Admin
05 Jun, 2020
World Environment Day 2020: #ForNature
As countries imposed lockdown procedures, because of the coronavirus pandemic, the impact humans have on the environment came into sharp focus. For example, the fact that there were fewer cars on the roads, planes in the sky and that dirty industries had temporarily closed meant that carbon emissions were reduced. We are operating under extreme circumstances at the moment, but the lesson we must learn from this experience is that modifying our behaviour is the only way to find long term solutions to the challenge of protecting our environment and biodiversity. Our actions are pushing nature beyond its limit and it will not be able to sustain humankind for much longer. When we damage or wipe out biodiversity, we are destroying the very system that makes our lives possible. South Africa is one of around twenty megadiverse countries in the world today. This makes us especially responsible to protect and preserve our environment for not only future generations, but for ourselves as well, because at the rate we are going, South Africa’s natural treasures will be erased in our time. Also, the unfortunate by-product of the Covid-19 lockdown is that circumstances as they are, are likely to destroy our tourism industry, which is a large contributor to our economy. Not only that, it is reported that the tourism industry employs more than 740,000 people, and the forecast of job losses in South Africa bodes ill for workers in this industry. Another harsh lesson lockdown has taught us, is that food security for the poor masses is fragile. We saw the desperation as people queued for food parcels as their meagre income gradually dried up. The first line of defence is quite simply to “go back to basics”; government should invest in educating our people about sustainable subsistence farming and encourage them to grow vegetable gardens (the latter is easily possible in the cities with urban gardening techniques). This could also have a positive effect on the environment as people would buy less mass-produced food. Issued by: Mr Bantu Holomisa, MP UDM President
Admin
04 Jun, 2020
Bantu Holomisa writes to Wesbank CEO Chris De Kock re Mr Mzukisi Ndara’s case
Dear Mr De Kock MZUKISI NDARA: NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS CONFIRMS “MISREPRESENTATIONS AND CONTRAVENTION OF STATUTES” BY WESBANK The above subject matter bears reference. The first time I wrote to you was on 2 May 2018, just over two years ago, seeking justice in the form of restoration for Mr Mzukisi Ndara, and his family. Mr Ndara firmly believed that FirstRand bank was complicit in a fraudulent vehicle sale transaction in 2004 that caused him to suffer irreparable harm. Frankly, I also believed, hence I wrote to you in the manner that I did. The last of the four letters I have written to you hitherto, was written on 30 October 2019. I concluded the letter thus “I would simply urge you to take this matter seriously by engaging meaningfully and honestly to find solutions. It will not just go away instead it’s going to grow until it is entrenched in the psyche of South African society”. This will now sound prophetic given the latest developments. The National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Advocate Shamila Batohi, in a letter addressed to Mr Ndara dated 24 September 2019 (Annexure 1), places Wesbank squarely at the centre of the fifteen-year saga that has severely prejudiced an ordinary family. Mr Ndara unfortunately only received this correspondence on Friday 29 May as it was sent to his old email address. The NDPP in this letter writes: “3. Based on my analysis of the matter the fraudulent activities that are the subject of your representations, emanated out of an instalment sale agreement entered into between yourself and Wesbank. 4. Based on your statement filed with the police documentary evidential material as well as the circumstances of this matter, Wesbank and/or its employees committed a breach of contract in the form of misrepresentations and also acted in contravention of various statutes as alluded to in your reports. On the basis thereof, you are, as an aggrieved party entitled to approach courts for an appropriate relief.” These assertions by the top prosecutor in the country implicating the entity that you lead are now available for public consumption. I have been at pains over the last two years urging you to occupy moral high ground by resolving Mr Ndara’s matter. Time and time again I have been met with denials and apathy. Fundamentally in our first meeting with you in May 2018, you were adamant that the bank has done nothing wrong and in fact placed the blame squarely on Datnis Nissan dealership. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) correspondence points to Wesbank and its officials as the people responsible. The correspondence distils that the two contracting parties are Wesbank and Mr Ndara. No one else. In the same meeting, after Mr Ndara had taken us through the details of how the deal was concluded and what he had since discovered in hindsight, you were the voice of reason as you said to him “If it’s true what you are saying and it is accurate then I must sympathise with you because you will have been done a grave injustice”. Those words remained with me and I asked myself what you will do when Mr Ndara’s utterances prove to be true. That moment is now upon us. The NDPP, who has been exposed to the case docket, with police evidential material, various internal reports and Mr Ndara’s presentations, has now confirmed that there is