With elections on Wednesday, May 29, President Cyril Ramaphosa, who addressed ANC supporters gathered at the FNB Stadium for the party’s Siyanqoba rally, has once again made significant promises about the country’s economy, jobs plan, service delivery, and overall quality of life for all South Africans.
Ramaphosa also revealed that the ANC has no intention to scrap the BEEE policies and the Employment Equity policies, which he said were the policies of the ANC.
Ramaphosa said over the past three months while on the campaign trail, he has interacted with South Africans from all walks of life who still see the ANC as their home.
“Wherever we have gone, the support of the ANC has been visible and palpable. All the people have shown the ANC love and support. It is for that reason that the ANC will emerge victorious. As we went around, the country told us over and over that our country has come a long way and has made progress, and we have achieved much together. They also told us that our journey towards creating better South Africans is what we all want and deserve,” he said.
On the jobs plan, Ramaphosa says over the next five years, the ANC has prioritised a six-point jobs plan to revive the country’s economy and get South Africans the much-needed jobs they want.
He said this would include the digital economy, the rail economy, as well as recommitting to the black industrialist programme, which was started over ten years ago.
“As we continue our journey and as we prepare to carry out our people’s mandate, the ANC will focus on six priorities to take our country forward. Over the next five years, working with all South Africans, we will implement a jobs plan to put more South Africans back to work. We will build our industries and invest in an inclusive economy. We will tackle the high costs of living,” he said.
On the issue of high data prices, Ramaphosa called for telecommunications companies to lower their prices to allow young people to access the internet and job opportunities online.
Ramaphosa also touched on the cost of data in South Africa, telling supporters at FNB Stadium that data costs in the country is still among the highest in the world.
“Our data prices are among the highest in the world. They must fall down, and we want the telecommunications companies to reduce the cost of data so that young people can use the internet without paying too much. Down with the cost of data, down,” he said.
Ramaphosa also said it was time for the government to invest in the people of South Africa in order to defend the gains of democracy.
“We will invest in our people and defend the gains of democracy that we fought so much to realise. We will continue to build a better South Africa and the rest of the world for all our children.”
The Star