The Elections Thread - 7 May 2014

Which party you will vote for in the 2014 election?

  • ANC

    Votes: 13 2.8%

  • DA

    Votes: 379 81.9%

  • COPE

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • EFF

    Votes: 14 3.0%

  • FF+

    Votes: 13 2.8%

  • IFP

    Votes: 2 0.4%

  • NFP

    Votes: 2 0.4%

  • ACDP

    Votes: 5 1.1%

  • AGANG

    Votes: 8 1.7%

  • Other

    Votes: 27 5.8%
  • Total voters
    463
[Option]: Which party you will vote for in this election (2014)?

Can we have a poll? Please. :)

ANC ..... 0
DA ..... 14
COPE ..... 0
EFF ..... 0
FF+ ...... 3
IFP ..... 0
NFP ...... 0
ACDP ..... 0
agang ..... 0
others ......1

undecided ...... 1
spoil ....... 3

(count up to post #88 :))
 
Thread hijacked for General Purposes! :p

Original first post is above.
 
Last edited:
PRAY FOR PEACEFUL ELECTION: MOTSHEKGA

ANC Women's League president Angie Motshekga wants South Africans to join her in praying for a peaceful general election on May 7.

"It is time to pray to strengthen relations between communities and the moral fabric of our nation," she said in speech prepared for delivery in Polokwane on Thursday.

"We appeal to everyone to join us when we pray for unity, reconciliation, and a peaceful election on 7 May."

Motshekga called on religious groups and citizens to join her on Saturday in a national prayer for social cohesion at the Nko****owa Stadium in Tzaneen.

She said the ANCWL intended ensuring a life free from violence for all, particularly women and children.


Source : Sapa /mar/jk/lp/th
Date : 24 Apr 2014 11:42
 
AFRIFORUM ACCREDITED AS ELECTION OBSERVER

AfriForum has been accredited as an independent observer for the May 7 elections, the lobby group said on Thursday.

"AfriForum has just received confirmation from the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) that the organisation has been accredited to act as observer during the general elections," legal representative Willie Spies said in a statement.

The organisation believed free and fair elections were crucial. It would use its branch structures to deploy observers all over the country.

"As a civil [rights] institution AfriForum has a vested interest in elections that are properly managed."

Spies said AfriForum would remain independent from party politics to be able to serve its members without prejudice.

"The organisation focuses on the protection of civil rights and the interests of especially minority communities who are being marginalised by government policies," he said.

The IEC said it would comment on independent observers for the elections later on Thursday.


Source : Sapa /kn/aa/jk/jje/th
Date : 24 Apr 2014 11:58
 
GAUTENG WON'T BE PROVINCE FOR FEW: MPOFU

Gauteng is a province of plenty but its wealth does not benefit the majority of residents, Economic Freedom Fighters Gauteng premier candidate Dali Mpofu said on Thursday.

"Under an EFF government, Gauteng will cease to be a province that serves the few," he told reporters in Johannesburg.

"It will be a province which looks after its poor, its most vulnerable, those who have been marginalised and forgotten, the voiceless."

Mpofu set out an EFF blueprint for the province titled "Formula 777". It outlines the seven pillars the party was founded on -- seven values and priorities for the first 100 days in office.

"We need to hit the ground running. The process will be strongly monitored to ensure we don't take longer and say we are still finding our feet."

Mpofu added that heads would start to roll should the 100-day plan not be effectively implemented. Members of the executive council would be recalled should they fail in their duties, said Mpofu.


Source : Sapa /kn/jk/lp/th
Date : 24 Apr 2014 12:20
 
THE RICH WILL TAXED, FULL STOP: MPOFU

The EFF in Gauteng will focus all its energy on improving the lives of the poor, the party's premier candidate Dali Mpofu said on Thursday.

"Our constituency is the poor and we make no shame about that," he told reporters in Johannesburg.

"We are not going to balance, the development of our people is going to happen at the expense of the rich, full stop."

Mpofu was speaking during a media briefing setting out the Economic Freedom Fighters' blueprint for the province, "Formula 777".

It outlines the seven pillars the party was founded on -- seven values and priorities for the first 100 days in office.

