Admin
09 Feb, 2026
The perennial crisis of degrees without beds
Statement by Zandile Phiri, Acting Secretary General of the United Democratic Movement Recent scenes of students arriving at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) and sleeping outside campus in the hope of securing a bed are a stark reminder that South Africa’s student accommodation crisis is not new. It is perennial, systemic, and worsening. Reports from the start of the 2026 academic year show that hundreds of students were left waiting without confirmed residence placements, highlighting a failure of planning, policy and delivery at every level of our higher education system. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has noted that it does not run university residences and that the responsibility for placing students in housing lies with institutions themselves. NSFAS also pointed out that some accommodation providers accepted students without confirming the finalisation of their funding, adding complexity to an already fraught process. These statements, while factually accurate, expose a cycle in which no single actor takes full responsibility, yet the consequences fall squarely on students. The United Democratic Movement (UDM) notes that this crisis persists year after year for reasons that straight reporting can only begin to explain: • Under-investment in public accommodation has left universities unable to match the rapid growth in student enrolment. Many institutions simply lack enough beds for even a fraction of students who need them. • NSFAS funding allocations, caps and timelines remain misaligned with real accommodation costs and academic calendars. Students arrive before their allowances are paid and before accommodation placements are finalised, often with no interim support. • Private accommodation markets have expanded in the absence of sufficient public options, but high rents and safety concerns mean that private housing is out of reach for many students and is not a true substitute for university-linked residences, • Coordination failures between NSFAS, universities and private providers create bottlenecks in accreditation, payment and placement decisions. Each year the same breakdowns occur because systemic coordination has never been fixed. The result is predictable i.e. students arrive with hope and ambition, only to find themselves without a safe place to sleep, study or rest. This is not about isolated mishaps at a single campus. It is about a policy vacuum where capacity, planning and student welfare are treated as secondary to enrolment figures. The perennial nature of this crisis speaks to leadership failure across the sector. The UDM urges that: 1. Government and NSFAS immediately align funding timelines with academic calendars and accommodation market realities. 2. Institutions adopt transparent placement criteria, backed by interim housing solutions for students still waiting for beds. 3. Long-term investment in public student housing must be prioritised, especially for TVET and CET students who are too often excluded from structured accommodation support. 4. Private accreditation and regulation must be strengthened so that student experience is protected and affordable. Students should never have to sleep outside campus to pursue their education, yet here we are, again. It is time for real, lasting solutions.
Admin
09 Feb, 2026
More electricity tariff hikes, same failures
Statement by Zandile Phiri, Acting Secretary General of the United Democratic Movement The United Democratic Movement (UDM) notes the recent decision arising from the re determination of Eskom’s electricity tariffs, following a court ordered correction of regulatory calculations, which will result in further increases in electricity prices over the next two financial years. South Africans are once again being asked to pay more for electricity not because the system has improved, but because years of poor management, governance failures, and operational decay at Eskom continue to be shifted onto the public. The approval of further tariff increases confirms a painful truth. Ordinary households, small businesses, and municipalities are paying for Eskom’s mistakes. Cost overruns, delayed maintenance, mismanaged capital projects, and leadership instability have not been absorbed by Eskom as an institution, but are repeatedly recovered through higher tariffs, turning mismanagement into a permanent burden on the people. While Eskom and regulators point to technical processes and financial corrections, the lived reality is simple. Electricity is becoming more expensive without becoming more reliable, eroding public trust and undermining the social contract that underpins any functional public utility. At the same time, the UDM is clear that the growing culture of non-payment of electricity bills cannot be ignored or excused. Non-payment deepens Eskom’s financial crisis, destabilises municipalities, and shifts greater costs onto compliant consumers. A sustainable electricity system requires both competent governance at Eskom and responsible conduct by consumers. Non-payment is often a symptom of deeper failures, including unaffordable tariffs, collapsing municipal billing systems, unemployment, and the erosion of trust caused by load shedding and poor service delivery. Addressing non-payment therefore requires more than enforcement alone. It requires credible billing, protection for indigent households, and restored confidence that payment leads to reliable and fair service. Regarding the court ruling, it must be stated honestly that the judgment did not endorse Eskom’s performance or absolve it of failure. The court found that the National Energy Regulator of South Africa erred in its earlier regulatory calculations and directed a lawful