Always looking to do things differently, African Content Movement leader Hlaudi Motsoeneng says political parties get ahead of themselves by drafting election manifestos when the country first needs an implementation plan to lay down the basics.
“I don’t understand manifestos, and I don’t believe in them. People may understand it differently than I do, and maybe to them it means something else,” said Motsoeneng.
“To me, if you’re interested in addressing SA’s problems, a manifesto is not relevant.”
SA does not need manifestos
Motsoeneng told Sunday World ahead of the launch of his party’s election implementation plan at the Phuthaditjhaba Stadium in Qwaqwa, Free State, on Saturday.
He said that rather than a manifesto, an implementation plan would contain details on how to directly address the issues.
“For example, the roads in SA are bad, and you work out a plan to change that. The manifesto is all ideas. We do not need ideas; we need an implementation plan.”
He continued: “Unemployment is SA’s number-one enemy. I’m advocating for the employment of 70% of South Africans, regardless of their age.”
He cautioned that too much focus on age was one of the limiting factors in creating employment.
Job creation
“I’m also saying that because SA leaders believe in social grants, the SA economy isn’t growing. If you believe in social grants, you cannot grow the economy.
“We must address unemployment, as it poses a threat to our people.”
He said employment creation could solve most of South Africa’s problems, after which social grants would disappear and access to education would increase because parents could afford fees.
“But you cannot create employment if you do not fix the roads, electricity, and water supply. Those are just the basics, and my implementation plan will deal with those issues.”
He added that his party is going to ban retrenchments in government and state-owned entities.
“You cannot retrench and then come back and say you are going to create employment. If you fail to save working people, how are you going to create employment?”
Eight-hour working shifts
To attract investors, he said, South Africa must address the basic problems.
“You can only talk about a manifesto when you have fixed the basics. The manifestos are ideas and dreams. That’s where you bring your innovation and ideas.
His implementation plan would also include a proposal that the working cycle should be 24 hours with three eight-hour shifts.
“When others knock off to go to sleep and rest, there is another group that wakes up to continue with production,” he noted, saying that way more people would be employed.
