South Africa’s ruling party made several commitments in its 2019 manifesto. How many were kept and how many made it back to the 2024 version?
The ruling party kept its earlier promise to implement the national minimum wage, though various factors still prevent all workers across South Africa from benefiting.
Promise: “Increase police visibility in our communities by increasing the number of men and women in uniform.”Annual reports published by the South African Police Service, or SAPS, include the number of employees in the police force. According to the 2019/20 annual report, which covered April 2019 to March 2020, the SAPS had a total of 187,358 employees.
SAPS reporting does mention efforts to recruit more officers in 2022 and 2023, though allegations of corruption have surrounded the drive. Police numbers in 2024 remain lower than in 2019. Following the outbreak of Covid-19 in March 2020, president Cyril Ramaphosa described gender-based violence as South Africa’s “second pandemic”. High rates of violence against women have been met with public protest and media attention, while the government has been criticised for being complacent.
For the total population of women and children in South Africa between 2019 and 2023, Africa Check used mid-year population estimates and general household surveys from Statistics South Africa , the country’s data agency. “We have several studies … which have closely examined the profiles of both female homicides and child murders,” said Brodie, which showed that murders of women and children often had different characteristics. Some examples of these can be found here, here and here. Looking at this as one issue “implies that both types of crimes have the same patterns and solutions, which is not true”, she said.
While the initial investment target was set at R1.2 trillion, in its 2024 election manifesto, the ANC claimed that the conferences had “raised R1.5 trillion in new investment commitments”. But according to the ANC’s 2024 election manifesto, of the R1.5 trillion in pledges, R500 billion “has already flowed into the economy”.
The report showed that of the 317 investment pledges announced, 97 projects had been completed, 101 were under construction and 72 were in the early stages of implementation. The remaining 47 projects were delayed or in the funding stages.Africa Check will keep track of this figure and in the interim rate this promise as “in progress”.According to the International Labour Organization , a minimum wage is the lowest amount a worker must be paid for their labour during a given period.
However, exemptions are allowed, as long as necessary conditions are met. The reason for the exemption must be stated – it is usually because the employer cannot afford the wage. The period for the exemption must also be specified and cannot exceed one calendar year. Lastly, the wage that the employer will pay must be stated.
South Africa’s proposed national health insurance is a tax-funded programme which would pay for healthcare services for all South Africans. There are examples of similar state-funded health services in other countries, including the UK’s National Health Service. In his state of the nation address on 8 February 2024, Ramaphosa quipped that the NHI Bill was on his desk and that he was “looking for a pen”.
SWFs are created to stabilise an economy, increase savings across generations, fund a country’s development and for various other reasons, as outlined by the Sovereign Wealth Institute. And these funds are becoming increasingly popular among governments in Africa – there are around 25 of them across the continent.
Dr Joseph Upile Matola, an economist at SAIIA, told Africa Check that a SWF remains a distant prospect for South Africa. “The country is simply not ready” due to “serious economic stagnation”, and high levels of debt. Dr Neva Makgetla is a senior economist at the research institute Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies. She told Africa Check that the Covid-19 pandemic meant that the ANC’s 2019 manifesto promise became entirely unachievable. “South Africa lost 2.2 million jobs, or 14% of the total, in the lockdown – that is, in the second quarter of 2020.”
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