re determination. This was a legal correction, not a validation of Eskom’s governance record. The UDM is further concerned that these tariff increases arise from fundamental regulatory error. When regulators fail, the consequences are not technical. They are felt directly by households and businesses through higher prices. This undermines confidence in regulation and reinforces the perception that the public is routinely asked to absorb the cost of institutional failure. The court ruling does not change the underlying reality. South Africans are paying today for failures that should have been prevented years ago. Regulatory processes may smooth tariffs, but they cannot erase the damage caused by mismanagement, weak accountability, and delayed reform. The UDM maintains that meaningful relief will only come when failure carries consequences. Eskom cannot be allowed to operate in a system where mistakes are socialised while accountability is endlessly deferred. Consumers must not be treated as the insurer of last resort. South Africa needs a power utility that is competently managed, transparently governed, and accountable, alongside a payment culture that is fair, realistic, and rooted in trust. Without both, tariff increases will continue and public anger will deepen. The UDM will continue to press for accountability at Eskom, stronger regulatory oversight, protection for vulnerable households, and decisive action to restore a fair and functional electricity system. The people cannot be asked to pay indefinitely for failures they did not cause.
Admin
09 Feb, 2026
The slow collapse: banal corruption and state failure
Statement by Zandile Phiri, Acting Secretary General of the United Democratic Movement Recent reports of queue jumping and the exploitation of desperate citizens at offices of the Department of Home Affairs expose a form of corruption that is often ignored precisely because it appears small, routine, and ordinary. This is not grand corruption involving dramatic scandals or massive sums of money. It is banal corruption: the everyday abuse of a malfunctioning system, where inefficiency becomes profitable and desperation is quietly monetised. When access to identity documents, birth certificates, or civic registration depends on who can pay a small bribe or find a “fixer”, corruption has been normalised. This is not a new phenomenon, but one that has steadily worsened over time, nor is it confined to the Department of Home Affairs alone. If grand corruption is a robbery, banal corruption is termites in the walls. By the time the building collapses, everyone swears they did not notice the damage. Yet it is this slow, continuous erosion that weakens the state long before any spectacular collapse occurs. Banal corruption leaves a trail that South Africans know all too well. It is visible in roads that crumble months after being “rehabilitated”; in water and sanitation projects that consume millions yet never quite reach completion; in wastewater plants that repeatedly fail compliance without consequence. It is seen in clinics without medicine, ambulances without fuel, schools without textbooks, and housing projects that stall while contractors are paid. It is present in municipalities that cannot produce basic records, where audit findings are repeated year after year, and where failure carries no personal cost. At Home Affairs, banal corruption feeds on long queues, broken appointment systems, understaffed offices, weak supervision, and the absence of visible accountability. Informal queue-jumpers and fixers thrive not because the system is complex, but because dysfunction is tolerated and allowed to become a business model. The greatest victims of banal corruption are the poor and vulnerable. Those seeking documents for grants, school registration, employment, or healthcare are exploited precisely because they cannot afford to wait indefinitely or return repeatedly. What should be a basic constitutional right becomes a daily humiliation. Banal corruption can be defeated, but only if government confronts it deliberately and consistently. This requires fixing the conditions that allow it to exist by restoring functional systems, predictable turnaround times, and orderly queues that cannot be manipulated or sold. It requires visible management at frontline offices, clear service standards, and strict supervision of high-risk points of service delivery. Most importantly, it requires real and visible consequences. Officials who enable, ignore, or benefit from petty corruption must face swift disciplinary action. Quiet transfers and internal reshuffles are not accountability. Consequence management must be public, consistent, and unavoidable. Government must also draw a firm line between politics and administration. Political interference in queues, procurement, staffing, or service prioritisation is a major driver of banal corruption and must end. A professional, protected public service is essential if integrity is to be restored. Whistleblowers and ordinary citizens must be protected and empowered. Reporting corruption must be safe, simple, and worthwhile. Silence thrives where people believe nothing will change and retaliation is guaranteed. The UDM cautions that focusing only on headline corruption scandals while ignoring these everyday abuses is a serious error. Banal corruption is the seedbed of larger corruption. It normalises dishonesty, erodes discipline in the public service, and teaches citizens that the state only works for those who can pay. A state does not collapse overnight. It collapses quietly, one compromised queue, one incomplete project, one normalised injustice at a time. Confronting banal corruption is therefore not optional. It is essential to restoring trust, dignity, and the rule of law.
