Admin
29 Jan, 2020
Free education a reality or a dream deferred
In December 2017 on the evening of the ANC Conference, South African youth woke up to news that free higher education was finally a reality as the then President Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma declared. These news were greatly received with jubilation hence fees must fall activists thought they finally won the long war that has seen many young people lose their lives and others like Khanya Cekeshe activists incarcerated for a cause they so much believed in. The fees must fall campaign saw many violent attacks and blood was shed as the ANC government was very sluggish in responding to the cries of young people who so wants to be educated in-order for them to be formidable players in all economic activities. It was the same Minister Blade Nzimande who was at the helm of the Department of Higher Education and Training then and he is still today as we see yet another historical National shutdown. This is really Minister Nzimande’s legacy in this ministry, every time he holds this position in this particular department there emanates chaos as young people feel that what he says and what is happening on the ground do not talk to each other. The United Democratic Movement Youth Vanguard is of the view that there are no measures in place, plans to curb such from re-occurring, year in year out there are these shutdowns of higher learning institutions. Clearly there’s no preventative work done, and the DHET get surprised when each academic year resumes. The Youth Vanguard lamented the appointment of Minister Nzimande into DHET and all those cries and of many young South Africans fell on deaf ears as our President felt obligated to appease his comrades, factions within the ANC and tripartite alliance above the interest of the country. This is costing the country dearly. What young people are fighting for are not new demands or needs they’ve been there for years and we have called for action and decisive leadership and nothing has emanated. The UDM Youth Vanguard proposes that there should be a synergy between the two departments of lower and higher Education, since the latter seemed to not know how to prepare for the in-take of matriculants that have passed each year. These two departments are required to work closely together. Selling out the youth dreams is a gross human rights violation. A country that does not take care of its youth is a country with no future. The way things are, the ruling party will be judged negatively by history. Issued by: Yongama Zigebe UDMYV Gauteng Secretary
Admin
27 Jan, 2020
Enough is Enough: Laticia Jansen
The United Democratic Movement Women’s Organisation is totally flabbergasted with the ongoing behaviour of violence within schoolers in South Africa. Every day, every week, we wake up to devastating news of yet another learner that has lost a life. This has become a norm in our society, with so many questions left unanswered. Sending your children to school to get education nowadays simply means you are sending them straight to death, isn’t “Education the most powerful weapon which we can use to change the world?” Clearly it is not, if death of our children is the price. The UDEMWO calls on the School-governing bodies and serve its purpose thoroughly, what we are witnessing at the moment as South Africans is pure disaster, the SGBs are failing dismally. Our children spend most of the day at school, The Educators should take full responsibility of what happens to them, In Leticia’s case the school transport driver that left her behind is as guilty murderers. He must be apprehended as soon as possible. The UDEMWO calls on all school to have control measures when it comes to picking up scholars, and if the scholar isn’t boarded on the transport, the teachers and the parents should be made aware. The government should take these cases serious as this is getting out of hand by day. To the Jansen family; We send our heartfelt condolences. May your precious princess rest in eternal peace. Issued by: Ms Thandi Nontenja UDEMWO Secretary
Admin
24 Jan, 2020
Signing of indemnity in schools must be reviewed: Enoch Mpianzi’s incident
The United Democratic Movement Women’s Organisation is as shocked as President Cyril Ramaphosa would be, at the total negligence at Parktown Boys High, where a young boy named Enoch Mpianzi lost his life during their trip at Ngathi River and Bush lodge. We ask ourselves a question, why there was no roll call before the children stepped into the bus and at the site before resuming activities. This type of negligence leaves much to be desires and it is totally unacceptable. The UDEMWO calls all stakeholders to take their task serious, for example; the teachers should take full responsibility for the children. This brings us to the question of indemnity! Why parents must sign indemnity when children embark on school outings? What is the role of the teachers during school outings? By signing the indemnity, parents are signing death warranties for their children as the teachers shack their responsibility and leave the children to their own peril. UDEMWO calls for the signing of indemnity in schools to be reviewed as this puts the lives of the children at risk with no one taking responsibility. Children are entrusted to the teachers and teachers should be held accountable. The UDEMWO calls on all involved to be held accountable and legal actions to be taken to serve as an example to all others in the profession. We are saddened by this incident, we send our warmest and deepest condolences to the Mpianzi’s family. Issued by: Thandi Nontenja UDMWO Secretary General
Admin
23 Jan, 2020
Justice for Sibongile Nkhwashu
The United Democratic Movement Women’s Organisation (UDEMWO) is disgusted by the acts of South African men who have no respect for women’s lives. In the previous year, we have seen women die at the hands of men. It is 22 days into the new year, and we wake up to shocking and devastating news of yet another young woman who has been brutally murdered by her boyfriend. The question lingers “What has happened to the moral compass of the South African male?’. These thugs do not deserve to be called men, because real men do not abuse nor do they take life. Intern Dr Sibongile Nkhwashu’s life was cut short by an animal who goes around calling himself a man, a life that was supposed to be absorbed into the health sector to increase the numbers of much-needed doctors in this country, has been taken away from us because of the degenerate moral compass of her boyfriend. Where should women live and in order to lead safer lives in our society? Femicide robs society of a brighter future; this is totally unacceptable UDEMWO calls for harsh punishment and no bail for the alleged perpetrator and all perpetrators of gender-based violence (GBV), we further call on all sectors of society to weigh-in on GBV in order to have a collective and a united voice against it. This is not only a government issue, however a societal issue that needs all our efforts to defeat it. We need safer communities with zero tolerance for crime, members of community working with the police, civil society, religious/faith groups and all stakeholders to curb this scourge. Government should expand and accelerate these interventions and reinforce its work on the 365 days of activism and not just sixteen days. Issued by: Ms Thandi Nontenja UDEMWO Secretary General
Admin
22 Jan, 2020
A weird way of Employing teachers in KZN!
