Therefore we have identified the following urgent priorities:
Ending hunger and ensuring affordable, nutritious food
1
to poor South Africans.
Given the prevalence of food insecurity and hunger, a RISE Mzansi
Government will use a combination of government income grants,
food discount vouchers for grant recipients, increasing access to
piped water in rural areas, land for own food production, and small-
scale farming to improve food security. We will also facilitate the
development of efficient market linkages between local small-scale
farmers and cooperatives with wholesalers and retailers to make
the market more accessible and competitive. These interventions
will eliminate hunger, malnutrition and stunting. To enable this, we
will accelerate spatial planning and land distribution, using lawful
expropriation of such land whenever necessary.
Readily available, affordable basic services.
2
A RISE Mzansi Government will invest in network infrastructure
to deliver potable water to every home, sanitation infrastructure
for every community and low-cost internet connectivity in every
community. These are essential for supporting education, health
and other critical community services.
Invest in substance abuse education and rehabilitation
facilities in or near affected communities. Substance abuse and
3
dependency are a public health issue, not mere criminality.
We will expand mental health services to all local clinics through
a combination of community-based peer-to-peer support groups,
placements of more social workers and psychologists in rural and
township communities, training of more auxiliary social workers and
occupational healthcare workers, and the appointments of clinic
chaplains in clinics and hospitals. We will also invest in specialised
substance abuse rehabilitation centres in all nine provinces, paying
particular attention to small towns and rural areas which have no
facilities nearby at all.
The People’s Manifesto Booklet - 20 January 2024
44
FOR THE PEOPLE
BY THE PEOPLE