The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Saturday attacked the ANC - saying it had failed to keep its promise of creating a more equal South Africa. 

It said big politicians and unions were preventing big promises from coming to fruition.

The opposition party launched its new economic policy and jobs plan at Freedom Park in Pretoria.

Its policy promises an eight percent growth for South Africa’s economy.

Opposition party leader Helen Zille was dressed in red and accompanied by some fiery rhetoric. 

She said the ANC was increasing division between the rich and poor through building a wall between insiders who benefit from the economy and outsiders who have no opportunities. 

While addressing a crowd of hundreds, Zille said the ANC was shutting down the freedom of South Africans. 

“Together with their friends, they have been dividing South Africa’s too small pie of wealth and jobs among themselves”.

The DA’s plan hinges on five crucial points. It  focuses on education, encouraging infrastructure investment in key sectors like transport and communications and fostering entrepreneurship.

The party also wants to help the development of small businesses by offering lower taxes and strategic tax breaks, as well as implementing the controversial youth wage subsidy.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has strongly opposed the implementation on the subsidy.

It argues that older workers will be side-lined, as companies charge to employ younger employees because of the incentives attached.

But the DA says Cosatu is preventing over 420, 000 youths from getting employed.

At its national policy conference in June, the ANC rejected the youth wage subsidy.

(Edited by Thato Motaung)