Speech by Bantu Holomisa, MP and President of the United Democratic Movement
in the National Assembly (City Hall) Debate on President’s State-of-the-nation Address

Check against delivery

Mr President
Honourable Speaker
Honourable Ministers and Deputy Ministers and
Honourable Members

Mr President, the UDM (United Democratic Movement) fully agrees with the sentiment that South Africa must be rebuilt, as you had indicated in your State of the Nation Address.

However, the question why that is the case after 30 years of ANC-rule is the one that needs answering and needs an honest answer.

The UDM will give its perspective on this question, where I will have more time, on 2 March at the Gallagher Convention Centre, when we will launch our manifesto for the 2024 National and Provincial Elections.

What I would like to raise with you Mr President, in the limited time I have, is the matter that you had last year instructed Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to attend to, which is the matter of the SATBVC pensioners.

Your public instruction created a legitimate expectation within this community of thousands upon thousands of ex-civil servants and their families, that their complaints will at long last be attended to.

Mr President a year has lapsed, and nothing has happened to fulfil your instruction. Aside from a meeting I had with the Minister on 22 March 2023, that created some expectations with the Pensioners’ Committee, nothing further happened.

As you might be aware, the SATBVC pensioners have now resorted to a legal route to seek to affect your instruction, which will take time and resources, yet National Treasury, GEPF and the PIC didn’t go to court or consult with anyone before they used pensioners’ moneys to bail out SOEs and funded BEE transactions to the tune of billions of Rands.

I would therefore strongly recommend an alternative solution from your office i.e. that an independent body, with chartered accountants and tax experts, be mandated to handle the matter with subpoena-powers to clear the house. That the erstwhile asset managers, the GEPF, the PIC and National Treasury be made to give answers to this independent body.

With its primary goal to clear as many claims as possible, as soon as possible. Because, the consequences of our decisions affect people’s lives, Mr President, as some of these pensioners have passed away in 2023 and others long before that, who did not get to enjoy the benefits of their labours.

A similar scenario is playing out amongst ex-mineworkers who had been promised attention during former Presidents Mbeki and Zuma’s tenures, who had been retrenched using the so-called “blue-card system.

The UDM proposes that a task team be established to go around the country to address the mounting complaints of the so-called blue-card ex-mineworkers.

We have noted the R10 billion-fund to assist former mineworkers infected with chronic diseases such as TB and silicosis announced last year – people are still awaiting payments.

On 1 February, I was in Okhukho Administrative Area in Mahlabathini, Ulundi. Here the people and the ex-mineworkers were promised shares in the local mine but it never materialised, maybe your office could enquire into the matter for them.

Last week I visited the Rustenburg Area where I was confronted with a situation where accusations were made of attacks, where a number of peoples’ lives were lost, between certain communities and instead of showing impartiality, the mayor and the local police brigadier sided with a certain sector of the community without considering the facts of the case. I have the names of the people involved should you require them.

Provincial roads in South Africa are poorly maintained, vehicles and tourism are suffering, and professions such as well as nurses and teachers are too. The UDM wants to make an argument that provincial roads be placed under the care of SANRAL as the provincial governments, especially along the coastlines are dismally failing.

Lastly Sir, the taxation of widows and widowers of government employees and the disconnect between these people and government needs some attention. When doing constituency work, I am time and again confronted by disillusioned people who are shocked by these realities and no-one from government deigns to speak to these people.

I thank you.