President Cyril Ramaphosa says the campaign for the African National Congress (ANC) will hit top gear once the election date has been formally announced.
This was after his deputy, Paul Mashatile, hinted at the weekend that the elections will be held in May.
Ramaphosa said the date will be announced soon, but did not indicate when.
However, he said on February 7 the election date will be announced within 15 days. That means, the election date is expected to be announced this week.
Ramaphosa was on a campaign trail in Durban on Monday when he made the remarks.
The ANC will on Saturday launch its 2024 elections manifesto at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Ramaphosa said their campaign will officially start once the election date has been announced.
“When we announce the election date, our campaign will hit top gear. Our campaign will officially start once we announce the date of the elections. This will be a tough campaign. Other parties speak ill of the ANC. But we will show them the ANC will win the elections, whether they like it or not,” said Ramaphosa.
He said they will win the elections nationally and in KwaZulu-Natal. He said the Western Cape was on their radar.
He said the ANC would win the elections through the strength of their branches.
The president also said in their manifesto they will highlight key issues that affect the country.
These would include jobs, water challenges and road networks.
They were aware of water issues and these are being attended to. They have a plan how they will deal with water challenges.
Many parts of the country have been plagued by the water crisis. They will build dams, restore water infrastructure and build more roads.
But the manifesto will outline key details on these issues.
The government was aware of youth unemployment.
“We know people want jobs. We are working day and night to create jobs,” said Ramaphosa.
In his manifesto launch on Saturday, he will explain how they will create jobs.
“To those who are looking for jobs, we will talk about jobs when we launch our manifesto on Saturday. How we will create jobs. How we will create jobs for the youth, especially those between 15 and 30 years old. Not that we ignoring those who are above 30 years, but we will create jobs for them as well,” said Ramaphosa.
He said the manifesto is informed by the input of their members following the consultative process they held last year where they visited provinces, regions, zones and branches.
The ANC must return to power to continue to deliver to the people., said Ramaphosa.
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