By: Natasha Archary

Over the weekend the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) launched its manifesto making bold promises of land, jobs and an end to loadshedding should the 2024 general elections go their way.
EFF leader Julius Malema said South Africa is trapped in a vicious cycle of underdevelopment South Africa is trapped in a vicious cycle of underdevelopment, underperformance and an unpredictable future due to incompetent, directionless and visionless government.
Malema said 30-years into democracy and landlessness and joblessness among black South Africans are at crisis levels, posing the biggest challenges that confront South African society today.
“In 2024, South Africa is confronted with a crisis of loadshedding caused by a government that is unable to guarantee dependable and reliable electricity generation, transmission, and distribution to the entire society.
While focusing on clear, implementable and decisive programmes for all spheres of governance, the EFF”s emphasis for the 2024 general elections will be on LAND, JOBS, and ELECTRICITY.”
The EFF’s manifesto highlighted 7 pillars for the 2024 general elections which include:
- Expropriation of South Africa’s land without compensation for equal redistribution in use.
- Nationalisation of mines, banks, and other strategic sectors of the economy, without compensation.
- Building statet and government capacity, which will lead to the abolishment of tenders.
- Free quality education, health care, houses and sanitation.
- Massive protected industrial development to create millions of sustainable jobs, including the introduction of minimum wage(s) in order to close the wage gap and promote rapid career paths for Africans in the workplace.
- Massive development for the African economy and advocatingfor a move from reconciliation to justice on the entire continent.
- Open accountable, corrupt-free government and society without fear of victimisation by state agencies.
CIC Julius Malema Addresses EFF List Conference https://t.co/GYZivXIOA5
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) February 11, 2024
The red berets plan on achieving the 7 pillars with the following policy innovations:
- Land redistribution policies which all guarantee land access by all landless people for residential, industrial, cultural, religious and recreational purposes.
- Multiple special economic zones to promote inward industrialisation and manufacturing investments with export capacity in order to make the ownership and control of the economy demographically representative, expand its productive capacity and create millions of jobs.
- Doubling of social grants in order to reduce the crisis levels of poverty and boost domestic economic demands and expansion.
- Usage of legislated state procurement as a boost for localisation and creation of sustainable quality jobs, prioritising women and the youth.
- Reconfiguration of the spheres of government into national and local spheres and eliminating the provincial sphere in order to redirect resources to impactful service delivery and investments.
- Amending the constituton to make the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) a Chapter 9, institution accountable to Parliament in order to stop selective prosecutions and fight corruption.
- The EFF government will overhaul the policing system, emphasizing the rols of law enforcement in safeguarding human rights and public safety.
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