Mmusi Maimane’s BOSA was one of the parties offering promises on the campaign trail over the weekend. [Picture: Papi Morake /Gallo Images]
Several political parties, new and established, have hit the rubber on the road as they kicked off their campaigns ahead of the national and provincial elections. Some rehashed old ideas, while others projected confidence in their ability to enable change.
Amidst stage two loadshedding, political parties launched their campaigns to thousands of people in different parts of the country over the weekend. There were bold promises of new jobs, education and border security, among others – all of which have been heard before.
The leaders of Build One South Africa (BOSA, the Patriotic Alliance (PA) and the newly-launched uMkhonto weSizwe party were on the campaign trail. Newcomer Rise Mzansi launched their manifesto the weekend before.
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Promises
Addressing a packed hall in Bertrams, Johannesburg, BOSA’s Mmusi Maimane – a former Democratic Alliance leader – outlined a 10-point plan focused on job creation.
In a Biblical reference to the story of David and Goliath, the pastor and church elder described SA’s challenges as giants requiring David-like strength to take down.
“The task on our shoulders is a big one. It’s a moment in our country where you feel like we need David to take down Goliath,” he said.
“We need to be able to look at the giants in our land, whether those are giants of poverty, unemployment and begin to say we need more and more Davids in all our communities to fight to bring change.”
Should BOSA assume office, he said, they will engender the creation of at least two million jobs. Education would be improved, with job creation in mind, so that the pass rate of 30% is increased to 50% – especially in subjects like Mathematics and Physical Sciences, he said.
Gayton McKenzi of the PA, meanwhile, urged voters in Limpopo to vote for tighter borders. “Unless these people here love suffering, then I will not do well. But, if these people want change, I am your guy,” he said.
Notwithstanding accusations of race-baiting levelled against himself and the party in recent months, he believed his party was about “building a new South Africa” through cooperation.
“Patriotic Alliance is the fastest growing political party that brings Coloured people and Black people and White people together. We can see in this hall; it’s not only Coloured people …. That’s what we are about – building a new South Africa.”
Finally, former president Jacob Zuma pulled a crowd to KwaXimba, west of Durban. Traditionally an ANC stronghold, he cautioned voters against deceitful leaders.
He used poverty to capture the hearts of his audience: “You must warn those who call themselves leaders, who go around insulting us. Why do they think differently? Because we are poor”.
Aiming for a two-thirds majority in the upcoming elections, Zuma vowed to implement some of the policies which he thought his former home, the ANC, had reneged on.
“We deliberately took a decision to expropriate land without compensation. We also called for the nationalisation of the reserve bank and many policies, but our leaders defied us.
Meanwhile, voter registration weekend takes place from 3-4 February. Although this will be the final in-person registration weekend, anyone aged 16 and above may use the online portal on the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) website to register at their convenience.
