| Universal access to healthcare | Climate change | Food security |
| Social grants | Basic income grant | Tuberculosis |
| HIV | Corruption | Gender-based violence |
Here’s what the UDM says about health issues.
Universal access to healthcare
The UDM doesn’t mention universal health coverage or the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme specifically, but says that health infrastructure and services need to be brought closer to the poor.
The party supports the idea of healthcare for all on its website, but notes in its manifesto that “[the] government must do more”. Its biggest concern is that the NHI scheme will be poorly administered. Checks and balances need to be put in place and be monitored.
The party sees healthcare as being linked to other social issues, and as such things like social welfare, water and sanitation, and basic life skills should be considered too to improve the basic health of the nation.
South Africa has a two-tier (public and private) health system and the NHI scheme is the government’s plan to roll out universal health coverage, which will give everyone access to the same basic health services, regardless of whether they can afford to pay for it. Universal health coverage is a 2030 sustainable development goal.
On healthcare facilities and services the party says the following:
- Unacceptable hygiene conditions at some clinics must be dealt with. At the moment, the Office of Health Standards Compliance assesses facilities and results are made public.
- Being referred for healthcare will be made easier, so that people won’t have to face long queues and poor treatment. The party says it will also do something about the distances people must travel to reach the nearest clinic or hospital (but the manifesto doesn’t give more details).
- Traditional healing will be respected, but there should be proper rules and referral mechanisms in place. (No further details are given as to what this will involve.)
- The health department should be part of the response to alcohol and drug abuse and the role this has in violence, deaths and social disruption.
- Nutrition guidance and family planning should form an important part of primary healthcare.
- Certain business activities, such as selling finished pharmaceutical products, will be only for South African citizens. (This forms part of a bigger list of trading types that will be limited to South Africans.)
Click here to go to the elections manifesto analysis tool.
Climate change
While accepting the science of climate change, a UDM government will balance the country’s development needs with its international commitment to migrate to a green economy. It will “lead the charge for South Africans to form an opinion” on climate change and the need to meet international obligations, but it will sensitise the international community to understand the country’s need to address long-standing socioeconomic problems.
The party mentions the following:
- It will set gradual and systematic targets to move to renewable energy resources like “nuclear, hydro, solar and wind related” energy generation, which will form a greater component of the energy mix. In the same breath, though, the manifesto says relying on finite and environmentally unsound energy resources that generate waste, like solar panels and batteries, has to be reduced. No specific details for these targets or plans are set out.
- Local expertise will be trained to use the country’s raw materials and develop local industries, like for manufacturing wind-turbines, solar panels and batteries. The country will not be allowed to become a dumping site for outdated technologies.
- The Defence Force will have a bigger role in disaster relief during or following extreme weather events. Scientists predict that extreme weather such as floods, storms and droughts will become worse in future because of climate change.
However, the party’s manifesto doesn’t mention South Africa’s international commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. (Net zero means the amount of greenhouse gases we emit (mostly from burning coal, oil and gas in producing electricity or fuelling vehicles) balances out with the amount the Earth’s ecosystems is able to naturally absorb so that there’s no build-up of these gases in the atmosphere where they form a layer which traps heat and results in the Earth heating up).
More than 190 countries, including South Africa, signed up to the Paris Agreement to help keep global warming, as a result of too many greenhouse gases emitted into the air, to a level at which the Earth continues to be liveable. Each country has individual targets that feed into the global goal, depending on how much they contribute to climate change. Here are South Africa’s targets.
Click here to go to the elections manifesto analysis tool.
Food security
For a UDM government food security is tied up with land ownership — and the fact that after 30 years of democracy, most citizens don’t have their own land.
The party is against what it calls “free-for-all land grabs” and proposes an indaba for roleplayers to talk about the bigger economy, with land ownership at the top of the debate on the state taking land without compensating the current owners. This indaba must answer how food security and economic stability will be impacted by land expropriation they say.
Click here to go to the elections manifesto analysis tool.
Social grants
The UDM manifesto doesn’t mention social or any other types of grants.
Click here to go to the elections manifesto analysis tool.
Basic income grant
The UDM manifesto doesn’t mention a basic income grant.
Click here to go to the elections manifesto analysis tool.
Tuberculosis
The UDM manifesto doesn’t mention tuberculosis specifically. The disease kills more people than any other illness in South Africa.
Click here to go to the elections manifesto analysis tool.
HIV
The UDM manifesto mentions HIV in the context of sexual abuse, teenage pregnancy, internet predation and households headed by a single female parent.
The party promises to empower women through initiatives that will improve their involvement in the economy and society.
Click here to go to the elections manifesto analysis tool.
Corruption
The UDM says fighting corruption in state-owned enterprises is one of its biggest goals. There will be“significant consequences” for those who are found guilty of corruption.
Special courts will be set up to investigate and prosecute the people involved in private and public sector corruption, and independent anti-corruption task teams in the provinces will help to spot corruption and take action. The party doesn’t suggest a funding plan for these additional courts.
A UDM government promises to promote good governance through codes of conduct and corporate governance, so that government officials and politicians ”serve the people and not themselves”.
These steps will restore business and investor confidence, the UDM says.
Click here to go to the elections manifesto analysis tool.
Gender-based violence
In addressing gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), a UDM government will ensure that women have an active role in society and scale up efforts to deal with unequal gender power relationships.
It will review the laws around bail and sentencing in GBVF-related crimes and give the South African Police Service more money, staff and training so that laws can be upheld. The party will scale up awareness campaigns around GBVF and the plight of victims. They don’t say how they will fund these additional resources for the police.
A UDM government will have zero tolerance for crime, especially sexual harassment and abuse at schools. Offenders will be removed from the school system promptly and “punished with the full might of the law”.
Click here to go to the elections manifesto analysis tool.
Read the full, original manifesto here.
