The Centre for Early Childhood Development looked at 11 political party manifestos in the run-up to Wednesday's poll, to learn how they aim to tackle the many problems in South Africa's early childhood development sector.

This Wednesday, 29 May, South Africa will hold its 2024 national and provincial elections. As we approach the country's seventh democratic elections, the question that should be of paramount importance is: What are political parties planning to do for the youngest citizens in South Africa; the children in our country, who are the most vulnerable and do not get to vote?

To help answer this, the Centre for Early Childhood Development (CECD) analysed 11 political party manifestos from the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), ANC, ActionSA, Build One South Africa (BOSA), DA, EFF, Freedom Front Plus (FF+), IFP, Rise Mzansi, uMkhonto Wesizwe party (MK) party and the Patriotic Alliance (PA). This was done to unpack the promises of each party on issues that affect the holistic development of young children in our country.

Holistic input required from an ECD perspective, for children to reach developmental milestones and develop optimally, goes beyond Grade R and early education. It includes maternal and child healthcare, nutrition, social protection and other social services, which the CECD considered when reviewing the manifestos.

These party promises were further interrogated at an election debate hosted by the centre on 7 May 2024 with nine of the...