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) in KZN, appeals to the Department of Education in the province, to be cognisant of the ‘transparency’ element in the ‘Batho Pele’ principle when it comes to employment of teachers. The Department has since taken upon itself in employing teachers instead of them being appointed at their respective districts due to “alleged corruption which involved nepotism and bribery”, among other reasons. All teachers seeking positions are required to enter their details on the provincial database, online. The unfortunate part is that nothing gets sent to the applicant which serves as a confirmation of successful registration on the database, other than the pop-up on the screen after a successful registration. Against the fact that, as the UDM, we have spoken to quite a few teachers who are still waiting for more than a year for placements, the UDM registers a concern that in December 2019, there was a facebook notification which was later made a whatsapp message that was circulated, calling for the qualified teachers to present themselves to a private lawyers premises in Pietermaritzburg, whereby the teachers were appointed on the spot. The UDM visited these premises on 14 January 2020 and confirmation was made that teachers were interviewed from those premises and were appointed on the spot. Therefore, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) in KZN, calls for the Department of Education in the province to explain the purpose and use of the database whereas it uses some private persons to randomly hire teachers from their private premises on its behalf, disregarding the database system that it put in place. The employment system must be transparent. Ends. Statement issued by: Boysey Gumede UDM-KZN Interim Provincial Secretary
Admin
21 Jan, 2020
Dismissal of corrupt managers at the SABC is not enough!
The United Democratic Movement is of the view that the reports that shows the South African Broadcast Corporation (SABC) has lost 1.5Billion in revenue over the period of 2018/19 is unacceptable to the core. The dismissal and disciplinary measures by the Public broadcaster are not enough punishable measures for the perpetrators. The public has heard enough of this. The SABC, recently got a bailout of 2.1Billion rand for their incompetence, irregular expenditure, irregular discounts and corruption milking the public broadcaster’s purse. These unacceptable practices is continuously putting pressure, load on the public purse to save the corporation. If top management does not play blind into irregularities at the SABC, taxpayers would not have to bail this SOE. Seemingly, the current SABC board is also failing to bring about positive and effective change, the board knew exactly what was happening at the public broadcaster since taking over from infamous Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s board. They promised to bring about change as they claimed to have a turn-around strategy. The South Africans were prepared to give them a sympathetic ear but have been let down again. The UDM call for the Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams to be decisive in taking harsh stance and heads must roll at the SABC starting from the board members. We demand that criminal charges be brought forth to all those involved in this corruption with impunity. We need to see them behind bars. The youth of South Africa is yearning for opportunities of employment in order to realise their dreams as producers, presenters and directors at the public broadcaster, however, some greedy individuals are taking away all those dreams from them. The UDM can no longer be by-standers and watch our future becoming bleak every minute. How long will these SOE’s milk South African’s hard earned money that would have been used to create much needed opportunities, building a winning nation with a thriving economy. We are tired of incompetence and it should end now! — end – Issued By: Bongani Msomi UDM SECRETARY GENERAL
Admin
06 Jan, 2020
UDM in talks with DA
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) and the Democratic Alliance met today in Pretoria to talk about the possible future of coalition politics in South Africa; in particularly where it concerns the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality (NMBMM). Various matters were discussed in terms of the principles that must be applied to take the work of this council forward. Both parties agreed that service delivery to the people of the NMBMM is of paramount importance. The UDM will take the discussion on coalition politics in the NMBMM and other municipalities to our structures for full consultation. The parties agreed to have more meetings going forward. Statement by: Mr Bantu Holomisa, MP UDM President
Admin
11 Dec, 2019
Access to the internet is a human right!
The United Democratic Movement Youth Vanguard welcomes the Competition Commission call for the South African mobile operator giants Vodacom and MTN to reduce their data charges by 30% to 50% within two months. This has been a call that the UDMYV has made for quite some time, calling for data to fall and allow young people to access jobs, business opportunities, studying purposes, social safety awarenesses and other miscellaneous itinerary. It is unacceptable and business unreasonable to have South African originating mobile network operators selling data at a lower cost in the neighbouring countries than at home. Our local data costs are significantly high consistently marginalizing the unemployed, low income and poverty-stricken young people. Internet allows for more sustainable development and economic participation and if South Africa is serious about growing an all-inclusive economy, now it is the time to walk the talk. Access to Internet is a basic Human Right equivalent and in line with 2.8 Freedom of Expression, 2.14 Freedom of Trade, Occupation and Profession, 2.21 Education, 2.24 Access to Information, etc. Access to Internet means e-commerce, e-business/ e-trading, e-marketing, e-health, e-learning & e-training, e-government, etc and citizens, especially, youth are currently held on captive with the high data tariffs. As a United Nations’ member state, an attendee and participant of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), and an adopter of A Call to Action of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 looking at Connecting Africa through World-Class Infrastructure with specific reference to ICT, South Africa is infrastructural and technically behind its promise. The UDMYV calls on Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, Minister Ebrahim Patel and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to carry on expedite plans to release more spectrum to allow the industry to grow and be competitive in the world that is fast changing and heading towards the popular Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). They must give specific timeframe on the issue of the spectrum as to when will it be released and all other related details putting her confidence to the public. Also as she claims to be a pioneer behind the 4IR, Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams should have paved a better foundation first by ensuring that a high speed broad-banded and low to free internet society with cyber-security in place is created. The sooner this is done the lesser we will hear stories from services providers of less spectrum. We commend the Competition Commission on this move and hope that this will be extended to all the network providers not just MTN and Vodacom to comply and reduce data without compromising its speed. — End — Issued by: Mr Masonwabe Nqawe UDM Youth Vanguard Western Cape
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