Pietermaritzburg - The post-May 8 elections government will swing into action as a demonstration of the lessons learned over the past 25 years, according to African National Congress President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Addressing party members and supporters in Pietermaritzburg on Friday, Ramaphosa called on voters to give the ANC a decisive victory in the May 8 general elections.
“We want to show everyone that in the next administration we mean business. We will be all about implementation, there will be less talking. The first day will be about working from national down to provincial level, because talking time is over now. This is now the time to implement the decisions we have [taken] over the past 25 years,” Ramaphosa said.
The ANC government had managed to tackle poverty through the introduction of state grants which were helping over 17 million people each month, making the intervention the largest social welfare system by any government in Africa.
He conceded that the grants system was not enough and the new administration would push ahead with plans to create jobs.
“Wherever we go during door-to-door activities people tell us that they want jobs, especially young people, and we are mindful of this challenge. That is why there was an investment conference last year where we raised over R290 billion, because it is one of the measures aimed at tackling unemployment.”
Ramaphosa said he was planning to channel some of the funds raised in the conference to KwaZulu-Natal. He insisted that land reform was one of the key areas of focus for government as it carried the potential to give livelihoods to many people.
His visit to Pietermaritzburg was part of the ANC's weekend election campaign trail in the province, which included Durban and the surrounding areas.