EFF leader Julius Malema says his party is proud of its achievements in municipalities across the country despite having never been given a clear mandate by the electorate.

The EFF unveiled its manifesto in Johannesburg yesterday and said it was pushing to secure a clear majority in some of the municipalities to be contested in the upcoming municipal elections.

The party also unveiled its new headquarters named after struggle stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in Marshalltown, central Johannesburg.

Among the electoral promises made by the EFF in its manifesto are:

• Abolish the use of consultants and establish internal engineering and spatial planning units by December 2023.
• Absorb all Expanded Public Works Programme projects into full employment by municipalities.
• Take over and convert unused municipal buildings into affordable housing for the poor, offering people long-term, secured leaseholds to these buildings.
• Establish an anti-corruption unit, which will be headed by men and women of integrity.

Malema said while the EFF had not been able to win control of a single municipality, its councillors and caucuses had many collective and individual victories where the party had representation, including pushing for insourcing, the removal of those implicated in wrongdoing and the rollout of services.

“The EFF has brought hope to ordinary South Africans and energised the programme of reviving municipal councils as the most essential and critical sphere of government,” Malema said.

On Saturday, the DA launched its own manifesto where party leader John Steenhuisen said clean governance had been the party’s strongest point and that this was demonstrated in the municipalities under its control.

“We are the only party that can say that and back it up, either because others have simply never governed or if they have, they cannot match our track record. Across the length and breadth of the country – from municipalities in Gauteng to the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape - we are already putting this into practice,” Steenhuisen said.

The party says among its offers where it governs is to:

• Bring in investment and jobs and improve the business environment by making it easier to do business.
• Increase the scale of housing delivered through private initiatives, diversify housing options and ensuring more people own their homes.
• Invest in safe, reliable and affordable public transport and well-maintained roads.
• Invest in localised law enforcement.

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, who unveiled his party’s manifesto last week, said the party was offering to push for a “customer-centric local government that was founded on ethical and professional service.