FF Plus Manifesto 2024 | Freedom Front Plus
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VF PLUS
MANIFESTO 2024
Economy
Electricity
Job Creation
Education
Land, Forest & Sea
Environment
Safety & Security
Health
Empowerment
Equality
Language Rights
Housing
Foreign Relations
Defence Force
Border Control
INTRODUCTION
2024 – A TURNING POINT
“Each generation is responsible for its own era” goes the saying. That is why history takes a new turn every twenty to thirty years. It is the year 2024 – thirty years after South Africa’s previous turning point. So, it is that time again. This turning point should be positive and mark the beginning of building a better dispensation.
What South Africa really needs is more than just a better government, it needs a better dispensation. At present, the country is suffering due to the destruction caused by political centralisation, economic over-regulation and environmental damage. These are the consequences of the ANC’s failed policy directions, in particular, the National Democratic Revolution (NDR).
Cadres are appointed in key positions because they are loyal to the ANC, not because they possess the skills needed to do the job properly. Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) keeps empowering the same small, elite group of people while the masses have to rely on social grants.
Tenders to build houses, roads, hospitals, etc. are not awarded to the company that will offer the best quality and value for money, but to already empowered individuals.
An entire state has been looted to the point of bankruptcy, while the majority of its population is impoverished, and infrastructure and service delivery collapse.
South Africa is currently also one of the most unsafe countries with the second highest murder rate in the world.
It will take years of hard work to undo the ANC’s thirty-year legacy of corruption, mismanagement and decline.
The ANC can surely be defeated in 2024, but what will a reality without the ANC look like? It could be worse if the right policy directions are not followed. The right policy directions ought to recognise the country’s diversity and utilise it as an asset. That is the VF Plus’s unique premise.
The VF Plus is calling on all voters to turn up in droves on voting day so that we can start restoring and rebuilding!
We stand up and build
History teaches us that the pioneers in South Africa built, planted, hoped and believed. Standing up and building run through our very veins.
The VF Plus strives to establish a political order based on Christian values which is characterised by the principles of justice, truth, neighbourly love, respect for life, loyalty and a peaceful coexistence.
An order that will make it possible to restore and rebuild South Africa.
There is hope
The people of South Africa should unite around a new vision for the future. A vision of the people taking back control over their own and their descendants’ future, and which is based on the values of integrity, honesty, hard work, mutual respect and neighbourly love. These values have always been the firm foundation for creating a future filled with peace, safety and prosperity.
This Manifesto reveals a building plan for a better dispensation. It contains the VF Plus’s plan to bring about restoration in the short term as well as its policy positions for building a better dispensation.
The building plan offers viable solutions and hope for building a better future. It entails:
multi-party governments that keep the ANC out of power and restore the current decline;
a free-market system facilitating restoring and rebuilding;
establishing a small, central government with a diminished role in citizens’ lives;
restoring local government;
independent communities as building blocks;
promoting communities’ constitutional right to self-determination as the cement; and
abolishing legislation that discriminates based on skin colour.
THE BUILDING PLAN FOR A NEW DISPENSATION
Build rather than redistribute and discriminate
We can rebuild through ensuring equal access to opportunities.
The ANC is simply looking for a scapegoat to blame for everything that is wrong in South Africa, for all its failures, and for the total decline of infrastructure, government departments and public enterprises. It uses white people as the scapegoat, and tries to retain its voters by blaming white people and Apartheid for all the crises. Racial polarisation is employed for short-term political gain.
The main causes of the decline lie in policies which have created a favourable environment for mismanagement, corruption and fraud to flourish.
The VF Plus is committed to a fair dispensation for all. This does not only apply to the majority, but also to all minority groups. Therefore, the party strongly opposes measures that discriminate against people based on their race, such as Affirmative Action (AA) and Black Economic Empowerment (BEE).
The VF Plus is convinced that the root cause of poor service delivery is the implementation of Affirmative Action whereby experienced managers and professionals were pushed out of government departments and public enterprises, and were replaced by ANC cadres.
The VF Plus recognises that some people with great potential were never able to reach their full potential due to systemic flaws. Such people ought to be actively provided with the support they deserve, but not at the expense of others. Blindly enforcing racial quotas is a manifold injustice.
The current government’s approach of trying to alleviate poverty and create wealth by redistributing wealth will never work. As a result of the related policy directions, economic growth cannot take place, and poverty and unemployment keep rising.