He said the upliftment of the poor had to happen through rigorous taxation of the rich. He compared the flourishing economy and lifestyle of Sandton, Johannesburg, with the abject poverty of neighbouring Alexandra.

"Its a shame that we can have Sandton being so prosperous and Stjwetla [in Alexandra] next door where people don't have sanitation."

Mpofu said government might have to integrate the tax base of Sandton with that of Stjwetla at the expense of Sandton residents.

"Stjwetla must be developed, it's as simple as that. We are tired of this diplomatic thing of trying to please everybody."

Asked if such a move would not alienate the rich and make them vote for other parties, Mpofu said those who had the country's best interests at heart would support the party.

"If the business people do not realise that, it is in their own long-term interest that the poor are developed. Those who are wise and patriotic will vote for us because they will know that in the long run this will be in their best interest."

Mpofu said no one wanted to live in a country of inequality, as this bred instability, crime, corruption, and social decay.

"You can't be an island of profit making while surrounded by people who are hungry. Those people are going to revolt and cause trouble for you."


Source : Sapa /kn/hdw/jk/th
Date : 24 Apr 2014 15:52
 
LSSA SETS UP ELECTION OBSERVER TEAM

A team of 275 attorneys and candidate attorneys has been set up to monitor the May 7 general election, the Law Society of SA (LSSA) said on Thursday.

"They will serve as the eyes and ears of our citizens," co-chairmen Max Boqwana and Ettienne Barnard said in a statement.

"When South Africa was a nascent democracy in 1994, we had the eyes of the world on us. In that first historic election and in the following elections, many international and regional bodies and NGOs sent observers."

As the country's democracy matured, the perception had developed that South Africa's electoral process was free, fair and transparent.

"We believe that to be so. But as the interest of foreign observers and monitors has waned and turned to other jurisdictions, the onus increases on us to ensure that our elections and electoral processes remain sound and beyond question," they said.

"For that reason the LSSA's attorneys and candidate attorneys have volunteered their time to serve as observers on election day."

The LSSA would place trained observers in voting and counting stations across the country, and independent lawyers in the elections results centre.

"They will assess the electoral process with a particular emphasis on compliance with regulations, laws, procedures and codes of conduct," Boqwana and Barnard said.

"They will also evaluate participation of our people and their understanding of the process."

Observers would submit reports and the LSSA would compile and present its observations to the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) and make these available to the public.

"Through this observer mission we intend to provide support for our electoral commission by supporting and strengthening the integrity of the elections process," Boqwana and Barnard said.

"We echo the IEC in saying that credible elections are an expression of active citizenship and the free expression of the free will of the people."

The LSSA's domestic observer mission would be complemented by an international observer mission from the Southern African Development Community Lawyers' Association.


Source : Sapa /aw/jk/th/jje
Date : 24 Apr 2014 14:27
 
ANC FIGHTING FOR WCAPE: MOTSHEKGA

ANC Women's League president Angie Motshekga was confident that the ruling party would win eight provinces, and hoped to increase support in the Western Cape, The Star reported on Friday.

"There is no indication for me to doubt that we are going to take all the eight provinces [out of nine]," she was quoted as saying at a campaign in Polokwane on Thursday.

"In the Western Cape, we are fighting. I am sure we will increase our percentages. All the [other] eight provinces, people can dream all they want, the ANC will take them all."

Motshekga, who is also the minister of basic education, defended her department over textbook shortages.

"Why should voters not vote for us, having delivered six million books and there is a shortage of 138,000, which we can justify?" she reportedly asked.

Judgment was reserved on Wednesday on an application by community-based organisation Basic Education for All in the High Court in Pretoria to force Limpopo education authorities to deliver outstanding textbooks.


Source : Sapa /aa/jje
Date : 25 Apr 2014 08:52
 
HUNDREDS WELCOME ZUMA TO DUDUZA

Hundreds of African National Congress supporters sang and danced on Friday morning in Duduza, on the East Rand, to welcome President Jacob Zuma ahead of a door-door election campaign.

Supporters lined Nala street in front of the Duduza municipal customer care centre where Zuma was expected to meet party leaders.