Admin
09 Feb, 2026
From forecast to failure: South Africa’s disaster readiness crisis
Statement by Zandile Phiri, Acting Secretary General of the United Democratic Movement In light of the recent Orange Level 5 severe thunderstorm warnings issued by the South African Weather Service for parts of KwaZulu-Natal, together with flooding alerts affecting the Eastern Cape and other regions, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) expresses serious concern about South Africa’s preparedness and resilience in the face of increasingly frequent and severe weather events. These impact-based warnings make clear that climate-related risks are no longer isolated incidents but structural threats that demand a capable and coordinated response from the state. South Africa is experiencing more intense rainfall, flooding, heatwaves, droughts, and storms that place lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure at risk. While adverse weather cannot be prevented, its consequences can and must be mitigated through proper planning, infrastructure maintenance, and competent governance. The UDM is deeply concerned that many municipalities remain dangerously ill-prepared for extreme weather. Inadequate stormwater systems, neglected roads and bridges, failing electricity infrastructure, and unsafe human settlements continue to turn foreseeable weather events into humanitarian crises. When drains are blocked, rivers unmanaged, and informal settlements located in flood-prone areas, it is ordinary communities who suffer the most. Disaster management in South Africa remains largely reactive rather than preventative. Early warnings are routinely issued, yet they are too often treated as communications exercises instead of operational triggers. Municipalities fail to clear stormwater systems, secure vulnerable infrastructure, prepare emergency shelters, or position response teams despite clear forecasts. When damage and loss of life follow, these outcomes are framed as unforeseen disasters rather than the predictable result of ignored warnings and poor planning. The UDM reiterates that climate change is no longer an abstract debate. It is a lived reality for millions of South Africans, particularly the poor and working class, who are most exposed to floods, droughts, food insecurity, and infrastructure collapse. Climate adaptation and resilience must therefore be embedded into national, provincial, and municipal planning, budgeting, and infrastructure development. South Africa’s growing vulnerability to extreme weather is not the result of limited capacity. It is the consequence of leadership failure. The country has the technical knowledge, policy frameworks, and resources to manage climate-related risks, yet communities continue to suffer because political will is absent, municipalities are allowed to decay, and infrastructure is neglected without consequence. The UDM rejects the normalisation of disaster under these conditions. When credible early warnings exist, loss of life and widespread damage cannot be blamed on nature alone. They reflect failures of governance, planning, and accountability. The state has a constitutional duty to protect communities from foreseeable harm, and repeated failure to translate warnings into preventative action represents a serious breach of that duty.
