to be elected in our democratic leadership elections. Within the ANC there are a broad range of different opinions on many policies. Our democratic conferences are used to decide ANC policy and once a resolution is taken, all our cadres in government and elsewhere are expected to support its implementation. We should however never stop debating and searching for ways of improving our policies. ANC members are no allowed to engage in divisive action and our disciplinary committees are used to prosecute those who do. We should not over-react to those who express their preferences for one candidate or another in a leadership race. But we expect all cadres to at all times behave with honesty, dignity, respect for each other, and to do no damage to the image and name of the ANC. -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
