Mbeki Unveils £37bn Spending Plan for Poor

The South African president, Thabo Mbeki, announced plans yesterday to spend 400bn rand (£37bn) over five years on the country's poor.

Mr Mbeki unveiled the huge public works programme to launch the campaign of his party, the African National Congress, for local elections to be held in March. It marks a sharp policy change for Mr Mbeki, who during his six years in office has restrained public spending to keep a balanced budget and assure economic growth.

Yesterday, however, Mr Mbeki vowed that every citizen would get access to clean water, electricity and sanitation. He told a rally in Cape Town that the ANC was determined to tackle South Africa's most pressing economic problems, creating jobs to ease an unemployment rate officially put at over 26%, and improving skills in the labour force.

"We are determined to halve unemployment by 2014, to provide skills required by the economy and ensure that all South Africans are fully able to enjoy the full dignity of freedom," Mr Mbeki said while addressing a packed stadium.

The ANC's campaign promises are seen as the party's response to widespread and growing dissatisfaction in poor urban and rural areas. Many disillusioned black people say their lives have not improved significantly since the end of apartheid in 1994. There have been riots in townships across the country from Cape Town to Johannesburg and Durban and many smaller urban areas. Frustrated residents have demonstrated against ANC local councils for not improving housing provision and services.