The ANC lives, the ANC leads!

We extend a special welcome to the thousands who are joining us via video link from stadiums in the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

Comrades

We have gathered here today, after an exciting and vibrant election campaign, to declare to the country and the world at large, that the ANC is ready to move South Africa forward.

ANC leaders and volunteers have visited every corner of the country in the past few weeks, humbly engaging our people.

The people have told us that South Africa is a much better place to live in now than it was before 1994,thanks to the programmes and policies of the ANC.

At the same time, they identified areas of concern and told us where we need to improve, as we deliver a better life for all.

We are concluding our campaign on a high note. Thereis lot to be proud of about our beautiful country as we mark 20 years of freedom.

We have worked together to build a new society based on the foundations of human rights, equality, justice, unity and reconciliation.

We have worked together to build a South Africa that truly belongs to all who live in it, regardless of colour, race, class or creed.

We are one nation, born out of the ashes of racial oppression.We are building a common identity.We sing one national anthem, fly one national flag and embrace our cultural diversity.The ANC is humbled to have led such a unique nation since the dawn of freedom.While we have done well over 20 years ago, the past five years have also pushed development and transformation forward.

We had committed ourselves in 2009, to five priorities.These are education, health, rural development and land reform, the fight against crime and creating decent work. We will continue focusing on these five again in the next five years, with an added emphasis on improving human settlements to ensure a better quality of life.

We have made progress in the five areas since 2009.

We declared education an apex priority in 2009, and we have put money and action to that commitment.Government spends 1.3 billion rand on Early Childhood Development centres, subsidizing toddlers from poor households. We are also growing our Grade R class, the five and six year olds. Grade R learners have increased from sixhundred thousand in 2009 to over eight hundred thousand in 2014 following a successful promotion.Given the success, the ANC will make Grade R compulsoryin the next term of government. This means that all children will start school a year earlier, and will have a good foundation for years ahead.Uhulumeni kaKhongolose ufuna izingane zifunde zonke.Izingane ezingu 8 million eziphuma emakhaya ampofu,zifunda mahhala ezikoleni.

Ngaphezu kwalokho, izingane ezingu 9 million zithola ukudlaezikoleni mahhala, ukuze zifunde kahle, zingabulawa indlala.

Yiyo njalo imisebenzi kahulumeni kaKhongolose, umbuthowabantu. Sithuthukisa iNingizimu Afrika, siyiqhubelaphambili!

This successful National School Nutrition Programme also promotes local economic activity.

More than 3000 small businesses and 511 local womenscooperatives delivered food to schools by September last year.

More than 55 000 volunteers cook the food at schools. Their monthly stipend has increased from R150 in 2004 to R820 in the current financial year.

The ANC government invests in education while also empowering local communities, economically especially women.

Comrades

As part of poverty alleviation, the ANC government also provides the child support grant to support 11 million children from poor homes.

We are doing all this to ensure that poverty does not become a hindrance to a childs development.

Uhulumeni we-ANC uyabanakekela abantu, uyayixoshaindlala.

Compatriots,At the secondary education level, systematic improvementshave led to an increase in the matric pass rate from 61percent in 2009 to 78 percent in 2013.

The ANC is now investing in improving performance in mathsand science and to generally further improve the quality of the passes.Let me also share our impressive successes at the higher education level in the past five years.From 2009, we have invested over 115 billion rand on Higher Education and Training. To enable more students from disadvantaged homes to obtain education, the budget of theNational Student Finance Aid Scheme has tripled, movingfrom 3.1 billion rand in 2009 to just over 9.6 billion rand in 2014.

Government provides bursaries for students in critical fields as well.

Teacher graduates doubled from 6,000 in 2009 to 13,000 in 2012.

We also grant bursaries to students in FET colleges to increase the countrys technical skills base. The number of qualifying artisans per annum increased from nine thousandin 2009 to over fifteen thousand in 2012.

Another major achievement during this term of the ANC government is the establishment of three new universities and of 12 new Further Education and Training Colleges.The Universities in the Northern Cape and Mpumalanga began initial operations this year.

We will build a science university here in Gauteng, incorporating Medunsa.

The ANC will continue to expand access to education for all,especially to the children of the poor and the working class.

Comrades

The ANC has also registered significant improvements inhealth care over the past five years.

Three hundred new health facilities have been built. We have built 160 new clinics and ten new hospitals.These new hospitals are in Ladybrand, Germiston,Mamelodi, Natalspruit, eThekwini, Zola in Soweto,Bojanala, Vryburg District, Swart Ruggens Old Hospital,Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain.

Indeed, the ANC, working with the people, has made South Africa a much better place to live in.One of the most dramatic achievements of the current administration has been our response to the HIV and AIDSpandemic which has changed the lives of our people for the better.

Through the successful HIV prevention of mother to child transmission programme, the number of babies born HIV positive was reduced by 66% by 2011.

Abantu sebephila isikhathi eside ngenxa yemishanguzoyegciwane lesandulela ngculazi.As we expand treatment to at least 4.6 million people in the new term of government, we will prioritise preventionprogrammes. The country must achieve the United Nations goals of zero new infections.In the next term, we will implement the next phase of the National Health Insurance and expand the free primary health care programme.

