The Economic Freedom Fighters, led by Julius Malema, launched its 2021 Local Government Elections manifesto at the Gandhi Square in Johannesburg’s CBD on Sunday, 26 September 2021.
In the 2016 Local Government Elections, the party’s first election, the EFF secured 8.2% of vote-share or 761 seats nationally. Although it was unable to secure any councils, the EFF emerged as kingmaker in several municipalities.
The full manifesto, titled ‘Jobs and Land Manje’, is 572 pages long and includes a foreword by party leader Julius Malema, the party’s broad commitments for local governance, and individual goals for every district and local municipality.
The EFF’s 2021 Manifesto priorities
Land and agrarian economy
Every EFF municipality will conduct a land audit of its municipal areas and expropriate abandoned and unused land for redistribution to the landless. Informal settlements will also be formalised to ensure that these areas are provided with services and properly zoned to ensure that houses can be built in these areas in the short to medium term.
Indigent households and free basic services
The increase of most social grants, for example, grants for older persons to increase from R1 890 to R3 780 per month; and child support grants to increase from R460 to R920 per month.
Local government capacity
Every EFF municipality will abolish tenders and insource services including security services, cleaning services, gardening, horticulture, and landscaping services.
Economy
Every EFF municipality will declare a special economic zone with zero company taxes and building allowances for all companies that require infrastructure in exchange for producing products that contribute to municipal services and create jobs.
Gender and women
Every EFF municipality will ensure that there is more than 50% women representation in all spheres representing economic benefit, political participation, a managerial and leadership responsibility.
Health
EFF municipalities will prioritise primary healthcare that focuses on quality clinic services, home visits, and municipal disease profiling through municipal clinical facilities.
Human settlement
Every EFF municipality will re-zone all informal settlements within its jurisdiction into formal settlements and provide them with water, electricity, and sanitation.
Fisheries
EFF municipalities will grant indigenous and traditional fishers 50% of all fishing quotas
Water
EFF municipalities will discontinue private ownership of bulk water infrastructure and will ensure that every household, factory, farm, school, and public infrastructure has access to clean drinkable water.
Sanitation
EFF municipalities will ensure that all schools have flushing toilets.
Crime
EFF municipalities will strengthen law enforcement to fight corruption, gangs and drug lords.
Environment and climate change
EFF municipalities will incentivize businesses that use clean energy, have clear water recycling methods, and limit their levels of pollution.
Youth
Every EFF municipality will ensure that a minimum of 40% of the people in its employ are between the ages of 18 and 35. Every EFF municipality will guarantee for all matriculants in its locality free driver’s license lessons and a driver’s license test.
Transport
EFF municipalities will conduct an audit of all municipal infrastructure such as stadiums, lodges, farms and airports to determine true ownership and status of contracts and cancel all contracts that do not advance the development of the municipality.
Infrastructure
EFF municipalities will repossess all hijacked buildings and repurpose all such buildings and will review all long-term leases that previous municipalities entered with different businesses and individuals.
Corruption
Every EFF municipality will ensure that the chairperson of the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) is elected from the opposition benches to safeguard transparency and oversight over the executive.
Read the full EFF 2021 Local Government Elections Manifesto:
-Compiled by Amil Umraw, SABC Specialist Researcher
-Sourced from EFF website
