Statement by Bantu Holomisa UDM President There are few things more distressing in this world than witnessing a hero’s fall into disgrace, particularly when that fall is brought about by the hero himself. Many South African’s are suffering from a harsh sense of disillusionment today. After all, Allan Boesak was a world-renowned clergyman and a champion of human rights who showed tremendous courage in our struggle against apartheid. When a man who fought such a [...]

Statement by the National Deputy Secretary The UDM is deeply disturbed by the killing of three of its members in the Western Cape, during the past 24 hours. The President of the UDM together with all UDM leaders and members of the party would like to express its deepest sympathy to the families of the deceased, the wounded and the community. The political intolerance that is demonstrated through these kind of brutal actions is unacceptable [...]

Statement by Bantu Holomisa UDM President The UDM welcomes the announcement of the election date. It gives certainty, allows for proper planning, and gives parties time to inform the electorate about their policies. We hope the elections will be free and fair and that tolerance will be practiced, in the run up to the elections, on Election Day and after the results have been made public. The UDM calls on the IEC to stick to [...]

Statement by Bantu Holomisa UDM President The announcement by Minister for Safety and Security that he is requesting Minister of Justice, Dullah Omar to appoint an Independent judicial Commission of Inquiry into the violence in KZN is welcomed by the UDM. Since July 1998, the UDM has been calling for an Independent Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the root causes of the violence in KZN. The life of the late Secretary General of the UDM, [...]

As you already know, yesterday I was expelled from the IFP and all its organs with immediate effect. My expulsion was prompted by my insistence that party matters must be handled in free and open discussion. The IFP culture is one of blindly following whatever Chief Gatsha Buthelezi says. The so-called disciplinary hearing lasted approximately 30 minutes. My accusers were not the normal disciplinary committee. They were a specially assembled panel of seven Buthelezi henchmen [...]

Statement by Bantu Holomisa UDM President The revelations of the involvement of a NIA agent in PAGAD is shocking and alarming. It requires immediate explanation and independent investigation. The sudden rush by government to come up with laws against urban terrorism becomes under these circumstances very suspicious. From this incident, it appears as if NIA as a security arm of government is actually sponsors of incidents of urban terrorism. The question that needs answering, if [...]

Statement by UDM KwaZulu-Natal Acting Chairperson It is the democratic right of students to demonstrate peacefully, they must not disrupt classes or fellow students who want to attend lectures. For students to demonstrate, they must have a strong reason. If they have failed their exams, and if they have not paid their fees, there is no place for so called “students” at higher tertiary institutions. They are wasting tax payer’s money. We encourage students to [...]

Statement by the National Deputy Secretary Following speculations of arrests and evidence received regarding the assassination of Sifiso Nkabinde, the UDM would like to put forward the following information. A man came to the UDM offices in Pietersburg claiming that he was involved in the assassination of Sifiso Nkabinde. A Videotape of his evidence as well as a sworn affidavit was taken down from the individual. In his evidence, he also said that attacks were [...]

Statement by Bantu Holomisa UDM President There are no surprises in the Budget presented to Parliament today. It is however a positive sign that the Minister has not deviated from the economic policy embodied in GEAR, which will promote economic confidence in South Africa. Regarding economic growth projections, we are moving in the right direction, but at too slow a pace. The projected economic growth rate of 1,8% for 1999 is simply not high enough [...]

Statement by Bantu Holomisa UDM President In a statement today, Sydney Mufamadi, the Minister of Safety and Security, made the claim that the crime situation in South Africa is “improving”. “We are convinced that the initiatives which we have taken… will correct the initial asymmetry which allowed criminals to go about their enterprise with impunity,” said Mufamadi. I am bewildered by this statement. This “initial asymmetry” must be some sort of bureaucratise for “no government [...]

Statement by Roelf Meyer UDM Deputy-President The Human Science Research Council, a respected South African research firm, announced a poll showing that if the elections for Parliament were held today, 9% of South Africans would cast their ballot for the United Democratic Movement. UDM President, Bantu Holomisa said, "That's marvelous." Roelf Meyer, UDM Deputy-President, echoed those sentiments, "9%, wonderful." Holomisa and Meyer said, "We are very pleased with these results. It has been only 15 [...]

Statement by Roelf Meyer UDM Deputy-President A UDM delegation, led by President Bantu Holomisa, has departed for Germany this morning, on a visit arranged by the Konrad-Adenhauer- Foundation. This includes visits to Potsdam, Berlin, Bonn, and Wiesbaden. The delegation will hold meetings with representatives of national and provincial governments and will also observe a provincial election. Mr. Holomisa is accompanied by the acting National Secretary Annelizé van Wyk, National Deputy Chairperson Salaam Abram-Mayet, and National [...]

Statement by the National Deputy Secretary The repeated statement by the IEC chairperson, Judge Kriegler that the IEC does not have enough funding to conduct the elections properly, is a matter of grave concern. In order to be independent and effective in ensuring free and fair elections the IEC needs to be properly funded. The UDM has stated before that by not providing the IEC with the necessary funding the vital independence role of the [...]

Statement by Bantu Holomisa Minister of Safety and Security, Sydney Mufamadi’s statement that “…they had finally come to grips with combating crime” based on a small number of arrests of high profile cases, clearly illustrates the naivety with witch the ANC government approaches the issue of crime. By admission of Commissioner Maharaj (at the same conference), little improvement was made in the fight against priority crimes. The arrest of suspects in crimes that received national media coverage [...]

Statement by the UDM National Deputy Secretary The United Democratic Movement supports the joint effort of the IEC and the National Youth Commission to embark on a programme to get the youth to register and participate in the upcoming elections. The UDM fully utilised the opportunity to participate in this process. The UDM is concerned with the National Youth Commissions apparent lack of understanding of the extent of the looming crisis. The UDM will seek [...]