Durban - President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised that those who are entrusted with public monies after the May 8 elections will not steal but deliver to voters.
On a door-to-door campaign trail in Durban, President Ramaphosa also addressed a mini-rally in Clermont, outside the city.
The president and the ANC have come under criticism after some questionable leaders made the list of the party’s representatives to Parliament and provincial legislatures.
“Another change we are looking for is that after the elections we want people you are going to elect to work for you, and not people who are going to enrich themselves. They should not steal money instead of working for the community,” he said.
He called on residents to go out and vote because “we want a decisive victory for the ANC”.
“On May 8 when you vote, just imagine me being present at the voting station,” he said.
Ramaphosa said his government would focus on promoting black-owned businesses so that they can create employment.
“In other countries employers are small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and co-operatives,” he said.
He said KwaZulu-Natal government was doing well in promoting SMEs.
“Comrade Sihle Zikalala (economic development MEC) has started a programme to assist small business with bulk buying and is giving incentives. They also train them, which is what we want to focus on moving forward.”
Ramaphosa said the ANC would continue to provide free houses for the poor, noting 4.3 million houses had already been built since 1994.
“I don’t know a single government in Africa that has built 4.3 million houses. Only the ANC government has done so.
“We give these houses to people for free. We would love to provide bigger houses but we don’t have the money.
“In other countries I visit in Africa, governments build houses and sell them. If they build a house you must pay whereas in our country we get houses for free,” he said.
Ramaphosa said if his government wins, it will give all pupils tablets so that they can be party to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“There is not a single government in Africa that will give tablets to pupils the way we are going to do. Tablets are therefore coming to our schools for our children to be ready for the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” he said.
He said the ANC government would campaign for people to have easy access to the internet.
“We want data prices to drop for our children in universities and schools as we want to start with the Fourth Industrial Revolution at Grade R,” he said.
Ramaphosa said since last year the government had been rolling out bursary schemes. “For those students who are in debt, Minister Naledi Pandor has allocated funds to pay those debts. We are going to wipe out the past debts on an ongoing basis.”