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23 Oct, 2025
On the eve of United Nations Day, UDM urges Israel and Palestine to return to the path of peace
Statement by Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, MP, UDM Deputy President and Leader in Parliament As the world prepares to mark United Nations Day tomorrow, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) reflects on the founding vision of the United Nations: a world governed by peace, justice and respect for human dignity. The UN was established in 1945 to prevent the horrors of war and to create a framework for collective security, equality and cooperation among nations. This year’s observance comes at a time when the principles on which the UN was built are being tested. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) reaffirmed that Israel, as an occupying power, has a binding legal duty to protect the rights of the Palestinian people and to allow humanitarian aid to reach civilians in need. The Court found that Israel has failed to meet these obligations and ordered it to facilitate the work of UN agencies and other impartial organisations providing relief in Gaza. For South Africa, this judgment carries deep significance. It was our nation that brought the case before the ICJ, guided by the belief that the rule of law must apply equally to all nations. In doing so, South Africa demonstrated that moral leadership and courage are not measured by power, but by principle. The United Nations’ Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel has confirmed that acts committed in Gaza amount to genocide as defined under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The Commission found evidence of systematic attacks on civilians, the destruction of essential infrastructure, the denial of humanitarian access and the expression of genocidal intent by state officials. These are not political claims; they are the findings of a UN mandated body, and they demand accountability. At the same time, the UDM believes that accountability must be matched by diplomacy. The tragedy in Gaza will not end through arms alone. The UDM calls on Israel and Palestine to find each other at the negotiation table, to engage sincerely and inclusively under international mediation, and to pursue a permanent peace that recognises the rights, security and dignity of both peoples. Peace without justice cannot last, but justice without dialogue cannot begin. The UDM believes that these developments renew the global relevance of the United Nations and the urgent need for multilateral cooperation. The UN remains the only legitimate forum where justice can be pursued collectively and where the weak can stand equal before the law with the powerful. However, the credibility of this system depends on the willingness of member states to respect its institutions and to implement its rulings in good faith. On the eve of United Nations Day, South Africa must reaffirm its commitment to the ideals that inspired our own liberation. Our nation must continue to champion human rights, international justice and solidarity with oppressed peoples everywhere. The promise of the United Nations will only be fulfilled when the world measures peace not by silence between wars, but by justice among nations.
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23 Oct, 2025
Gambling away the future: UDM demands action on online betting and NSFAS misuse
Statement by Zandile Phiri, Acting Secretary General of the United Democratic Movement South Africa is witnessing a moral and social emergency. Gambling has become a trillion-rand industry feeding on the hopes of the poor, the unemployed and the young. According to the National Gambling Board, more than R1.5 trillion was wagered in the 2024/25 financial year, a staggering 45 percent increase from the previous year. What was once a leisure pastime has now become a mechanism of mass economic extraction that drains households, deepens poverty, and destroys families. The United Democratic Movement (UDM) is alarmed by the evidence that gambling is no longer limited to casinos or horse racing. The proliferation of online betting platforms, aggressive advertising, and the use of celebrities and social media influencers have normalised gambling across society. For millions of South Africans, it has become an illusion of escape in a reality of joblessness, debt, and despair. Clinical experts warn that gambling addiction is rising sharply, driven by smartphone access and constant exposure to digital marketing. As people chase losses, they borrow, steal, or beg to sustain the habit. These are the symptoms of a society where the line between hope and exploitation has been erased. The UDM is particularly disturbed by reports that students are gambling with their National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allowances. Young South Africans entrusted with public funds meant for food, accommodation and study materials are using these allowances to bet online. This is not a story about moral weakness. It is a story about desperation, systemic neglect, and an absence of accountability from institutions that should protect them. Universities and NSFAS cannot continue to look away while students are being consumed by the very system meant to lift them out of poverty. Government’s failure to regulate online gambling, curb advertising excesses, and enforce existing laws has turned this crisis into a national tragedy. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, the National Gambling Board, and the National Gambling Policy Council must act immediately to: 1. Regulate online gambling platforms and close legal loopholes exploited by unlicensed operators. 2. Restrict advertising and influencer marketing, especially content that glamorises gambling or targets youth. 3. Introduce responsible gambling education at tertiary institutions and within communities. 4. Ensure that NSFAS and universities implement monitoring systems to prevent misuse of allowances and support students who fall into addiction. 5. Strengthen and better resource the national gambling helpline and expand access to counselling and rehabilitation services, ensuring that support reaches schools, universities, and communities most affected by addiction.. The UDM calls for the issue of gambling and its devastating social and economic consequences to be formally placed on the agenda of the National Dialogue. This matter cannot remain at the periphery while it destroys lives and undermines social stability. The National Dialogue must confront how gambling, poverty, and inequality intersect, and develop coordinated solutions that protect vulnerable citizens, especially young people and low-income families. South Africa cannot claim to build a just and equal society while it profits from the despair of its own people. The UDM calls for urgent government action, stronger laws, and accountability from every institution that has allowed this exploitation to flourish.