These policy directions do not address poverty, but create a new Apartheid between the political elite and the country’s ordinary citizens.
Skin colour cannot be used as an indication of being disadvantaged, therefore, it should also not be used as a prerequisite for empowerment. Socio-economic circumstances, such as poverty, unemployment and a lack of access to quality education, should be used as conditions for empowerment instead.
Certain people are appointed to positions for which they are not qualified. This creates inner tension for that person and results in unproductiveness. Then there are exceptionally gifted black people who would excel in any setting, but a cloud of doubt hangs over their heads: Was it an affirmative-action appointment?
A new generation of embittered individuals is created among non-blacks, white and coloured people. People who would qualify for aid according to any means test and who demonstrate the potential to perform well are overlooked on the basis of their race. A similar bitterness served as drive for the ANC’s liberation struggle. The VF Plus does not want to see the valuable lessons learnt from the past go to waste and, therefore, strives to stop history from repeating itself by advocating equal opportunities for all South Africans.
The obvious victims of Affirmative Action are white and coloured people who lose their jobs or who cannot find a job because they have the wrong skin colour. The less obvious victims are all those who could have found a job or a better job, received better service delivery and, consequently, enjoyed better living conditions if the general economy were flourishing and competent individuals were appointed to improve service delivery to all.
Government’s approach and policy directions should focus on building a better future rather than on transformation and redistribution.
Access to equal opportunities should be promoted and economic growth should be a priority. If sustainable economic growth takes place, more funds will be available to meet social needs; but because more jobs will be created, fewer people will have to rely on government to fulfil social functions.
Policy certainty, an effective government and adequate infrastructure development are crucial for creating a favourable environment for the private sector to invest, create jobs and bring about economic growth.
Equal access to opportunities should be promoted to create wealth.
Stand together to restore and rebuild
After the elections, the VF Plus will cooperate with other parties and organisations, without sacrificing its independent identity or compromising on its principles, if the party is convinced that such cooperation will promote the goals of the community and this Manifesto, with the main aim of keeping the ANC out of power in both national and local governments.
Research and polls indicate that, in several provinces and on national level, no single party will succeed in obtaining a 51% majority in the upcoming elections.
A multi-party, or coalition, government will enable opposition parties that stand together after the elections to play a significant role in national and certain provincial governments to keep the ANC and EFF out of power.
The advantage of coalition governments is that they minimise the abuse of power, and represent the values and beliefs of the greater community, including those of minority groups.
The VF Plus is a member of the Multi-Party Charter for South Africa. It is a pre-election agreement which will facilitate negotiations for a coalition government after the elections.
The VF Plus will campaign for a coalition government and will cooperate to rebuild South Africa, but will not merge with other parties. The party will fight, within a coalition government, for its voters’ rights, take a stand against racial discrimination and for the realisation of the party’s mission and policy.
An VF Plus voter is not merely lending their vote to a party by voting against the ANC, but is voting for a steadfast policy that offers real solutions in the short and long term. The VF Plus is promoting its policy as an opposition party and wherever it is already governing on local level as part of coalition governments.
Rebuild with a smaller, nimbler government without corruption
South Africa’s public service is vast, clumsy and officials are being paid too much in terms of international standards. This is due to the ANC’s centralist thinking based on its communist ideology.
We should rebuild by demanding good governance – a small, effective government characterised by hard work and appointments based on merit. Corruption should be actively eradicated through the political will to prosecute individuals who are, or have been, involved in corrupt practices. This should apply to high-ranking politicians as well, and not be limited to officials – as is currently the case.
The public service should not be considered a job creator, but rather a service provider. That means state-owned enterprises should be privatised, and control should be exercised over government expenditure (fiscal discipline).
In essence, government should only exercise authority over matters that are in the public interest. Government ought to play a diminished role in citizens’ lives. Traditionally, government should exercise authority over three core functions:
Defence force: Protecting citizens against external threats.
Police force: Protecting citizens against internal threats.
Justice: Good independent courts, and a judicial system for civil and criminal cases where everyone is equal before the law.
There are also secondary functions that government could fulfil as these are in the public interest and government is optimally positioned to address these functions on a national level by means of taxation:
Healthcare: Protecting the poor against health-related problems. This should primarily be done through preventative healthcare. An environment enabling private healthcare institutions to deliver quality and cost-effective services should also be created. State hospitals and clinics should be run by private service providers.