Zuma and provincial chairman Paul Mashatile, along with other officials, were expected to meet with senior citizens before conducting a walkabout at a taxi rank.


Source : Sapa /kn/jje
Date : 25 Apr 2014 10:04
 
What can we expect Angie to do when they don't increase their percentage in the WC?
 
I changed my mind again. As of now I'm voting for COPE.
I can't update the poll so I'll just put it here.
 
AFRICA CHECK: Does the ANC have a 'good story to tell'?

The African National Congress has been in power in South Africa for twenty years. In the run-up to the 7 May election, it says it has a "good story to tell" about its performance over that period. This is the first of two reports evaluating key claims.

South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) is adamant that despite criticism of corruption, crime, poverty and inequality, it has a “good story to tell” voters ahead of general elections next month.

The party dominates the national government and holds a majority in all but one of South Africa’s nine provinces.

“Twenty years ago we began a journey to eradicate the legacy of Apartheid,” President Jacob Zuma wrote in the introduction to the ANC’s 2014 election manifesto. “The lives of our people have vastly improved and South Africa is a much better place than it was before 1994…”

So how has the ANC fared and does its “good story” stand up to scrutiny?

In this - the first of two reports - we evaluate some of the key claims that the ANC has made in its campaign to win over voters ahead of the country’s general election on 7 May.

“In 1994, 1.2-million families were without homes. In 2013, more than 3.3-million families have free homes.”

The claim is incorrect and the comparison is flawed. In 1994, the Housing White Paper estimated that there was an urban housing backlog of 1.5-million houses, not 1.2-million. Two years later, in 1996, the national census revealed that 1,400,000 shacks or informal dwellings remained in the country. This represented 16% of the nearly 9-million households in South Africa at the time.

The 2011 national census found that the number of informal dwellings or shacks had increased to just over 1.9-million. This represented 13% of all households in South Africa; a decrease of 3 perecentage points since 1996.

Data compiled by the Department of Human Settlements shows that almost 2.8-million “housing units” and 876,774 “serviced sites” were completed between 1994 and December 2013. This is a total of nearly 3.7-million “housing opportunities”.

The ANC claims that 3.3-million families have free homes. But the real picture is far more complex. By definition, “housing opportunities” created by the department are not all free and increasingly involve the provision of “serviced sites”, not houses.

For instance, the 2.8-million “housing units” include not only houses, but also “affordable rental housing units” and “housing units” which are subsidised by the state.

A recent Africa Check report highlighted the fact that the number of houses being delivered by government has fallen significantly in six of South Africa’s nine provinces since 2009.

Part of the reason for this is that provincial governments are providing “serviced sites” – essentially pieces of land connected to water, electricity and sewerage infrastructure and services - rather than houses. Recipients of serviced sites are expected to build their own houses at their own cost or with the assistance of a subsidy.

Editor’s note: The true extent of South Africa’s current housing backlog remains unclear. Over the past two months, Africa Check has made repeated requests to the Department of Human Settlements for its data on housing backlogs. Again and again we have been told that the data has been “compiled for consideration by principals” and will be sent to us after it has been reviewed. To date we have not received it and can only assume that the department is deliberately stalling the release of the information. We will continue to pursue the matter.

“In 1994, 5.5-million households had access to electricity. In 2013, more than 11-million households have access to electricity.”

The first part of the claim appears to be incorrect. According to data compiled by the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency as part of a review of government performance over the past twenty years, 4,477,400 households had access to electricity in 1994/95. This was 50.9% of the country’s 8,802,000 households.

The second part of the claim is correct, according to Statistics South Africa’s 2012 General Household Survey, which found that 85.3% of South Africa’s 14,631,000 households were connected to mains electricity. This equals 12,480,243 households.

“In 1994, only 2.6-million grants were awarded to a select few. In 2013, more than 16-million South Africans receive social grants.”

The first part of the claim is correct according to data from the Department of Social Development, which shows that there were 2,628,458 social grant recipients in 1994.

The second part of the claim has been cherry-picked. Data from the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) shows that 16-million social grants were indeed awarded in each of the first seven months of 2013. What the claim ignores is that between August and December 2013, the number of social grants awarded sharply decreased to less than 16-million a month.