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22 Oct, 2025
Johannesburg cannot live under the gun: UDM demands urgent action on gang violence
Statement by Yongama Zigebe, Councillor in the City of Johannesburg for the United Democratic Movement and Chairperson of the S79 Committee on Gender, Youth and People with Disabilities The United Democratic Movement in the City Johannesburg is outraged by the surge of gun violence that continues to claim innocent lives and sow fear in our communities. Over the past three months, Johannesburg has been gripped by a wave of shootings that have turned our townships and suburbs into war zones. Families are burying loved ones, children are dying in crossfire, and the sound of gunfire has become an unbearable soundtrack of daily life. The latest tragedy in Westbury, where two teenagers were killed and four others injured in a suspected gang related shooting, exposes the depth of our crisis. In Alexandra, a community that already bears the scars of poverty and inequality, gunfire has become routine. From the brutal killing of community leader and businessman Vincent Ndima to the shooting of community guardian Zandile Mojapelo and the murder of patrollers who volunteered to protect their neighbours, Alexandra has become a mirror reflecting the broader decay of safety across Johannesburg. These are not isolated incidents. They are the visible wounds of a system that has lost control over illegal firearms, failed to dismantle gangs, and neglected to restore community confidence in law enforcement. Johannesburg residents are living in fear because the state has failed to protect them. This must end now. The UDM in the City Johannesburg also notes with grave concern the National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola’s admission that police have been attacked by the very communities they are meant to protect. This breakdown of trust between law enforcement and residents reveals a deeper crisis of legitimacy and accountability. When communities no longer believe that reporting criminals will lead to justice, criminal syndicates gain strength while honest citizens retreat in fear. It is clear that policing alone cannot solve this epidemic. Without trust, intelligence sharing and visible integrity from officers on the ground, enforcement efforts will continue to fall short. The fight against guns and gangs must therefore begin with rebuilding confidence between the police and the people. Recent remarks by National Police Commissioner have confirmed what communities have long feared, that Johannesburg’s gang crisis now involves the recruitment of children as young as thirteen. This revelation is horrifying and underscores the complete collapse of prevention and early warning systems that should protect young people from being drawn into crime. It is unacceptable that our schools have become recruiting grounds and our streets a battlefield for minors doing the bidding of adult gangsters. The UDM in the City Johannesburg calls for urgent intervention from the Departments of Basic Education, Social Development and Police to disrupt this pipeline of child recruitment and to introduce community-based rehabilitation programmes that can save these children from a lifetime of violence and incarceration. The UDM in the City Johannesburg calls upon the Acting Minister of Police to treat Johannesburg’s gun violence epidemic as a national emergency. The time for excuses has passed. We expect an intensified anti-gang and firearm recovery operation that focuses on hotspots such as Westbury, Alexandra, Eldorado Park and Hillbrow. Police visibility must increase, community policing must be revived, and coordination between SAPS, Metro Police and Crime Intelligence must be restored. The City of Johannesburg’s Public Safety Department must strengthen patrols, fix broken streetlights and install CCTV cameras in high-risk areas. Law enforcement cannot win this war alone. The Department of Social Development must mobilise youth rehabilitation and anti-substance abuse programmes that steer young people away from criminal networks. Parliament and the Gauteng Provincial Legislature must hold law enforcement agencies accountable for their failure to regulate firearms and combat gun trafficking. The UDM in the City Johannesburg calls on the people of our city to rise together. Our safety is our collective responsibility. We cannot be silent while criminals dictate how we live. Communities must reclaim their streets, report criminals and stand united against fear. The time has come to restore dignity, to protect our children and to defend the right to life that our Constitution guarantees. This is not just about policing, it is about leadership, justice and the soul of our city. The UDM in the City Johannesburg will not look away while our city bleeds. We will hold those in power accountable, insist on real policing reform and work tirelessly to rebuild a city where safety and dignity belong to every resident.
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22 Oct, 2025
UDM says Mayor Mchunu’s excuses insult the people of uMzinyathi: where is the water?
