Land Seizures, New Jobs Top ANC’s South Africa Election Pledges

Party plans to tackle large companies’ industry dominance
Polls show ANC extending 25-year grip on power in May vote

A helicopter pulls a flag displaying the image of Ramaphosa and urging people to register. Photographer: Rajesh Jantilal/AFP via Getty Images

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By Sam Mkokeli, Amogelang Mbatha, and Paul Vecchiatto

January 11, 2019 at 9:00 PM UTC

Updated on

January 12, 2019 at 11:39 AM UTC

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South Africa’s ruling party pledged to create jobs, implement pro-growth policies and speed implementation of plans to seize land without compensation as President Cyril Ramaphosa seeks to woo voters ahead of national elections in May.

In a stadium filled to capacity with at least 80,000 supporters, the ANC pledged to create 275,000 new jobs annually over the next five years when the party unveiled its election manifesto and celebrated its 107-year anniversary Saturday in the eastern port city of Durban.