Mantashe rejects ‘vote-buying' claims over RDP houses, social grants

ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe has defended his remarks linking RDP houses and social grants to ANC policies, rejecting accusations of vote-buying and emotional blackmail ahead of elections. ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe has rejected claims that linking RDP houses and social grants to ANC policies amounted to vote-buying, saying the party was servicing society.has hit back at accusations that he was using RDP houses and social grants to pressure voters into supporting the ANC, saying the party has a right to highlight what it has delivered during its 32 years in government. Mantashe was responding to criticism over comments he made during a door-to-door campaign in Freedom Park, where he pointed to RDP housing and the Child Support Grant as examples of what the ANC had delivered during its 32 years in government. The comments sparked criticism after a video circulated showing Mantashe asking a resident whether her grandchildren received the Child Support Grant. But Mantashe rejected the criticism during an interview with Newzroom Afrika, saying the ANC had introduced policies to address the inequalities and poverty left by apartheid. 'The Child Support Grant was not there under apartheid. We gave it because we were fighting something called malnutrition, and we granted Child Support Grant,' Mantashe said. 'The ANC has been governing for 32 years. It has put policies in place. We transformed the apartheid system and put new policies in place. One of those policies is actually the RDP houses,' he said. 'When we took over, we put a policy in place to equalise social grants for everybody, irrespective of colour, and that is an ANC policy,' he said. 'If another party takes over, it may decide to increase that social grant. Another party can decide to do away with social grants,' Mantashe said. Mantashe strongly rejected the suggestion that his comments amounted to vote-buying. He said the resident had asked what she would get if she voted, prompting him to explain that government services were not being provided in exchange for votes. 'No, it's not vote-buying. That's why we said when that old lady asked me, if we vote, what will we get? I explained on the spot we're not buying votes, we're servicing society,' he said. Mantashe said beneficiaries should recognise the progress made by government while remaining free to criticise the ANC. 'What you should do when you deal with parties you must appreciate progress and raise criticism. It can't be just negative criticism and not appreciate progress,' he said. He also argued that people living in RDP houses should recognise the value of the homes provided by government. 'If you get an asset from the government which is worth 250,000 rand and you stay in it and you come out of it and say nothing is happening, it means that you don't appreciate that this government has given you an asset of 250,000 rand and you're staying in it,' he said. Mantashe rejected a comparison between his comments and remarks previously made by the late Misha Khatebe, who had argued that people receiving social grants and voting for opposition parties were effectively stealing from the government. He said his position was different because he had made it clear that voters remained free to choose which party they supported. He maintained that government benefits were services provided to society and not payments for political support. Mantashe defends welfare state Mantashe also defended the role of social welfare programmes, saying there was nothing wrong with the state providing assistance to people who needed it. He argued that welfare programmes were necessary to address gaps created by the market, while insisting that employment remained part of the ANC's approach. 'A welfare state is important because it fulfils the gaps and it addresses market failures,' Mantashe said. He said the private sector had a responsibility to work with government to create jobs, pointing out that 70% of the economy was in private hands.as part of the ANC's record in government. 'It is only the governing party that can say, under our government, this is what we have done. Yes, these are the mistakes we have committed, but we have achieved the following,' he said. Mantashe was also questioned about the ANC's failure to submit some candidate nominations before the IEC deadline, which has left candidates in four municipalities affected. He rejected suggestions that the party was in chaos, arguing that the issue affected other political parties as well. He said there was a dispute over the system rejecting submissions and claimed that 45 parties were affected. 'And it affects not the ANC, it affects more parties that are not debated. You only debate the ANC,' he said. Mantashe said the ANC would wait for the formal outcome of the process before deciding where responsibility lay. He also defended the ANC's Secretary-General's office, drawing on his own experience in the position. 'I was a secretary-general for 10 years. I know it's easy to insult a secretary-general in a party. But it is a big responsibility to be a secretary general of a party,' he said.