Statement by Remington Mazibuko, Councillor in the Inkosi Mtubatuba Local Municipality and UDM KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Chairperson The United Democratic Movement (UDM) in KwaZulu-Natal notes with deep concern the recent comments by uMzinyathi District Mayor Thembisile Mchunu, who has admitted that the municipality lacks the technical skills and resources to maintain its collapsing water infrastructure. These excuses come six years after the UDM first exposed corruption and maladministration in uMzinyathi, and two years after the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) confirmed that the district violated the Msinga community’s right to water under Section 27(1)(b) of the Constitution. The UDM in KwaZulu-Natal lodged the original complaint with the SAHRC in 2019 on behalf of the Msinga community, under the leadership of the then UDM KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Secretary, Mr Boysey Gumede. That complaint laid the groundwork for the Commission’s 2023 Final Report, which found that uMzinyathi’s failures stem from poor management, lack of planning, and corruption, not water scarcity. The SAHRC’s 2024 follow-up visits reiterated those findings and urged urgent implementation of the recommendations. Just last week, CoGTA Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa acknowledged that uMzinyathi had incurred R1.4 billion in irregular expenditure, calling it “a lost opportunity.” He pledged that his department would conduct skills audits and strengthen capacity. The UDM welcomes this admission but reminds the Minister that words alone will not fill a water drum. The people of Msinga, Nquthu, Endumeni and Umvoti have heard these promises before. Meanwhile, Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina continues to tout the progress of large-scale projects such as the Lower uMkhomazi Water Scheme while turning a blind eye to municipalities that have failed for years to deliver basic services. National leadership cannot boast about megaprojects while households in KwaZulu-Natal still rely on rivers and tankers for their daily water. The UDM in KwaZulu-Natal demands that: 1. Mayor Mchunu and the uMzinyathi District Council immediately table a public implementation plan for the SAHRC’s recommendations, with clear timelines and funding commitments. 2. The Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs invoke Section 139 should the municipality fail to act within 60 days. 3. The Department of Water and Sanitation and National Treasury provide written updates to the SAHRC on corrective action taken since 2023. The UDM in KwaZulu-Natal will continue to monitor this matter closely to ensure that the SAHRC’s findings are implemented and that accountability follows where corruption and incompetence have stolen people’s right to water.
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21 Oct, 2025
Call for calm and no protest action at Milnerton High tomorrow
Statement by Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, MP, UDM Deputy President and Leader in Parliament The United Democratic Movement (UDM) is aware of calls circulating for protest action at Milnerton High School tomorrow, following the assault of ten Grade 10 learners during an alleged initiation ritual. The UDM does not support the call for protest action at the school tomorrow. Such action would only disrupt the learning environment and risk inflaming tensions at a time when constructive engagement is yielding results. Mr Nqabayomzi Kwankwa has met with the parents of the affected learners, who expressed appreciation for the support extended to their children and for the constructive manner in which the matter is being handled. They have appealed for calm and for all actions to remain peaceful and respectful of the ongoing processes. The UDM notes and welcomes the announcement by the Milnerton High School, that the School Governing Body has met and approved the precautionary suspension of eight learners. This step was taken to ensure a fair and transparent process while maintaining a safe and conducive learning environment for all learners. The UDM commends this responsible action, which demonstrates that the matter is being dealt with seriously and in accordance with due process. The UDM calls on all concerned parties to act with patience and responsibility. The matric learners are currently writing their final examinations, and it is essential that their focus and peace of mind are not disrupted. The safety and stability of the school environment must be preserved so that teaching and learning can continue without interference. South Africans must allow due process to take its course. Justice for the victims must be achieved through the rule of law, not through disorder.
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21 Oct, 2025
CPUT: campuses are no safe haven, as another student is raped
Statement by Lucia Matomane, UDESMO Eastern Cape Provincial Chairperson The United Democratic Students’ Movement (UDESMO) is dismayed and angered by the alleged rape of a 23-year-old female student at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) Observatory residence. It is unacceptable that such a violent crime could be committed against a student in an environment meant for learning and personal growth. No student should ever feel unsafe or be sexually targeted in a space that is supposed to nurture their future. UDESMO extends its heartfelt sympathies to the victim, her family, and the wider CPUT student community during this deeply distressing time. Sexual violence has no place in our society, and least of all on our university campuses. It is especially troubling that this incident has occurred so close to the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, a global campaign dedicated to raising awareness and driving action against the very crimes we continue to witness. Sadly, this case is one of many in a country where gender-based violence remains one of South Africa’s most urgent human rights crises, marked by shocking levels of abuse, rape, and femicide. It has been reported that a 24-year-old male student has been arrested in connection with the incident and has already appeared before the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court. We understand that the case has been postponed to 27 October for a formal bail application. UDESMO commends the courage of the CPUT students who have peacefully taken to the streets to demand justice and accountability. Their actions reflect the growing frustration of young South Africans who continue to feel unsafe and unheard.
