Election Promises: Umkhonto Wesizwe Party

Heres what MKP says about health issues.

The party says as a way to redistribute healthcare resources away from the true wielders of power [who] are unelected institutions and those with money, it will put into practice the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme, for which the Bill has already been passed and some staff and heads appointed . It will also make sure that all health facilities will have at least the same standard (but they dont say what that standard will be) and increase the number of health workers by training more at medical schools, of which all universities will have one.

It supports medical pluralism, which means people will have a choice to use alternative and traditional African healthcare and healing in public/private facilities.

MKP promises a state pharmaceutical company to counter private capitalist monopoly to protect the property rights of traditional African healthcare practitioners.

Annual health screening will be mandatory and will address teenage issues like depression, pregnancy and suicide, and social work support and other services will be offered through schools

The partys manifesto doesnt mention anything about the climate or the countrys international commitments to slow global warming (such as, for example, the Paris Agreement ; under this agreement South Africa pledged to work towards achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.)

The party says it will make sure that the state owns and controls all natural resources, including renewable energy. It will reverse and rescind the unjust transition from coal, renew Eskoms coal fleet and accelerate Eskoms nuclear new build programme.

Noting that over 25% of children are stunted and more than 60% suffer from malnutrition, MKP promises to ensure that all schools and early education centres serve breakfast, lunch and an after-school meal for all children. The party doesnt say where the money for this will come from.

In 2022, one in five people in the country did not have enough food, and 12.9% reported going hungry .

MKP promises to divide farmland equally among farmers and give new farmers money and support to make sure they succeed. The party says it will fast track land distribution policies, ensure food security and increase food exports

The party says it will set up a social security system that will guarantee a well-defined minimum standard of living.

For this:

• the child support grant (currently at R530) will increase to the food poverty line of R760 (this is the least someone needs to buy enough healthy food for a month )
• the old-age pension (currently at R2 180 or R2 200, depending on your age) and the disability grant (also R2 180) will increase, the party says to the minimum wage of R4 500. (Minimum wage is currently set at R27.58 an hour; if someone were to work 160 hours a month, this will work out to R4 412.80.)
• All military veterans and their dependants will have their daily expenses covered under military pensions.

The party doesnt say where the extra budget for these grants will come from.

In addition to its package of grants, an MKP government will introduce a basic income grant above the poverty line (of which the upper bound is currently R1 558 ) for those who are not able to work.

The manifesto doesnt say where the funding for this grant will come from.

The MKP manifesto doesnt mention tuberculosis specifically. TB kills more people than any other illness in South Africa .

The MK Party manifesto doesnt mention HIV. About 7.8-million South Africans are living with HIV of whom about 75% are on antiretroviral treatment .

The partys manifesto promises to overhaul law enforcement agencies so that they will be able to combat crime and corruption effectively and efficiently.

In policing, MKP will increase the funding of the investigative directorate so that they can increase the amount of work they take on. (The investigative directorate is a unit of the National Prosecuting Authority, which has to investigate high-level and complex corruption, like state capture.)

The party promises to root out corruption among correctional officials and police.

The party promises to ensure that each police station will have a well-resourced specialised unit for investigating gender-based crimes. The manifesto notes high rates of teenage pregnancy and crimes against the elderly, women and children. (In 2022, one in seven births at healthcare facilities were to teenage girls, and between October and December last year , there were 12 211 rapes