EFF: ‘People need basic services’
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is confident it will run a successful local government election campaign this year.
Speaking at the party’s manifesto launch in Johannesburg over the weekend, EFF leader Julius Malema prioritised issues such as housing, electricity, and other basic services.
Malema added that the party’s theme for the upcoming elections was land and jobs, and that more than 11 million people are unemployed, with the majority of black people living in poverty.
He said the government had proved itself incapable of solving these challenges.
“Our people do not have water, houses, roads, sanitation, and many other services and amenities,” he said.
“Children in rural South Africa continue to fall to their deaths in pit toilets. Women in South African continue to live under a dark cloud of fear, abuse, [and] economic and social exclusion.”
Referring to Msunduzi, the EFF made the following commitments:
• It will upgrade the water reservoirs in Msunduzi Municipality by March 2022; It will do away with bucket systems in Sobantu, Edendale, Northdale and Imbali by April 2022;
• The party will build flushing toilets in Dambuza and Snathing in wards 1,3, 5, and 6 by April 2022;
• They will build RDP houses in Woodlands ward 32, ward 10 Snathing and ward 21 Dambuza, Sacca and Jika Joe;
• The party will maintain roads within Msunduzi,i specifically in town and Imbali, Ashbutton, Copesville, Snathing, Edendale, Dambuza, Ashdown by March 2022;
• The EFF will ensure a sustainable electricity supply in the city by May 2022; and it will ensure that all electrical problems within the ward are attended to at ward level by ensuring in-sourcing of qualified electricians within the municipality by February 2022;
• The party will install sustainable LED street lights in all crime affected areas across the region by February 2021; It will also ensure a 24-hour running clinic in all Msunduzi wards; plans to build multi-sport facility in Imbali by October 2022; will have a training programmes for coaches and referee in all wards; and will start a tournament where all villages will participate free of charge;
• It will build an indoor sport centre in ward 32 by December 2023;
• It wants to build an upgraded library in Msunduzi by November 2022; and wants to give bursaries to all needy students;
• It plans to increase staff in Pietermaritzburg by June 2022; and will build a proper police station, with facilities for GBV cases, by January 2022;
• The party intends to create more community policing forums in places like Imbali and KwaPata by June 2022; and wants to deploy more police in Imbali and KwaPata by November 2021;
• The EFF intends to have in-house security guards and cleaners in the municipality by June 2022.
Other plans include establishing an abattoir in rural areas by March 2022, starting a food production company and to employ 1 000 general workers as full-time municipal workers by March 2022.
The EFF also wants to establish a road maintenance company which will employ more than 300 artisans and more than 50 engineers as full-time municipal workers by March 2022.