Admin
19 Jan, 2026
UDM calls for decisive government action as Limpopo flood death toll rises
Statement by Zandile Phiri, Acting Secretary General of the United Democratic Movement The United Democratic Movement (UDM) expresses its deepest condolences to the families and communities affected by the devastating floods that have struck Limpopo Province, particularly in the Mopani and Vhembe Districts. The tragic loss of at least 17 lives is a painful reminder of the human cost of extreme weather events and the vulnerability of many of our communities. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to all families who have lost loved ones, homes, and livelihoods. Many residents have been displaced, critical infrastructure has been damaged, and access to basic services has been disrupted. These floods have left communities traumatised and in urgent need of assistance. While the UDM acknowledges the efforts of emergency services, disaster management teams, and humanitarian organisations currently on the ground, we stress that disaster response must be swift, coordinated, and adequately resourced. Government at all levels must ensure that affected families receive immediate relief, including shelter, food, medical care, and psychosocial support. The UDM further calls on national and provincial authorities to prioritise long term disaster preparedness and climate resilience. Flooding is no longer an exceptional occurrence but an increasingly frequent reality. This demands serious investment in stormwater infrastructure, early warning systems, maintenance of riverbanks and bridges, and proper spatial planning that protects communities from preventable harm. As a member of the Government of National Unity, the UDM urges all spheres of government to work together without delay to ensure that relief efforts are effective and transparent, and that reconstruction places the dignity and safety of affected communities at the centre of recovery plans. We also urge residents to heed official warnings and avoid crossing flooded rivers and roads, as conditions remain dangerous. Saving lives must remain the foremost priority. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will hold government accountable to ensure that no community is abandoned in the aftermath of this disaster.
Admin
19 Jan, 2026
32 years of neglect: South Africa’s water crisis is manufactured
Statement by Zandile Phiri, Acting Secretary General of the United Democratic Movement South Africa is staring down a water emergency that has been decades in the making. The warnings now coming from within government itself confirm what communities have lived with for years: collapsing infrastructure, chronic leaks, failing storage systems, and a state that no longer plans for the future. The Director General of the Department of Water and Sanitation, Sean Phillips, has made it clear that the country’s water problems are deep, structural, and cannot be fixed quickly. This is not a sudden crisis. It is the predictable outcome of 32 years of neglect, mismanagement, and failure to invest in basic infrastructure. Gauteng residents are now being told to cut water consumption by as much as 40 percent, not because South Africa has run out of water, but because municipalities lack storage, lose vast volumes through leaking pipes, and fail to collect revenue. This is an indictment of governance. Households are being asked to sacrifice while billions of litres are lost every year through decaying infrastructure that was never maintained. The situation in Johannesburg is especially alarming. Despite having a technically sound water and sanitation turnaround plan, the City is unable to implement it because of severe financial distress. Contractors are not paid. Projects are abandoned. Funds generated by water services are diverted to cover other municipal pressures, despite National Treasury requirements to ring fence this revenue. This is not a lack of ideas. It is a collapse of discipline, accountability, and political will. The reality is that municipalities across the country are trapped in a vicious downward spiral. High levels of non-revenue water mean less income. Less income means poor maintenance. Poor maintenance leads to further infrastructure failure and even greater water losses. Communities pay the price through outages, rationing, and unsafe supply. Long term relief will only come when major supply projects are completed, but even here the story is one of delay and corruption. Strategic water projects that should have been completed years ago are now only expected late in the decade. South Africans are being asked to endure restrictions today because planning failed yesterday. What is emerging in Gauteng is already visible in other metros, including eThekwini, where leaks, limited storage, flooding damage, and excessive consumption mirror the same warning signs. Regions such as Nelson Mandela Bay and Knysna are facing drought conditions that place millions at risk. This is a national crisis, not an isolated municipal problem. Water has now replaced electricity as the main constraint on economic activity and daily life. Without reliable water, clinics cannot function, schools cannot operate, businesses cannot grow, and human dignity is stripped away. South Africa does not suffer from a lack of expertise. It suffers from a lack of consequence. The UDM has consistently warned that infrastructure cannot be wished into existence through speeches and plans that are never implemented. Maintenance, storage expansion, leak reduction, and disciplined financial management must happen together. Anything less is failure. The time for excuses has passed. South Africa needs urgent, coordinated action to protect water as a strategic national resource. The cost of continued failure will be paid not in reports, but in lost livelihoods, deepening inequality, and growing social instability.
