Speech: Welcoming former Democratic Alliance and African National Congress members into the UDM Mr Bantu Holomisa, MP (Gugulethu High School, Cape Town)

Visit to the Khoisan King
This morning the senior leadership of the Party in the province accompanied me to pay respect to the Khoisan King, the Chiefs and their advisors. We thank them for the honour they bestowed upon us.

We discussed the UDM’s position that, as the vanguard of our country’s traditions, norms and future direction, traditional leaders have a critical role to play to ensure our people’s right to dignity is restored and protected.

The UDM reiterated its position that traditional leaders, across the country, should be the ones responsible for mobilising their subjects to express opinions and reach consensus on how development in their communities will take place and how economic initiatives will be to the benefit of those communities.

We explained our view, that traditional leaders should also be afforded the respect and dignity they deserve and one of the ways of doing so is to standardise the value of perks (e.g. vehicles) across the board for ministers, deputy-ministers, directors general, mayors and traditional leaders, etc.

Elections 2014 – State of the Nation

We have become a frustrated, if not a jaded nation. If you pick up a paper, or tune into a radio station, you are inundated with stories of corruption, murder and rape and service delivery protest that end with the trigger happy police hurting and killing our fellow South Africans – and so the list goes on.

The Comrades in Corruption at the helm of our government

Would you agree that our hard-won liberties are being destroyed by corruption and government neglect?

The ruling elite has turned corruption into a competitive sport. Not only do they condone each other’s behaviour, they protect their comrades in corruption and celebrate afterward with a double Johnny Walker Blue Label on ice, which they charge to the taxpayers’ tab.

It is even worse that this institutionalised corruption has reached the highest office in the country and it is a fact the rest of the world measures us by our president.

The story the Public Protector told the nation last Wednesday send shivers down one’s spine. The amount of money spent on the Nkandla Lodge boggles the mind.

Does Mr Zuma’s ministerial guard expect South Africans to believe that the “swimming pool” is actually a “fire pool,” just in case one of the compound’s thatched roofs catches fire? If that is in fact the case, we certainly hope someone remembered to install a pump and a very long hosepipe.

The ANC and their partners bluster and rant, attacking the Public Protector, hurling personal insults and swearing at her – and all the while President Zuma keeps quiet.

Do you think spending R250 million on our President’s homestead is right when so many South Africans live in abject poverty?

One thing is certain, the incumbent leaders of government can no longer take the moral high ground that was occupied during the time of the late President Nelson Mandela.

Elections 2014 – State of the Province

The Western Cape has become a mere battlefield for the powers that govern this province and those at a national level. Whilst they sling mud at each other, they forget about you whilst you sink deeper into the quagmire of poverty, joblessness and poor service delivery.

The socio-economic suffering in the Western Cape is a blight that particularly affects this province. Serious issues such as organised crime, gangsterism and substance abuse have become synonymous with poor communities.

A vicious cycle starts because there is no work. People, especially the vulnerable youth, resort to crime and fall for the “attractions” of the gangsters’ lifestyle of fast cars and bling. Drugs and drinking become a standard pastime and this in turn leads to more vandalism, crime, family violence and heartache.

On Monday, during testimony at the Khayelitsha Commission, we heard that the Western Cape has the lowest staff complement of police in the country. This is not acceptable. The issues of gangsterism, crime (rape and murder in particular) and drug abuse in this province are as old as the mountains, and yet the South African Police Services have not responded to the threat with the necessary urgency and action.

Does in not make you angry that the Democratic Alliance and the ANC have, in their efforts to thwart each other, reduced crime fighting in the province to a political football?

What makes the UDM differenct? Why must you vote UDM?

• The UDM is rooted in the very foundation of anti-corruption. We are relentless in the pursuit of the original agenda, which is to improve the lives of all South Africans.
• We are unwavering in our stance that institutionalised corruption is one of the main contributors to unemployment, poverty, inequality and poor service delivery.
• The UDM has prudent and effective leadership who work in a consultative manner. This is evidenced by our open-door approach and our efforts to meet with communities across the length and breadth of South Africa.
• A UDM government will go back-to-basics and pave the way for economic emancipation for everyone.

Conclusion

There is hope for South Africa and the UDM can lead real change in your lives. You need to think about an alternative and the UDM is that alternative.

When you make your mark on the 7th of May, I want you to remember, you have the power to change, so that we can have a better future for ourselves and our children.

I thank you