We will also improve the management of hospitals, and reduce the costs of private health care.

Compatriots

We are happy that the economy regained the one million jobs lost as a result of the 2008 global economic crisis.Imisebenzi yandile kuleminyaka edlulile. Bangu-15 millionmanje abantu abaqashiwe, okukuqala ngqa emlandweniwezwe lakithi.Yize kunjalo, basebaningi abaswele imisebenzi.Yingakho sizoqhubeka sibambisane nezinkampani kanyenezinyunyana zabasebenzi ukuthuthukisa amathubaemisebenzi.Lokhu sizokwenza ngokwakha izingqalazizinda, siheheosozimboni baphesheya nabakhona la ekhaya ukuzebatshale izimali, kanye nokuthuthukisa osomabhizinisiabancane.Sinohlelo futhi lokuthuthukisa amafemu nezimboni zabantuabamnyama ngoba sifuna ukubona ushintsho ekuphathwenikomnotho wezwe.Sifuna nokwandisa amathuba emisebenzi emikhakheniyezolimo, ezokuvakasha, ezimayini nezokwakha. Umasibambisene sonke, uzothuthuka lomnotho ande amathubaemisebenzi.CompatriotsTo further advance development and economic growth, the ANC government has invested more than one trillion rand in national infrastructure projects.We have also built dams, roads, public transport networks,and refurbished ports. More importantly, we are building three brand new power stations to improve electricity supply.In addition, just over one million new households were connected to electricity, with benefits to more than four million South Africans over the past five years.In less than five years, we have installed half a million solar water heaters on rooftops of South African homes.This infrastructure programme of government is a large creator of new jobs.In all, there are more than 175 000 jobs in the main infrastructure projects coordinated by the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission.The two largest power station build programmes in the country employ more than 14 000 workers each, at Medupiand Kusile, with more than half the workforces being young people.

Some successes have been made to produce infrastructure components locally. These include progress with the manufacture of busses, train coaches and locomotives solar-water heaters, condenser units for power stations and other equipment.

To further promote job creation in the new term, the ANC will direct government to buy at least 75% of its goods and services from South African producers.Government will also support small enterprises and co-operatives including those run by the youth.Siyazi ukuthi kuningi okusafanele sikwenze, kodwa lokhuesesikwenzile, kuyabonakala, sekuzishintshile izimpilozabantu.CompatriotsLet me reiterate that economic transformation will be a key priority area in the next administration.We will strengthen the enforcement of the provisions of the newly amended Employment Equity Act and the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment Act.Successful implementation will open more opportunities for African, Indian and Coloured people as well as women, the youth and persons with disability, as we reverse the apartheid legacy.We reiterate that we will deliver six million work opportunities in the next five years. We say this based on experience and capacity.In the past five years, since 2009, we have created 3,9 million work opportunities through the public works programme. Our target had been 4 million.We will work with various communities to ensure the achievement of this goal.Comrades,Over the last twenty years the ANC Government has introduced laws to protect the rights of workers, such as theLabour Relations Act and The Basic Condition of Employment Act to name a few.

These changes to our labour regime have taken many vulnerable workers out of poverty and ensured that the promise of decent work is fulfilled.

Although we have made great strides over this period, there are still many workers who are still employed as permanent temporary employees by labour brokers.

They get paid less than other workers doing the same job.They have no access to social benefits and are not unionized.

When the new Labour Relations Amendment Act, passed by parliament, is enacted and enforced in the new term of government, no worker in this country will be employed as a permanent temporary worker.

The ANC government will also investigate the introduction of a national minimum wage as one of the key mechanisms to reduce income inequality.The ANC will also take steps to ensure that collective bargaining takes place in all sectors of the economy to ensure order and harmony in labour relations and improve the lot of workers.We will expand the capacity of the Department of Labour and related authorities in the new term to enable it to enforce all the ANCs progressive labour policies.Compatriots,Working together, we will move the land reform programmeforward.Progress has been made.Nearly 5,000 farms, comprising 4.2 million hectares, have been transferred to black people, benefiting over two hundred thousand families.We underline our undertaking to accelerate the settlement of remaining land claims submitted before the cut-off date of 1998.Legislation to enable this process was passed by the outgoing parliament.We will also codify the exceptions to the 1913 cut-off date for the descendants of the Khoi and San.