documentary evidence that points to misrepresentations by Wesbank. It is now time to replace your intransigence with relevance, you need to be abreast of the mood and to confront the reality that your conduct as a corporate citizen has fallen short of what is expected. It is time to accord this ordinary citizen respect, by engaging him to find a solution by sitting around the table. I am aware that you contemplated settlement on this matter in a letter to the former Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Mr Yunus Carrim dated 17 April 2019. Paragraphs 3 and 4 of this letter (Annexure 2) read as follows: “However, your suggestion for me to meet personally with Mr Ndara in an attempt to reach some kind of confidential settlement is noted. The question of who is right or wrong in this matter is not the only issue at stake here. The other issue regards the actions that Mr Ndara, backed by the media could take to further express the anger and resentment directed at Banks based on alleged discrimination over the past number of years. On the advice of our legal team we have decided it would not be the prudent approach to personally meet with Mr Ndara in an attempt to reach a confidential settlement. As discussed, we have limited appetite to enrich the individual which does not take into account the time and effort that will be required to defend this matter in the courts and the in the private domain” Gleaning from these two paragraphs these are not the contentions of an innocent party. Gone are the vehement denials of big corporates that dismiss complains with contempt. For that matter whilst I write to you open letters that are transparent, also for public consumption, not once on the four occasions I have done so have you responded in kind. There is not a single letter where you have taken the public into your confidence regarding this matter and that of the Crusaders for Justice. There are over thirty people who have suffered similar fates to Mr Ndara whose lives are ruined because of the immorality of this bank. In all their cases, their tormentor is Wesbank. Surely we should now call time on this; it is time to do the right thing. I note, in fact, that you are amenable to a settle with Mr Ndara were it not for your legal team who needed more time to explore if there were any other seemingly unethical avenues to cause him greater harm. Notably there is again no outright denial. Paramount in your narrative in this letter is the point that “As discussed, we have limited appetite to enrich the individual”. This pregnant statement takes the cake. It says so many things all at once. In fact, I hear you loud and clear, Wesbank has turned Mr Ndara’s life upside down for over fifteen years, he has lost properties and lost all cars he had, owing to this transaction based on misrepresentations. As such, whilst you “have limited appetite to enrich the individual”, Wesbank has all the appetite to rid people of their hard-earned money and property. Wesbank has had the appetite to impoverish people as has been aptly demonstrated in this case. Will the real leaders of the First Rand Group please stand up. Your silence is deafening. Judge Buyiswa Majiki in an August 2018 judgement (Ndara and Another v Weir Investments (Pty) Ltd and Others (3180/2013) (2018) at the Grahamstown High Court set aside a 2015 judgement that was in favour of Wesbank on the basis that it was erroneously sought and granted. This has been Webank’s modus operandi, hence Mr Carrim exhorts you to settle this matter. Judge Elna Revelas presided over a hearing on 18 August 2015 with only the bank’s legal team present. There were no papers served on Mr Ndara and his attorneys. Significantly there was not even a Notice of Set-down. Strangely, Judge Revelas proceeded to dismiss Mr Ndara’s leave to appeal with costs. When the bank’s representatives appeared before Judge Majiki in 2018; they conceded that they did not follow any of the applicable High Court Rules. The bank appealed Judge Majiki’s judgement and it was dismissed with costs around March 2019. A month or so later you wrote this letter to Mr Carrim. Quo Vadis? Whilst I applaud the NDPP, unlike Advocates Naicker, Goosen, Mrwebi and Govender she was much more forthcoming on what has really transpired in this David and Goliath battle. Advocate Batohi was prepared to call out the culprits – Wesbank. However whilst she identified the unethical and immoral conduct on your part, she did not have the courage to act (as the law allows her) in the interests of good governance, for justice to be served. That is really disappointing. 2) Whenever any manager, agent or employee of any credit grantor does or omits to do any act which it would be an offence under this Act for the credit grantor to do or omit to do, such manager, agent or employee shall be liable to be convicted and sentenced in respect thereof as if he were the credit grantor. The above extract is taken directly from the Credit Agreements Act 1980, that was in place when Mr Ndara’s credit agreement was concluded. In my book, “shall be liable to be convicted and sentenced”, refers to a criminal prosecution if one were to have been found to have contravened this statute. Furthermore, Advocate Tenjwa Sellem, who oversaw a seven-month investigation at the NPA on this matter, took a decision to prosecute and took warning statements. On receiving a copy of NDPP’s letter his response was “If Mr Ndara on purchasing a vehicle through Wesbank, had provided a false representations concerning his salary advice and place of domicile, was he not going to face