Education: Providing good, relevant and quality basic and higher education to create a workforce that can compete internationally in a globalised world. An environment enabling private and home-schools as well as tertiary education institutions to provide quality and cost-effective education should also be created.
Infrastructure: Constructing and maintaining public roads, bridges, public transport systems, dams, water systems, railways, etc.
Social aid: Social grants are justified, but the aim should be to reduce dependence on these grants by creating favourable economic circumstances that promote financial independence and wealth.
There should be a standing rule prohibiting government from participating in the free market in any way as it has an undue advantage owing to its disproportionate power, size and policing ability.
Services should be provided by the free market through businesses that identify opportunities and deliver both private and public services in a competitive manner to ensure cost-effective and low, market-related prices. Consequently, there is no need for a state airline, and power generation should be left to competing industries that make use of innovation to supply cleaner and optimal electricity.
An VF Plus cabinet will be much smaller than the current unsustainable, clumsy Executive Authority. Each portfolio should be headed by only one minister, who is an expert in the relevant field. The Ministerial Handbook should also be revised to drastically limit ministerial expenditure. Cost-savings should be implemented on the lowest possible levels as well.
The central cabinet’s most important task should be to facilitate the decentralisation of government (devolution of power). In each department, minimum standards should be set and assistance provided for transferring executive capacity to provinces, municipalities and community councils, as appropriate. The central government should act as the authority to which appeals can be made in case of a dispute.
A smaller government does not mean that vulnerable citizens will be at the mercy of the volatile market – a community-based government order, as proposed by the VF Plus, will achieve the exact opposite. It will enrich citizen’s experience of democratic participation, while the central government merely exists to remedy errors and abuses that may occur.
The community as a building block
At present, South Africa is a union with federal characteristics. One such a federal characteristic of the South African Constitution is the country’s provinces. Very few of these federal characteristics materialise, though, seeing as provincial governments possess very few powers free from national interference.
The VF Plus, however, subscribes to the principle of subsidiarity. That means all authority should be exercised on the lowest, possible level. Provinces only do what municipalities cannot do, while the national government does whatever provinces cannot do. It promotes participation and enriches democracy.
Service delivery should be provided on local and provincial level, while national government merely sets minimum standards and coordinates functions.
Poor governance and infighting, which characterise the ANC-controlled provincial governments, should be eradicated. The VF Plus representatives in every Provincial Legislature will strive to bring the ANC to a fall by means of a coalition, or will keep a watchful eye on it.
The key objective of the VF Plus’s policy is to transform South Africa from a territorial state to a state where communities are the fundamental units.
The democratic republic cannot be a large state where public participation is limited to elections. The republic’s composition should facilitate a citizenry with shared values, sensibly ruling over common property.
While decisions are made on the lowest possible level of government, higher levels of government are there to fulfil a remedial role – making it possible to appeal a decision to the next level should a citizen feel that all the relevant factors were not taken into account.
Communities are seen as the building blocks of a new dispensation and a better future. The power (or authority) should, therefore, be devolved and brought as close as possible to the people – the community.
Restore local government
This means revising the local government system. Local communities should make up the most basic level of government.
The ANC government’s greatest failure is the current state of municipalities. Service delivery is collapsing, and most municipalities are nearly bankrupt and unsustainable.
Towns were merged into larger municipalities or metro councils, but the only thing that has improved is councillors and top officials’ compensation.
The VF Plus’s ideal of subsidiarity can hardly be realised as long as municipal councils remain the least competent level of government. The problem is not having too much power on local level, but too little.
Municipal areas are so vast that there is no governance at grass-roots level. Moreover, the ANC is exploiting municipalities for cadre deployment.
Each local municipality should govern a single town. There is no evidence suggesting that a system of vast municipalities is beneficial, except for a small, elite group of councillors and officials.
So, the VF Plus will insist on a process of re-demarcation to reduce the size of municipal areas, and devolve service delivery and decision-making to as close as possible to the relevant community.
At present, most municipalities require a provincial intervention (in terms of section 139 of the Constitution). The problem, however, is that most provincial governments are also dysfunctional and require interventions themselves. At present, national government is too inept to effectively intervene on provincial and municipal level.
The VF Plus will campaign for short-term interventions driven by expertise that aim to address municipalities’ poor financial management and governance, while re-demarcating municipal boundaries to make service areas smaller.
Municipal officials who violate legislation – particularly those who are responsible for the pollution of water resources, corruption and fraud – should be criminally prosecuted by national government. Special investigating units should be established for this purpose.
