Mantashe rejects claims ANC has done nothing in 30 years

ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe has defended the party’s record in government, pointing to RDP houses, social grants, no-fee schools and NSFAS funding as evidence of progress.

ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe has rejected claims that the party has done nothing since coming to power, pointing to social grants, free schooling, student funding and government housing as evidence of progress.

Speaking at a service at the United Reformed Church in Thabong, Free State on Sunday, Mantashe said critics often overlooked the benefits that millions of South Africans had received through government programmes over the past three decades.

He questioned how people could dismiss the ANC’s record while living in RDP houses or having children who benefited from the Child Support Grant, no-fee schools and funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

Mantashe said the government’s education support was guided by the principle that children should be able to develop their abilities regardless of their family’s financial position.

“We are driven by one principle: every child has a right to be developed to their full potential, irrespective of the economic status of the home,'' said Mantashe. 

He argued that these programmes had expanded opportunities for children from disadvantaged households who might otherwise struggle to access education.

Mantashe also compared social assistance under apartheid with the system introduced under the ANC government.

He said some social assistance payments during apartheid were small and made quarterly, while the ANC had introduced a policy of equal social grants for all.

He argued that social assistance had become so familiar that some people no longer recognised its significance in supporting vulnerable households.

His comments come amid continued debate over the ANC’s record after more than 30 years in government, as the party campaigns ahead of the November 4 local government elections.