Admin
12 Jan, 2026
Honouring the class of 2025 while confronting the truth about our schools
Statement by Zandile Phiri, Acting Secretary General of the United Democratic Movement The United Democratic Movement (UDM) extends its sincere congratulations to the Class of 2025 on the release of the National Senior Certificate results. These results represent more than academic outcomes. They reflect perseverance, sacrifice, and resilience by learners who completed their schooling journey under challenging social and economic conditions. We commend the learners who succeeded, not only for their results, but for the discipline and determination required to reach this milestone. We also recognise educators, school support staff, parents, guardians, and communities whose collective effort played a decisive role in supporting learners throughout the year. Education remains a shared national responsibility, and where communities stand together, young people are better equipped to succeed. At the same time, the UDM cautions against celebrating pass rates without confronting the deeper realities within the basic education system. While progress must be acknowledged, it must not be used to conceal persistent inequalities between schools, unsafe and dilapidated infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms, shortages of learning materials, and weak administrative oversight. These challenges continue to deny many learners an equal opportunity to realise their full potential. We are particularly concerned about learners who did not achieve the outcomes they hoped for. Their futures must not be written off or ignored. Government has a responsibility to ensure that meaningful post school pathways exist, including access to second chance programmes, skills training, TVET colleges, and community education opportunities. No young person should be abandoned at the point of disappointment. The UDM reiterates that strong matric results do not automatically translate into a healthy education system. True success will only be measured when every learner, regardless of geography or background, learns in a safe, well-resourced school and is supported by a capable and accountable state. We call on the Department of Basic Education to act decisively on the findings of investigations into systemic failures, to enforce accountability where there has been negligence, and to prioritise infrastructure, teacher support, and learner welfare as matters of urgency. Community support strengthens schools, but government must remain fully accountable for delivering quality basic education. To the Class of 2025, we say this. Be proud of your effort. Your worth is not defined by a single set of results, but by your determination to keep moving forward. The UDM remains committed to advocating for an education system that is fair, inclusive, and worthy of the aspirations of South Africa’s youth.
Admin
08 Jan, 2026
Speech by the President of the United Democratic Movement Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Bantu Holomisa, MP KwaTshezi Great Place
Traditional Leaders present here today, Community elders, Women and youth of KwaTshezi, Leaders of civil society, Councillors, Fellow South Africans, I am honoured to be here at KwaTshezi Great Place, near Coffee Bay, to engage directly with the people of this area. Let me begin by expressing our sincere gratitude to the people of this great place. You are among those who made a conscious decision that South Africa should not become a one party state a chapter that belongs firmly in the past. That decision strengthened our democracy and reaffirmed the principle that leadership must always be accountable to the people. For that we thank you. History has shown us that when power is concentrated for too long accountability weakens. Even law enforcement agencies have not been spared. When one reflects on the issues raised through the Madlanga Commission and the corruption exposed by General Mkhwanazi it becomes clear that under a one-party state some individuals, including General Mkhwanazi, would not still be occupying positions of authority today by virtue of being whistleblowers. This reality reinforces the urgency of ethical leadership. Towards the end of 2025 at the Cabinet Lekgotla one of the key resolutions tabled dealt precisely with this crisis of accountability. President Cyril Ramaphosa openly expressed frustration and anger at the slow pace and lack of prosecutions in corruption related cases. He went as far as to state that ministers or directors general who fail to act or who serve as gatekeepers for criminals should pack and go. The doors are open for them to leave. That is what he said. Another key resolution was the implementation of the Zondo Commission findings. I therefore anticipate that 2026 will be one of the years in which the Government of National Unity places strong emphasis on strengthening the criminal justice system. This will help restore confidence in the country’s leadership and enable decisive action on the triple challenges facing the nation. There can be no rebuilding of the country without consequences for wrongdoing. During the same Lekgotla, high levels of crime, unemployment, and the challenge of illegal immigration were also discussed at length. The reports of the Auditor General over the past thirty years tell a painful story. Announcements without implementing, findings without consequence management, and a culture of impunity across the board. Unfortunately this pattern has also engulfed the Department of Defence. People are aware of the pending criminal cases