The cement - self-determination
The VF Plus sees diversity as an asset for South Africa. So, diversity ought to be recognised and cherished on all levels of government. This includes respect for all communities’ languages, symbols, historical names and heritage.
We urgently need a new political dispensation that truly recognises South Africa’s diversity; such recognition is a vital building block for achieving true unity in diversity. A dispensation built on mutual respect, without discrimination and racism, with access to equal opportunities, which recognises everyone’s individual as well as shared identity. Thus, a system whereby the correct forms of self-determination are implemented. Sections 235, 30, 31 and 185 of the Constitution and the Self-Determination Agreement are key, and the VF Plus is fully committed to it.
This approach is a modern and practical political approach. Federalism, the devolution of power, subsidiarity, affording geographical building blocks more power, autonomy for areas and provinces, greater freedom for the Cape, a do-it-yourself approach, and a smaller government are all possible alternatives and crucial building blocks for such a political model.
It is important to note that none of these possibilities is the only exclusive solution. This is not a situation where either this or that can be the only solution. Due to our diversity and the different circumstances in the various parts of South Africa, we find ourselves in a situation that requires this and that solution as well as a further variation of solutions.
That is why the VF Plus supports the various initiatives promoting these solutions, including CapeXit. It is important that registered voters in the Western Cape are afforded the opportunity to express their views on the path of self-determination that they wish to take to greater independence and decision-making about their future, which could ultimately lead to autonomy and possible independence.
The VF Plus, furthermore, endeavours to secure autonomy for a cultural community across the country, particularly concerning matters such as education, elderly care, sport, heritage conservation and the like.
Community councils, such as an Afrikaner Council, should be established for communities that are spread out across the country.
Such a council must have control of the relevant community’s education, heritage conservation and social care. Worldwide, these are considered the most basic ways in which national minorities can exercise self-determination.
In practice, it would mean that the governing bodies of all schools, social institutions (for example, old-age homes and children’s homes) and heritage institutions (for example, museums and heritage sites) can decide whether or not they want to fall under the authority of the government or the community council.
This is not racial segregation. A traditional Afrikaner school may not be interested in falling under the administration of the Afrikaner Council, but a coloured school might. Everyone has the right to choose.
Such a council will enable Afrikaners to exercise their cultural rights regardless of where they reside.
In this way, a republican government can be established over time in the face of the current tyranny of the majority.
A legal framework should be devised for purpose-founded communities. Community property associations could meet that need, however, it is limited by the legislation regulating it to communities that receive land through land reform. In practice, this means only black and certain coloured communities.
Policy for building a better future
Restore the economy and build wealth
South Africa currently finds itself in an unprecedented economic crisis due to the ANC government’s mismanagement and abuses.
As a result of limited job opportunities and inadequate economic growth, there is a small tax base and yet great social need and expenditure. This coupled with government’s exorbitant wage bill leads to excessive government debt, compounded by interest on that debt, which is ultimately pushing the country closer and closer to the fiscal edge of ruin.
This fiscal dilemma will continue as long as there is inadequate economic growth, and government will keep spending more than it is collecting. Government has no choice but to borrow money to make up the budget deficit, thus increasing government debt while the interest on that debt consumes the entire budget.
Sustainable economic growth is only possible if reliable electricity supply is restored, infrastructure is constructed and upgraded, and all levels of government provide effective service delivery.
Other aspects that the VF Plus will address to restore the economy include:
Abolishing Black Economic Empowerment and Affirmative Action policies, while shifting the focus to skills development and quality education. The Employment Equity Act should be scrapped.
Corruption should be eradicated on all levels of government through the political will to prosecute offenders and put a stop to corrupt activities.
Doing away with needless regulations that make it difficult to start up and operate business enterprises. Regulatory clarity and de-regulation are needed.
Policy certainty is needed to encourage investment in South Africa. The concept of expropriating property at “nil compensation” should be abolished at once and the new Expropriation Bill that seeks to make it possible should be scrapped.
Labour legislation and regulations should be amended to encourage and facilitate job creation.
Visa regulations should be relaxed, and a system of e-visas should be implemented to make travelling to South Africa easier.
Other structural reforms would entail removing all barriers to the Fourth Industrial Revolution by, among other things, unlocking broadband internet access as well as implementing legislative reforms relating to cyber security and artificial intelligence.
