ROAD TO 2024 ELECTIONS
EFF manifesto’s main points — nationalise stuff, scrap provinces and legalise dope
Floyd Shivambu, EFF deputy president, Julius Malema, EFF president, and Marshall Dlamini, EFF secretary-general, at the party's election manifesto launch at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on 10 February 2024. (Photo: Gallo Images / Darren Stewart)
This week our guide to a party manifesto is the EFF’s. The party is polling at about 20%, with some pundits predicting it could become the official opposition. With a slogan of Land, Jobs and Electricity, the manifesto is radical populist, aimed at workers, unemployed people and young people.
Grants and social policy
- Double all social grants;
- Old age pensions R4,180 a month; war veterans R4,220; disability R4,180; care dependency R4,180; foster child R2,260; child support R1,020; grant-in-aid R1,020.
- The manifesto does not specify a basic income but it introduces a stipend of R5,000 a month for unemployed graduates.
Climate change and the environment
- The EFF does not support decommissioning coal-fired power stations or the principles of a just transition;
- It supports local recycling, has a good landfill policy and will progressively introduce carbon taxes.
Crime and corruption
- Retrain police by 2027 and employ 100,000 more cops;
- Minimum sentence of 25 years for police found guilty of serious crime;
- Protect whistle-blowers;
- Economic justice courts for those unlawfully mistreated and exploited by corporations;
- Pardon all Fees Must Fall and political activists;
- A ‘corruption-free government’.
Economy
- The narrative arc of the EFF manifesto is captured by this sentence: “The economy in South Africa continues today to be under the ownership and control of white minority settlers”;
- The centrepiece is the nationalisation of mines, banks and other strategic sectors of the economy without compensation;
- No taxes for companies that create 2,000 full-time jobs across 30 special economic zones and the whole of the Northern Cape;
- Regulate lower and standardised data costs;
- Start state-owned companies in key sectors;
- Start a sovereign wealth fund, to be capitalised by foreign investors.
Education
- Free, decolonised education;
- Prioritise indigenous ways of learning and teaching;
- Focus on edu-tech;
- Scrap the IEB exams;
- 10,000 annual scholarships to top global universities;
- All universities to offer Swahili by 2027;
- R1-million grant for every black PhD student.
Financial sector
- Nationalise the Reserve Bank;
- Start state-owned banks, including a national state bank into which all grants and pensions must be paid;
- Jail CEOs of banks named by the Competition Commission as colluding to fix the value of the rand;
- Start a state-owned insurance company that government employees must use;
- 80% of all private retirement funds to be administered and run by black-owned companies.
Food
- Ensure all food is locally produced, not imported.
Governance
- Scrap provinces and strengthen local government;
- Reduce presidential power to strengthen Parliament;
- Resurface roads and bridges, and eradicate potholes, by 2028;
- Two new water treatment plants in each province;
- Eliminate pit latrines and upgrade education infrastructure.
Foreign policy
- Focus on Africa with a R187-billion annual investment to grow the African economy;
- Turn gaze towards the socialist-populist world, including Venezuela and Cuba.
Health
- Free universal healthcare;
- Each district to have a specialist hospital.
Housing
- Provide spacious, quality houses for all people;
- Regulate rents.
- Stop banks repossessing houses once 50% of the mortgage is paid.
Jobs
- National minimum wage of R6,000 a month with higher minimums in specified sectors;
- 24-hour economy with a three-shift system.
Land
- Expropriate land without compensation;
- Make all land state owned;
- Restrict foreign land ownership;
- Transfer 50% of land to black people within five years.
Energy
- Repair existing power station fleet;
- Stop decommissioning coal-fired power plants;
- Focus on carbon capture, clean coal and nuclear energy, with a starring role for Russia;
- Encourage shale gas exploration;
- Direct Eskom to develop a substantial renewable energy division;
- 200kWh/month free electricity to poor households.
Migration
- All migrants to be registered with Home Affairs;
- Beyond that, free movement of people across Africa.
Public service
- Focus on insourcing of all services the state buys;
- Effective use of conditional grants for municipalities.
Reality check
- This is an extremely long and expensive manifesto. The EFF would run an economy similar to Venezuela or Cuba’s, but with a mixed economy in some sectors;
- It would double (or even triple) the grants budget and the civil service wage bill. The minimum wage proposals would cause most businesses to pack up;
- The economy would collapse because of the proposals in the financial sector.
Cool things
- The focus on young people, students and the LGBTQI+ community is well considered, if expensive. DM
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This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R29.
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EFF are so fortunate they would never have to deliver on any of their policy/ promises.
About the only thing I’ve ever agreed with Feriel.
Bwaa haa haa! Say no more than this:
” Make all land state owned;
Transfer 50% of land to black people within five years.”
So which is it? Title deeds or state owned ‘allowances’ for use of the land (as the state deems fit, subject to confiscation at any time).
But why stop there? My party will treble everything that the EFF offers. We obviously have unlimited money in this dream world.
Loony Tunes at best and deranged at worst! This is nothing but nonsense from ignorant buffoons (being kind here) who are absolutely clueless on how to run a modern country. Take, grab, seize, steal etc. SA is already virtually bankrupt and these morons will simply be the last nail in the coffin. You can steal from Paul to pay Peter, but soon there will be nothing more to steal. Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Cuba – here we come if these idiotic cabal of kindergarten ever take power.
Mo money fo me honey
Comic pages?
The fact that they preach land for all, but also state that it’s centralised ownership… Let’s see how that works out. Just shows that their voters are not so good at reading….
Cartoon of the week. What a joke. Clueless. Surprised that education was not banned except for the ruling elite, it came close.
xxx
Donald Trump never stood a chance to win an election, right? Scary stuff this.
You can say that again!
Sorry but its all pie in the sky policies that would be unworkable in the real world and lead to the demise of SA. That however will not deter them one iota and unfortunately the voting masses will see them as the savior.
They will unfortunately wake up in a bad dream.
Yep, drink the Kool-Aid.