APC’s Party Manifesto Promises Free Technical Education

The All People’s Congress (APC) party manifesto pledges to provide free technical vocational education as a means of investing in the nation’s citizens. 

Unveiled on May 29th, 2023, the party’s ‘One Nation Manifesto’ highlights ‘accelerating investment in our people’ as one of its top ten priorities, emphasizing the party’s commitment to skill development.

The manifesto outlines the party’s intention to collaborate with public-private partnerships to secure funding for technical education, thus relieving the strain on public resources. Additionally, the APC plans to review and enhance the student loan scheme to improve access to higher and technical education for children from low-income households.

Furthermore, the party recognizes that investing in citizens’ health is crucial.

The manifesto promises increased access to affordable, high-quality health services, a well-trained healthcare workforce, a reduced reliance on foreign health tourism, lower rates of maternal and infant mortality, and improved sexual and reproductive health for women and girls.

To ensure accountability, the manifesto proposes the establishment of monitoring and delivery teams at the district level to track and address issues within the medical sector.

Addressing food security, the APC commits to increasing investment in agriculture by allocating over 10% of the total expenditure budget. This funding will support initiatives to boost rice production, other food crops, poultry, livestock, and cash crops. Additionally, the party aims to collaborate with financial institutions to design agricultural-friendly financial products that align with the planting cycle, facilitating access to finance for smallholder farmers.

The manifesto also emphasizes the need to collaborate with the private sector to improve rural infrastructure, including roads, storage facilities, and cold chains, in order to minimize post-harvest losses.

Recognizing the people as the nation’s greatest resource, the manifesto underscores the party’s commitment to enhancing productivity through education and skill development, prioritizing good health and healthcare, promoting agriculture and food security, providing social protection for marginalized populations and vulnerable groups, improving housing and informal settlements, and fostering sports development. Women’s empowerment is also highlighted as a key focus of these endeavors.