The reason, according to SASSA spokesman Kgomoco Diseko, was a re-registration programme which identified large numbers of fraudulent and dead grant recipients. These “ghost” beneficiaries were removed from the system. The latest data available from SASSA shows that 15,821,946 social grants were awarded in February 2014.

“The economy regained the 1-million jobs lost as the results of the 2008 global recession. Employment is now higher than it has ever been.”

The claim is misleading. It is difficult to evaluate how many jobs were lost as a direct result of the recession. Data compiled by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) shows that more than 800,000 jobs were shed between the end of 2008 and the third quarter of 2010.

According to Stats SA’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey, 13,844,000 people were employed in the fourth quarter of 2008. By the third quarter of 2010, that figure had fallen dramatically to 12,975,000 – a loss of 869,000 jobs.

By the end of 2013, employment figures had increased to 15,177,000.

What the claim doesn’t acknowledge is that the unemployment rate in South Africa is higher today than it was before the recession. In 2008, 3,8-million people were classified as unemployed, resulting in a “narrow unemployment rate” of 21.9%. (It is important to note that the “narrow unemployment rate” refers only to people who are unemployed and actively seeking work.)

At the end of 2013, 4,8-million people were unemployed, according to Stats SA, and the country’s narrow unemployment rate was 24.1%.
Click to expand...
 
Pt. 2:

“Nearly 80,000 land claims, totalling 3.4 million hectares, have been settled. 1.8 million people have benefited.”

The claim appears to be largely correct. A total of 67,531 land claims had been submitted by the cut-off date of 31 March 1999. A backlog in processing saw this number grow to a total of 79,696 claims. By the end of 2012 nearly 96% of these claims had reportedly been settled.

The 2012/2013 annual report of the Commission on the Restitution of Land Rights states: “A total of 77,334 claims have been settled to date. Of these, 71,292 claims were settled by payment of financial compensation of R6,561,021,691 to claimants.” The report stated that this was in the form of 3 million hectares of land.

The annual report also indicates that a “total of 111,278 people benefitted from the restitution programme in the 2012/13 financial year”.

An earlier Progress Report on Land Restitution Claims delivered to the Portfolio Committee On Rural Development and Land Reform in February 2012 indicated that, between 1995 and January 2012, a total of 76,506 claims had been settled which impacted on 1,662,099 beneficiaries.

When the 2012/13 figure of 111,278 is added to this, it results in a total of 1,773,377 individuals.

“In 1994, 10% of our communities had access to safe water. In 2013, more than 92% of our communities have access to safe water.”

First part of the claim is incorrect. The 2012 Development Indicators compiled by the Department of Performance Monitoring in the Presidency reported that in 1994/95 61.9% of households had access to water infrastructure that was “greater than or equal to [Reconstruction and Development Programme] standards”. This standard is, in part, equal to a minimum of 25 litres of potable water per person per day within 200 metres of a household.

The second part of the claim is not supported by available research. The 2011 census, found that 91.2% of households had access to piped water, either inside their own homes or yards or from communal taps. The remaining households, 8.8% (or about 4.5-million people), had no access to piped water. The latest General Household Survey put the percentage of households with access to piped or tap water at 90.8%.

However, as a previous Africa Check report has shown, access to water does not always mean that the water-related services are good or that the water is safe. The 2012 General Household Survey found that only 60.1% of households rated the quality of water-related services they received as “good”, down from 76.4% in 2005.

“More than 1,500 healthcare facilities have been built and hundreds more are being revamped.”

Africa Check has been unable to verify the accuracy of the claim.

The ANC told Africa Check that the claim referred to the period 1994 to 2013. A document they provided to us stated that between 1994 and July 2001, 532 hospitals and 123 health facilities were built. A further 252 clinics were upgraded and 53 health facilities were upgraded and replaced. The party claims that between 2002 and 2013 a further 530 health facilities were built.

On 17 April, the ANC offered to provide Africa Check with a complete list of healthcare facilities that were built or upgraded. This report will be updated if it arrives.
Click to expand...

Quite a lot of 'incorrect' or 'misleading' claims in there... :whistle:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X