against the former Minister of Defence. This is part of what we inherited as a Government of National Unity, and we are confronting it directly. Within the Department of Defence, the Hawks, the Auditor General of South Africa, the Special Investigating Unit, and the Military Police are now working together to restore integrity and clean the image of the department. I am proud to say that I have been part of coordinating this operation. The Auditor General has highlighted that there is improvement in addressing their queries. Acting on a whistle blower report, I took steps to halt an irregular tender at Armscor in 2025. The Armscor Board subsequently cancelled that deal. We are currently following up on calls by Members of Parliament to investigate a contract in which Armscor allegedly awarded a tender for troop armoured plate carriers. This work is not easy. We are dealing with a culture that developed over nearly thirty years where the misuse of state resources became normalised. The era of state capture embarrassed South Africa and severely damaged its institutions. By the end of the Government of National Unity term when, we hand over to the next government after 2029 election, we must be able to present a report that reflects a country in a far better state one that has decisively addressed the failures of the past three decades. We saw early warning signs as far back as the 1996 Sarafina Two scandal and later, the 1998 Arms Deal. Auditor General reports on the South African National Defence Force point to lack of accountability weak consequence management and alleged corruption dating back as early as 2006. We do not have the luxury of time. We must deal decisively with corruption namasela without fear or favour. The stolen money from departments, state owned entities, and parastatals has directly contributed to the collapse of infrastructure and the failure to improve services. It is the reason communities still lack proper roads, schools, clinics, fibre connectivity, police vehicles, and military equipment. Corruption is not an abstract crime. It is the reason people continue to suffer. We therefore congratulate the recently appointed National Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Mothibi, and wish him well in his role. As a former head of the Special Investigating Unit, he has first hand knowledge of how corruption has damaged South Africa. We urge him to prioritise the backlog of cases within the Defence Force that have placed significant pressure on the National Prosecuting Authority. In the same vein, I wish to commend the Special Investigating Unit for recovering over 1.6 billion lost within the Department of Defence, declared when they were briefing the portfolio committee on defence in a closed session. We look forward to working with the new head of the SIU and stand ready to cooperate fully with his team to restore integrity and accountability. That is why the unfulfilled promises to this area are so painful. The people of KwaTshezi were promised water from the Mthatha Dam to Coffee Bay. Trenches were dug and later filled in again. No water came. Neither have there been action taken against the fingered officials of the OR Tambo District who allegedly squandered the funds for this project. You were promised a proper road from the Viedgesville off ramp on the N2 to Coffee Bay. Former Minister Mbalula and SANRAL assured the community that a new road would be built, yet nothing materialised. Another route that has deteriorated severely is the turnoff from the Coffee Bay route that links it to Elliotdale. Its condition is now worse than it was in the past, to the point where sections are no longer usable. Today, these roads remain in a state of severe disrepair. These roads lead to tourism centres where international resorts such as Coffee Bay and Hole in the Wall resorts are housed. As residents of King Sabata Dalindyebo particularly here in Mqanduli we must now act collectively. There is a need for a formal approach led by traditional leaders, civil society, councillors, and community representatives to engage the national government directly. This approach must not be a talk shop. It must demand clear commitments on roads infrastructure and development timelines. It must also summon network providers Vodacom, MTN, and Telkom to account for when rural connectivity especially in Mqanduli will be improved. As we approach local government elections, we must also confront governance failures honestly. In line with what you have declared at the national level to get rid of one-party dominance, that must be reflected in the upcoming elections. Your vote can give way to concept of coalition governance to cascade to municipalities such as King Sabata Dalindyebo and OR Tambo District where long standing problems persist. Where systems fail communities, alternatives must be explored in the interests of the people. Finally, the process that began in 2024 of sharing power among political parties has made it clear that after the 2029 elections, it will no longer be a foregone conclusion which party provides the President of South Africa. We must therefore remain vigilant and begin serious discussions about the kind of leadership required to take South Africa forward beyond this term. The communities here must satisfy themselves that we will have leaders who would have passed the test of public scrutiny. The people of KwaTshezi are not asking for miracles. They are asking for honesty accountability and action. That is a fair demand and one we must meet. I thank you.
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