Our 2024 National Rescue Plan
South Africa is in crisis. After 30 years, the ANC’s rule has eroded our state institutions through cadre deployment, corruption, and criminality. The results are devastating: no reliable power supply, rampant crime, failing water systems, children who cannot read, decaying cities, and ports that do not work. These failures have killed our economic growth and destroyed jobs.
The Democratic Alliance’s 2024 National Election Manifesto presents a practical, evidence-based plan to rescue South Africa from state collapse.
The Manifesto covers six key areas: jobs, electricity, crime, the civil service, education, and healthcare.
Jobs
The most important priority for South Africans is jobs. The ANC’s fixation on state control, protecting union interests, and race-based policies has hurt the poor and unemployed the most. With one of the world’s highest unemployment rates, one-third of our working-age population has no job.
Our Solutions:
- Cut red tape in the labour market to make hiring easier.
- Upskill our workforce.
- Create an environment where businesses can invest and grow.
Electricity
Without reliable energy, South Africa cannot function, and people cannot live dignified lives. The ANC’s failed state-led power model, the looting of Eskom, and a refusal to diversify our energy mix cost the economy R300 billion in 2022 alone, cutting GDP by 5 percent.
Our Solutions:
- Break up Eskom and allow private investment to provide cheap and reliable electricity.
- Diversify our energy mix.
- Encourage private prosumers (individuals who both produce and consume electricity) to end load-shedding.
Crime
Every South African knows the detrimental effects crime has on our country, our communities, and our families. Political interference, rogue law enforcement, and a shortage of well-trained police have left us unsafe. Between April 2022 and March 2023, 27 272 people were murdered – the highest annual murder rate in our history.
Our Solutions:
- Create a new, independent crime-busting institution to ensure criminals are put behind bars.
- Devolve policing powers to competent provincial and local governments.
Education
Without proper education, South Africa has no future. It is therefore crucial that our children are educated properly. This is not the reality for many South African learners. 81 percent of Grade 4 learners cannot read for meaning, and 60 percent lack foundational maths and science knowledge.
Our Solutions:
- Guarantee 210 full teaching days per year for every child.
- Ensure all teachers are skilled and qualified.
- Dedicate sufficient teaching time to reading, writing, and calculating skills in curricula.
Civil Service
The civil service is the backbone of a functioning country, allowing the state to deliver social services to those who need it the most. Cadre deployment and corruption have pushed 151 of 257 municipalities to the brink of financial collapse. 43 have already collapsed. This disproportionally impacts those with the least means and cannot be allowed to continue. Effective government staffing must start on the ground.
Our Solutions:
- Abolish the practice of deploying party loyalists into government jobs.
- Professionalise the public service – people need to be equipped for their roles.
- Prioritise delivery of basic services like water, sanitation, and waste removal.
Healthcare
South Africa also has a healthcare crisis. We only have 0.79 doctors per 1,000 citizens. Instead of fixing poor governance and broken facilities, the ANC pursues its disastrous National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme.
Our Solutions:
- Remove politicians from running healthcare facilities. They must be run by doctors and hospital administrators.
- Increase access to services in both public and private sectors and guarantee a basic level of care for all.
- Reject the NHI in favour of the DA’s Universal Healthcare Coverage model.
This manifesto presents a credible and clear-eyed path to fixing South Africa. We are under no illusions: if elected, it will take a full term to get the national government back on its feet. But we are committed to rescuing this beautiful country. It is still possible to rescue South Africa from becoming a failed state. But this requires every voter to get behind the DA so that we can get South Africa moving in the right direction.