LA MALBAIE, CANADA:  Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hold a meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Donald Trump denounced China's "arbitrary detention" of two Canadians during a telephone call. - AFP

DURBAN: South
African President Cyril Ramaphosa unveils the ANC's election manifesto
yesterday with pledges to transform the economy and fight corruption as the
ruling party tries to woo voters. Ramaphosa is set to release details of the
manifesto before tens of thousands of supporters in the eastern city of Durban,
marking the start of four months of hectic campaigning.

The African
National Congress (ANC), which has ruled since the end of apartheid 25 years
ago, is tipped to win the election in May despite faltering support, internal
divisions and a sluggish economy. The party of Nelson Mandela suffered a slump
in popularity under the scandal-ridden presidency of Jacob Zuma, who was ousted
last February after nine years at the helm. But a recent IPSOS survey predicted
the ANC could garner as much as 61 percent in the national and provincial
elections.

At the
legislative level, that would put it on a par with its performance in 2014,
when it picked up 62 percent. In South Africa's parliament, the party which
holds a majority of seats also selects the president. The forecast upswing is
pinned on the appointment of moderate pro-business reformer Ramaphosa as
president after ANC lawmakers forced Zuma to resign as corruption scandals
piled up.

In an address
earlier this week marking 107 years since the party was founded, Ramaphosa
admitted that in "recent times, our movement has fallen short of our
people's expectations". And at a dinner on Friday night he said some South
Africans "tell harrowing stories about what has not changed" since
the end of apartheid in 1994. "Our manifesto is a coherent and bold plan
for a better life for all, addressing the persistent realities of unemployment,
poverty and inequality," he said.

The ANC now has a
clear plan to boost the economy, create jobs and reduce inequality, he said.
"We will step up the fight against corruption throughout society and
safeguard the integrity of the state". Tens of thousands of party
activists dressed mostly in yellow party colours converged at the 85,000-seater
soccer stadium in the coastal city of Durban for the launch of the manifesto
where they danced to music.

In a noisy and
colorful display, dozens of motorbike riders flying ANC flags, circled the
pitch - revving up their bikes to chants and applause from supporters on the
terraces. In a bruising internal party battle, Ramaphosa won a power struggle
to succeed Zuma, whose favored candidate was Zuma's former wife. Senior party
officials have this week fanned out across the surrounding Kwa-Zulu Natal
province, spreading the message of a revived and unified party.

Party revival?

"We are
confident that this manifesto will lead to the renewal of the mandate of the
ANC to govern," ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule told reporters.
"The unity is there. It is visible." Launching its election manifesto
in heavily-populated KwaZulu-Natal -- Zuma's home province and former
stronghold -- is a strategic choice after last year's divisions. Ramaphosa has
publicly tried to mend ties, sitting next to Zuma and praising him at party
events.

In policy terms,
the manifesto is set to underline the ANC's commitment to land reform to tackle
racial inequality -- setting the stage for one of the election's fiercest
battlegrounds. One of Ramaphosa's flagship pledges is to change the
constitution to allow land to be taken from minority white owners without
compensation -- a plan aimed at attracting landless black voters but that has
alarmed many foreign investors.

The South African
economy is forecast to have grown just 0.7 percent last year, with unemployment
remaining at record highs of over 27 percent. The ANC will face the main
opposition Democratic Alliance and the radical leftist Economic Freedom
Fighters party in the election. Both parties hope to make gains due to the
ANC's poor recent record and discontent over stark post-apartheid inequality.
But they have struggled to dent the ruling party since Zuma's fall.

Unemployed mother
of six, Marriam Xobololo, 53, from the rural area of eNgcobo in the Eastern
Cape province has voted for the ANC since 1994. "When you join the ANC,
it's like when you accept Christ in your heart. The ANC is just like Christ in
my heart," she said as she waited for Ramaphosa to speak. "I will
forever vote for ANC, and I will die and perish voting for the ANC. We are
nothing without ANC". Lungile Nogabe, a businessman who drove to Durban
from the central city of Bloemfontein, said: "We lost support as our
members were disappointed, especially by corruption. Now that we have a new
president, you will see wonders." - AFP