A PEOPLE'S CONTRACT TO CREATE WORK AND FIGHT POVERTY

During the first decade of freedom, we have worked together to improve the lives of all South Africans.

We have achieved many things, But much more still needs to be done. In particular, we need to tackle unemployment and fight poverty.

The ANC government has worked to fight poverty through the provision f housing, water, sanitation and electricity. It has expanded access to quality education and basic health care, and made social grants available to millions more qualifying South Africans. It has begun the process of land redistribution and provided support to emerging farmers.

In the next five years, the ANC, will build on this foundation. It will:

• Speed up programmes to provide housing, water, sanitation, electricity, social grants and telephone services to those who have not yet received them;
• Speed up the programme to provide free basic water and electricity to all poor households;
• Improve health services with well-trained and caring staff, intensify the fight against TB, malaria and other diseases, and expand comprehensive care, management and treatment of HIV and AIDS;
• Ensure all children have access to quality education, and extend the school feeding programme.

But social services on their own are not enough. People must have the dignity and opportunity of work.

The ANC government reversed the decline of the apartheid economy and created conditions for faster growth and job creation. More than two million new jobs were created over the last ten years. But these were not enough to meet the growth in the number of people entering the job market. And many people don't have skills to fill the many job vacancies which exist.

To tackle these problems, the ANC will:

• Grow the economy by investing more than R100-billion in improving roads, rail and air transport, telecommunications and energy, and encouraging in economic sectors with a potential to grow and create jobs.
• Encourage people to be job creators by spending over R15-billion on broad-based Black Economic Empowerment which benefits communities, workers and small businesses.
• Provide support and finance to small businesses; speed up land reform and provide comprehensive support to emerging farmers.
• Train more people, especially the youth, in skilled work, and provide work experience through a massive learnership programme; and create on million job opportunities through the expanded public works programme.
• From the lessons of the first decade of freedom, the ANC is confident of success. Because we know that, together, we can and will do more.