To fight hunger, we will expand the Food for All programmewhile promoting agricultural programmes such as Fetsa Tlalaand Ilima/letsema.Bakwethu,Izinga lobugebengu lehlile kakhulu kuleminyaka ngenxayokusebenza kanzima kwamaphoyisa ebambisenenemiphakathi.Sizokhuphula izinga lokulwa nobugebengu obubhekiswekwabesimame nezingane, ngokubambisana nomphakathi.We will also intensify the fight against corruption in both the public and private sectors.We reiterate that we will restrict public servants from doing business with government, and will hold public officials liable for losses incurred as a result of corrupt actions.In the private sector we will pursue action against companies involved in bid rigging, price fixing and corruption in past and current infrastructure build programmes.CompatriotsBeyond our focus on the five priority areas, we have also worked hard to improve human settlements.Over 3.3 million free houses have been built, benefiting more than 16 million people since 1994.Over the past five years, around 850 thousand free houses were built.Water has been cited as a critical issue by our people during the campaign. The ageing infrastructure in some of the municipalities causes water stoppages which frustrate communities.Government will prioritise the modernization of this infrastructure in the next term.To expand water supply, we have opened large dams such as Spring Grove in KwaZulu-Natal and De Hoop in Limpopo. Wehave also launched the construction of Mzimvubu Dam in the Eastern Cape. Work will continue to expand such infrastructure.Bakwethu, mangigcizelele ukuthi amanzi, ugesi kanyenokuqedwa kohlelo lwamabhakede endle, yizintoesizobhekana nazo ngqo, emva kokhetho, ukuze izimpilozabantu zibengcono.CompatriotsWe extend our gratitude to Africa and the world for thesupport and partnerships during the past five years.

Under the leadership of the ANC, South Africa continues to play its part to give meaning to an Africa that is rising!

Africa is the centerpiece of our foreign policy.Our past and future and that of fellow Africans are inter-linked. In the next five years, we will focus on peace-makingand post-conflict reconstruction and development.

We will also continue with infrastructure development as well as regional integration to promote Intra-Africa trade.

South-South Cooperation remains critical for our development.

While the India Brazil South Africa Dialogue Forum remain relevant, our membership of the Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRICS) forum has enabled us to contribute to the realignment of global politics and trade.

We will continue to deepen and give more meaning to our relations with countries of the North and remain committed to the role we play in the G20.

We look forward to working with a transformed United Nations to confront challenges facing humanity, particularly Africans and the developing world.

Compatriots

Our thoughts and prayers today are with the people of South Sudan, Egypt, and the Central African Republic as they work to turn a new leaf for the future of their people.

We also pay tribute to the members of the South African National Defence Force deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for their bravery in protecting civilians towards restoration of peace and stability.

The situation in Syria and the Ukraine requires urgent attention by the international community and we trust that solutions will be found soon.We call on the African Union and the international community to rally behind our sister nation, Nigeria, as it battles a recent spate of terrorism attacks.

We condemn terrorism in every shape or form and from whichever quarter it comes from.

We also pledge our solidarity with the people of Palestine and Western Sahara, towards the attainment of their independence and self-determination.Compatriots

We appreciate our membership currently of the UN Economic and Social Council and our election in January this year, into the United Nations Human Rights Council in January 2014.

We pledge to continue working with our key partners in Africa and the world in the new term, towards the creation of a better South Africa and a better Africa in a better world.

Fellow South Africans

We have worked hard over the past five years to bring about the South Africa that our forebears dreamed about.

We are ready to move South Africa forward, working with all our people.

The National Development Plan, one of the key achievements of this administration, outlines the type of society we envisage.

Informed by the NDP, we will together build a South Africawith an economy that is growing and which creates jobs.We will continue to build a South Africa where every household has water, sanitation and food on the table.The ANC will continue to build a society where each community will have decent schools with teachers who love teaching and children who love to learn.

We are building communities with police stations that havepolice officers who enjoy the respect of the people and withpeople who respect the police.

We are building communities with clinics that have health professionals who love caring for the people.

We are building rural communities with roads, schools, clinics and all amenities.

We are building a society without the scourge of drug and substance abuse and without criminals who prey on defence-less women and children.

Together, we are building a South Africa that is without poverty, inequality and unemployment.

The ANC has the history, experience, political will, capacity and the determination to meet all these goals, and take South Africa forward.

Comrades

We extend our gratitude to all members, leaders, supportersand volunteers of the ANC and Alliance partners for a vigorous and intensive campaign.

We thank all sectors for endorsing the ANC campaignincluding religious leaders, traditional leaders, business, musicians, actors, sports personalities and professionals.

We also thank all our people who had left the ANC, who responded to the call we made that they should return home.We urge all others who are still in other parties, to make the journey home. They will be warmly received.The ANC is the home of all progressive South Africans.

Comrades,

Our campaign does not end today. Our real work is on Wednesday the 7th of May.

We call upon our more than 1,2 million members as well asANC volunteers and supporters to ensure that in everyvillage, town and city, millions of our people go to the polling stations in which they are registered to vote on the 7th of May, to celebrate their hard won right to choose a government of their choice.

Makuphume ngisho nesinedolo ngomhlaka 7 May siyovotelaintuthuko ezolethwa uKhongolose!

Let us vote for this movement of Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Chris Hani, Solomon Mahlangu, HarryGwala, Mitta Siperepere, Dorothy Nyembe, Ruth First, Billy Nair, Braam Fischer, Reg September and a host of other illustrious leaders.

Comrades and friends,

The ANC lives, the ANC leads.

UKhongolose uyaphila, uKhongolose uphethe, uKhongoloseusazophatha!

Siyanqoba ngomhlaka 7 ku-May!

TOGETHER, WE MOVE SOUTH AFRICA FORWARD!

Amandla!