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Crime, unemployment, poverty top of the agenda for ATM

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Crime, unemployment, and poverty alleviation top the agenda for the African Transformation Movement (ATM) as it eyes potential governance post-May 29 elections.

The party kicked off its national campaign in East London in 2023. On Sunday, party leader, Vuyo Zungula addressed supporters on the promises of the party.

At the Jabulani Amphitheater, thousands gathered for the launch of the ATM’s campaign, marking its second contest in national elections since its inception in 2018. With two parliamentary seats currently, the party aims to expand its support base in the upcoming polls.

Central to its agenda is the establishment of a capable state, with Zungula expressing concern over the privatisation of state functions, citing it as a failure of governance.

Zungula says, “The state must play a critical role in creating a good quality of life for the citizens. We don’t agree with this thing that is being done in South Africa whereby the functions of the state are being privatised. The private sector can never be given the responsibility of creating a good quality of life. It is the state that must play that role.”

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The ATM attributed persistent power outages to sabotage, accusing leaders of benefiting from such disruptions. Zungula asserted, “We do not have a problem of load shedding in our country, we’ve got power stations that are using coal and we’ve got more than 400 years of coal in our country but the problem is that these power stations are not operating optimally.”

The party advocates for an increase in social grants, calling for a dependable system that reflects the needs of South Africans. It also criticised the quality of healthcare services for the poor, emphasising the need for universal access to quality healthcare.

Zungula emphasised, “There needs to be quality healthcare for everyone… there can’t be a case whereby if you are rich, you are wealthy, you are going to get exceptional healthcare but if you are poor, you are not going to get quality healthcare.”

Furthermore, if elected, the ATM pledges to boost job creation through the construction of factories aimed at employing people.

2024 Elections | ATM Leader Vuyo Zungula calls for state accountability and effective governance

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