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21 Oct, 2025
UDM demands accountability after Milnerton High bullying incident
Statement by Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, MP, UDM Deputy President and Leader in Parliament The United Democratic Movement (UDM) notes with great concern the disturbing incident that took place at Milnerton High School on Thursday, 16 October 2025, where ten Grade 10 learners were brutally assaulted in what has been described as an initiation ritual carried out by Grade 11 boys, allegedly members of the school’s first-team rugby squad. Reports indicate that the victims were struck with various objects, including hockey sticks, during this so-called initiation. One learner sustained serious injuries and required medical attention, while others remain traumatised. Some of the victims have reportedly received threats from those implicated in the attack. Video footage circulating on social media appears to confirm that the incident was not an isolated act of bullying, but an organised initiation assault conducted within a school environment. The recording shows a group of older learners in sports attire surrounding and striking younger pupils while others looked on and encouraged the abuse. This reinforces the urgent need for accountability not only from the perpetrators but also from the school authorities who failed to prevent or detect such behaviour. The UDM welcomes confirmation from Western Cape Provincial Commissioner of Police, Lieutenant General Thembisile Pathekile, that a criminal investigation into the incident is underway, following Mr Kwankwa’s engagement with his office. The Party also notes the assurance from Western Cape MEC for Education, Mr David Manier, that disciplinary measures are being implemented after Mr Kwankwa raised the matter with him. Mr Kwankwa will also personally meet with the parents of the affected learners during the course of the day to hear their experiences first-hand, monitor progress on both the criminal and disciplinary fronts, and ensure that the learners receive the protection and support they deserve. While these steps are necessary, the UDM maintains that the matter cannot end there. We are writing to Minister of Basic Education Ms Siviwe Gwarube to demand that her Department intervene decisively to eradicate violent initiation practices from all schools, and to institute a comprehensive review of learner-safety protocols, particularly in sporting environments. In addition, Mr Kwankwa has engaged the Western Cape MEC for Social Development, Mr Jaco Londt, who has agreed to assist in ensuring that psychosocial support services are provided to the affected learners and their families without delay. We will soon write formally to Mr Londt with the details of the affected learners to facilitate this support. The UDM welcomes this commitment, as the emotional and psychological trauma inflicted by such violence can be long-lasting, and professional assistance is essential to help these young people recover and rebuild their confidence. This act of violence is indefensible. It represents a breakdown of discipline and moral leadership within the school environment. There can be no justification for the culture of intimidation and abuse that continues to masquerade as tradition or team bonding in some schools. Bullying and violent initiation practices have no place in a democratic society that values human dignity and child protection. Schools must be safe spaces where learners grow in confidence and character, not fear and humiliation. The UDM urges parents, teachers, and learners to unite in speaking out against school violence and to restore the values of safety, respect, and discipline in our education system.
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21 Oct, 2025
Gade hides behind matric exams as Eastern Cape education crumbles
Statement by Bulelani Bobotyane, Provincial Secretary of the UDM in the Eastern Cape The United Democratic Movement (UDM) in the Eastern Cape condemns the conduct of Eastern Cape Education MEC Fundile Gade, who attempted to postpone Parliamentary oversight visits under the pretext of matric examinations. This was not a scheduling conflict. It was a blatant attempt to dodge responsibility in the face of damning findings about the provincial department’s failures, including criticism from members of his own party. The Auditor-General has confirmed that the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Education spent 99.9% of its budget yet achieved only 10% of its infrastructure targets. Even African National Congress (ANC) Members of Parliament were forced to admit that the situation is devastating and called for heads to roll. Instead of welcoming oversight and taking urgent corrective action, MEC Gade’s instinct was to evade scrutiny and hide behind the hard work of matriculants who deserve his full accountability, not excuses. The ANC’s provincial government is effectively pretending to fix education infrastructure while knowing the maths do not add up. Officials admit that the province needs R72 billion to clear its backlog within ten years, yet they budget only R1.8 billion a year. That is less than a quarter of what is required, and even those limited funds fail to deliver. Spending 99.9% of a budget while meeting only 10% of targets is not progress; it is the illusion of governance. If the provincial education department truly spends 99.9% of its budget, the people of this province deserve to know what it is being spent on. Where are the new classrooms, the repaired roofs, the functioning toilets and the rebuilt storm-damaged schools? How can so much money disappear into paperwork, travel and administration while learners sit under leaking prefabs and teachers work without electricity or proper sanitation? This is not a resource problem; it is a leadership and accountability crisis. The timing of the exams does not absolve MEC Gade from appearing before Parliament or explaining how billions have been spent with almost nothing to show for it. Leadership means facing the truth, not running from it. The province’s learners study in prefabricated classrooms, hundreds of schools remain closed or vandalised, and 427 schools still have pit latrine toilets. These are the real emergencies, not the Parliamentary calendar. The UDM in the Eastern Cape welcomes this decision and commends Parliament for standing firm in defence of accountability. Oversight is not a favour to the provincial executive; it is a constitutional duty. The time for excuses is over. The children of the Eastern Cape deserve leadership that works, not officials who hide behind exams and empty audits.
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