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Through the experience of government and working with communities we have continuously learnt which policies are working and where change is needed. In our 2009 Manifesto, which received the nation's mandate in the election, the ANC committed itself to continue working together with all South Africans around five priorities.
Creating conditions for an inclusive economy that will reduce unemployment, poverty and inequality and produce decent jobs and sustainable livelihoods.
Access for more and more of our people, especially the youth, to adequate education and training to enable them to participate productively in the economy and society.
Better quality health care in a system that is accessible to more South Africans, including the introduction of national health insurance.
More and more rural communities benefiting from investments in basic services (water, electricity, sanitation and roads) and empowered to end hunger by productively using the available or redistributed land. Through rural development we seek to modernise the countryside and bring dignity to rural dwellers.
Safer communities as serious and priority crimes are reduced, corruption defeated, and our criminal justice system is radically changed.
Local government has a critical role in the implementation of the 2009 Election Manifesto priorities. It is the closest sphere of government to the people, and the first point of contact of government with communities.

In localising priorities of the 2009 Manifesto and in meeting key challenges facing our communities, we will:
Build local economies to create more employment decent work and sustainable livelihoods;
Improve local public services and broaden access to them;
Build more united, non-racial, integrated and safer communities;
Promote more active community participation in local government; and
Ensure more effective, accountable and clean local government that works together with national and provincial government.
Building local economies to create more employment and sustainable livelihoods

The challenges - and new ways of doing things:

Over the years we achieved sustained economic growth, but unemployment and inequality remain high. We need to ensure that our economy creates more jobs, decent work and reduces income inequalities.

Government has unveiled and is implementing its New Growth Path programme whose primary objective is to create at least 5 million jobs in the next 10 years. The New Growth Path will require government at all levels to lead economic development, working with communities, the private sector, and labour.

Every government department, every sector and every business entity, regardless of size will focus on job creation. Municipalities, guided by the New Growth Path, and working with communities, will need to place job creation and sustainable livelihoods at the centre of their local economic programmes.

In doing so municipalities will need to ensure that there is equal access to employment and skills development for women and youth.

Together let us build local economies that create more jobs, decent work and sustainable livelihoods!

The ANC government, working with the people, will:
Establish a Jobs Fund of R9 billion over the next three years to finance new job-creation initiatives. In addition, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has allocated R10-billion for investment in job-creating economic activities. These initiatives will have a direct impact in building local economies and will involve, amongst others, co-funding with municipalities.
Accelerate our on-going massive infrastructure development programme, which will:
Create 250,000 jobs per year through over R800- billion investments in infrastructure through large-scale projects in energy, dams, roads, public transport and communication infrastructure.
Embark on a massive S'hamba Sonke (walking together) programme which will use labour intensive methods of road construction and maintenance, including a massive pothole patching programme that is already being rolled out.
Expand the public works and youth development programmes:
Create 4,5 million work opportunities through the Expanded Public Works Programme. More than1 million work opportunities have already been created since Phase 2 of the programme began. Part of the programme is the Community Work Project which provides access to a minimum level of regular work - 2 days a week = 100 days a year. It will be ward-based in poorest areas and community-driven. It will increase its participants from the current 85,000 to 237,000 by the 2014. These public works programmes will not displace permanent jobs.
Massively increase the number of youth participating in job creation, skills development and national youth service programmes organised by the National Youth Development Agency. Through National Youth Service programme, the Agency will work with municipalities to promote youth pride for the country and their communities.
Support small enterprises, co-operatives and informal sector with non-financial and financial means:
A single small enterprise fund will be created, by merging Khula, the South African Micro-Finance Apex Fund and the Industrial Development Corporation's small business funding.
Municipalities will put aside a percentage of their procurement targets for local co-operatives.
Provide support for rural communities:
Support rural smallholder farmers with seeds, tractors, and storage facilities; setting up rural co-operatives; and access to water infrastructure. Water reservoirs, windmills and irrigation schemes will be rehabilitated and community participation in the management of these schemes will be encouraged.
Crops, livestock and grazing will be protected with the installation of fences.
Establish community and village markets as a way of ensuring food security while improving household and community income.
Establish rural youth brigades for activities in literacy, environmental protection, HIV and AIDS education, as part of the Rural Youth Service Corps Programme. The programme will engage up to one million young people over the next few years, combined with measures to expose young people to work experience through internships in private and public sectors.
Work closely with traditional leadership structures in the implementation of rural development programmes.
Create work opportunities and support domestic manufacture of components in the green economy through further installation of solar-heater geysers in new low cost houses.
See that municipalities play their part in a national climate change strategy, including promoting local energy saving campaigns.
Ensure that government funded vacant posts, including local government posts, are filled.
Expand home, community and institutional food gardens, which will be supported as a means of promoting food production, reducing food insecurity and enhancing sustainable livelihoods.
Ensure that local jobs summits take place and their resolutions implemented to build local economies.
Together, building on the progress we have made and learning from the experience of the past 17 years, we will need to do things differently to address these challenges, and we have already begun to do just that.

Together we can build better communities
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