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The African National Congress on Saturday unveiled an election manifesto that focuses on cutting unemployment and poverty in half by 2014 through a "people's partnership".

Addressing a media briefing ahead of an official function at Durban City Hall in KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday evening, senior ANC official Jeff Radebe emphasised that job creation and poverty alleviation required a people's contract.

"The next five years and the coming decade we will focus on alleviating poverty and creating jobs.

The ANC and the government cannot do these things on its own. We need a partnership with the people," he said.

Radebe said since 1994 the economy had grown by 2,8% and between 1996 and 2003 two million new jobs were created.

However, he admitted that over one million jobs had also been lost in the last decade and that the number of people seeking jobs had increased.

He said a large number of workers had also been negatively affected by the outsourcing of work in the private sector.

"As a result many South Africans do not have jobs or decent self-employment, poverty is still a reality for millions who as many do not have appropriate skills. We want to litigate against the negative impacts of this phenomenon".

Radebe said the ANC was pushing for a "people's contract" to address issues of poverty and Aids as South Africans needed to claim their rights.

Government could introduce plans to decrease poverty, fight Aids and improve policing but community participation was required for success.

Radebe said one such plan was a R100-billion investment in improving roads, rail and air transport as well as the telecommunications and energy sectors.

The R100-billion would be sourced from state owned enterprises.

A further R15-billion would be spent on facilitating broad-based Black Economic Empowerment.

Government would also continue to strive to keep debt, interest rates and inflation as low as possible.

Radebe added that changes would be made to the financial system and institutions to ensure that entrepreneurs, especially the youth and women, would have access to credit facilities.

The ANC also reiterated its commitment to completing the land restitution programme by 2014.

Asked about controversial draft legislation, that if made law, would see farmers unwilling to sell their farms for restitution purposed being forced to do so, Radebe said simply: "If the bill becomes law it will be implemented".

The rand weakened slightly earlier this week on media reports of threats of Zimbabwe style land grabs by impatient land claimants.

The apartheid area saw 60% of the country's land being held by white South Africans.

The public launch of the manifesto took place at the Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg yesterday.

Kicking off its election campaign in KwaZulu-Natal is the party's way of showing its determination to wrest power from the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in the province.

Party leaders on Saturday were confident that KwaZulu-Natal - in the past marred by rivalry between ANC and IFP supporters - would be theirs at the end of the elections.

"The mood that one has felt in the province since Monday (when they arrived) is positive.

In the rural areas the ANC is received with warmth - we need to translate this into registered voters who will vote for the ANC," Radebe said.

ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said the party had reached the point where it wanted to consolidate its presence in the province.

"We want to take the ball and run. The people of the KwaZulu-Natal love the ANC," he said.

Ngonyama said the ANC provincial leaders had been welcomed even in the traditional IFP strongholds.

"Last week outside Empangeni 150 IFP supporters joined the ANC.

I must assure you that we are going to all corners of this province to encourage our people to register," he said. – Sapa.

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