Privatise state-owned enterprises and stop all financial lifelines to failed entities. The SAA should be completely privatised and tax money should no longer be squandered on the airline.
Quality education and skills development are needed to sustainably eradicate unemployment.
Special Economic Zones should be expanded and consolidated. These areas should be exempted from regulations hampering entrepreneurship.
Government expenditure should focus on infrastructure development and maintenance to facilitate investments and economic growth.
Developing an environmentally friendly policy framework and effectively enforcing environmental legislation to create favourable conditions for sustainable agricultural, forestry and fishing operations.
The VF Plus is convinced that only the free market can fully unlock, create, promote and protect economic value. The cornerstone of the free market is private property rights, without which there will be no incentive for trade.
Access to equal opportunities should be ensured through policies that remove the barriers to economic growth and progress.
Government expenditure should be curtailed in the following ways:
privatising all state-owned enterprises through a mix of partial sale and full sale;
making all public service appointments solely based on merit;
revising the salary scales of senior management positions;
limiting public officials’ performance bonuses;
limiting salary increases to no higher than the inflation rate;
eradicating corruption; and
reducing the size of the public service and reducing the number of ministries.
Government should not be allowed to spend more than it collects through taxes. This will compel government to implement policies that will stimulate the economy to grow. Should there be any deficit in the budget, it may only be supplemented with debt if the deficit is at least equal to capital expenditure.
Personal and company tax need to be lowered in order to stimulate investment in the economy and create jobs.
The VF Plus will establish a fiscal commission that will function very much like the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) does at the moment. An upper limit for state expenditure will be formulated. When that limit is reached, the fiscal commission will have the power to increase VAT. Once the threat passes, the VAT rate can be lowered again.
No-one wants to pay more tax, but just as interest rates can either stimulate or restrict private expenditure, VAT can do the same for state expenditure.
VAT ought to be used as a fair instrument to supplement budget deficits. VAT broadens the tax base and VAT is fair precisely because everyone will be paying more. On the other side of the social spectrum, though, more funds will be available to better meet social needs.
The fuel levy should be decreased significantly and may only be used for road and other transport infrastructure development. The Road Accident Fund (RAF) should be done away with. Instead, every motor vehicle owner should be compelled by legislation to take out third-party insurance.
Other tariffs and levies should also be adjusted downwards to stimulate consumer expenditure and, thus, the economy.
Government should earn tax; not simply collect it. The VF Plus proposes tax rebates in cases where government fails to provide basic service delivery and maintain infrastructure, and communities have to step in to fulfil these functions (such as repairing potholes and ensuring their own safety and security).
Limit state expenditure.
Privatise state-owned enterprises, such as Eskom.
Offer tax relief to individuals and businesses.
Establish a fiscal commission with the power to, among other things, adjust the VAT rate.
Appoint experts at the South African Revenue Services (SARS).
Do away with the RAF and replace it with legislation that compels motor vehicle owners to take out third-party insurance.
Decrease the fuel levy and use it only for transport infrastructure development.
Government should earn tax; not simply collect it.
Tax rebates for businesses and individuals who fulfil government functions.
Restore and rebuild sustainable electricity supply
South Africa currently finds itself in an energy crisis that is hampering economic growth and severely disrupting citizens’ lives. The economy will not recover as long as load shedding continues, and there is no sustainable and reliable electricity supply.
The energy crisis should be addressed as follows in the short term:
Invest in upgrading and maintaining the electricity transmission grid. It may involve cooperating with the private sector.
Amend the relevant legislation to declare electricity theft (including illegal connections) a statutory offence and prosecute illegal electricity consumers.
Effectively secure electricity infrastructure to prevent sabotage and cable theft.
Encourage a transition to renewable energy sources, such as solar panels, through tax incentives and a nil VAT rate on panels and other components.
Finalise the unbundling of Eskom into separate entities responsible for electricity generation and transmission.
Eskom should be privatised over the medium to long term, and a competitive energy sector should be established.
Central power supply through concentrated generation units and a nationwide grid should largely be replaced by local power supply and micro-grids. The large-scale transition to renewable energy should be prioritised. Surplus energy generated by private households and businesses should be bought at more competitive tariffs.
The harvesting, storage and transmission of renewable energy should be emphasised. Under-developed parts of the country, particularly in the Northern and Western Cape, are perfectly located for an energy revolution. It will, however, require an improved transmission grid.
Prioritise the use of renewable energy.
De-regulate the electricity sector to allow for competition between