criminal charges of FRAUD, the answer is in the affirmative”. He went on to say, in the investigation, evidence points to the following issues that anchor this matter • Wesbank delivered to Mr Ndara a USED Nissan X-Trail 2.2 Diesel, Manual with 6700 kilometres travelled valued at R270000-00 Then they processed and invoiced him for a BRAND NEW Nissan X-Trail 2.5 Automatic valued at R298000-00. • Wesbank processed and approved the sale agreement, relying on a fraudulent Offer to Purchase (OTP) that Mr Ndara had never had sight of nor signed. The OTP provided for him to sign firstly to tender his Nissan Almera as a trade in, and secondly to sign making the Offer to Purchase the Nissan X-Trail described therein. Instead Mr Jaen Van Aardt – the Dealer Principal signed on the document accepting an offer that had not been made. Despite the invalidity of the document Wesbank processed and concluded the deal as if it was above board. • Furthermore Wesbank approved fictitious extras to the value of R33000-00 that do not exist. These were insurance products as opposed to physical material enhancement in the vehicle that would have been requested by Mr Ndara. So in all the vehicle that he would have paid R270000-00 for, he was invoiced for R333000-00. • The Dealer Principal induced Mr Ndara into this deal under the pretext that he was redressing a wrong committed by a salesperson at the dealership, hence Mr Ndara believed him. He offered to do a special deal that will see Mr Ndara benefit from the Wesbank Senior Manager Scheme that he already qualified for. Noting that Mr Ndara is ignorant of the Scheme’s formula, he loaded 15,25% interest rate instead of 9% that he qualified for. Mr Ndara as a result had R8857 monthly instalment for a USED Nissan X-Trail in 2004, sixteen years ago. Advocate Sellem ended by saying he stands by his decision to prosecute this matter. To conclude my letter, Sir, I shall quote from the Regional Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Goosen, who was the only prosecutor to write to Mr Ndara giving reasons why they decline to prosecute. Advocate TC Goosen on 11 December 2015 writes as follows: “ “It is a fact that the vehicle was described on the transaction details document as a new one. I am of the opinion that this aspect does not assist in making a decision in your favour. Everyone including yourself knew at all times relevant that the vehicle was a demo model and therefore not brand new. Consequently the action to tick the ‘new box’ surely could not have been made with an intention to defraud you. I also consider a possible argument that being a demo model, the vehicle was definitely a used vehicle, but also new in the sense that ti has never been sold before. Another possible argument can also be that the ticking of the ‘new box’ was a mistake and that the person who made the tick is as much to blame as those who had signed the document.” The car was indeed sold to you at a price consistent with that of a new car. Essentially because of all that he advances above, Advocate Goosen then concludes that whilst there are all these permutations above, Mr Ndara’s case would not stand scrutiny in a court of law as he will be a single witness. I shall leave these two contrasting versions for your benefit and the public at large. Once more with all the respect I invite you to meet with Mr Ndara and resolve what is patently a grave injustice. Not only to Mr Ndara, but to all South Africans who believe in natural justice and the rule of law. Sir, I believe you owe this to yourself, FirstRand Bank and to all those who inflicted pain on Mr Ndara and his family throughout these years. It is never too late to mend. Yours sincerely Mr Bantu Holomisa, MP UDM President
Admin
03 Jun, 2020
Composition of PIC interim board: beneficiaries should not be members
Honourable Minister Mboweni QUESTIONS AROUND THE COMPOSITION OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT CORPORATION’S BOARD: BENEFICIARIES SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO SERVE 1. Some time has lapsed since the 995-page report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into allegations of impropriety at the Public Investment Corporation, as lead by the Honourable Justice Lex Mpati (‘the Mpati Commission’), was handed over to President Ramaphosa and was released to the public on 12 March 2020. 2. One of the consequences of the Coronavirus lockdown is that I had the opportunity and time to read the voluminous Mpati Commission’s report and apply my mind to the size of the task of implementing its recommendations, over and above the management of the Public Investment Corporation’s (PIC) day-to-day business. 3. From my personal experience of the way the Mpati Commission functioned and reading its report, I believe that the commission did a sterling job. We will hopefully see sweeping changes that will lead to the PIC being a responsible organisation, as well as rooting out corruption and poor administration. South Africans will hopefully see the police, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) and the National Prosecuting Authority continue investigating and bring culprits to book. 4. Regarding the implementation of the Mpati Commission’s recommendations at the PIC, the complexity of the job ahead and the fortitude required to complete it requires the most competent, qualified, and trustworthy individuals. The PIC’s board and administrators must have the best interests of the PIC, and by extension the South African Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), at heart. 5. This knowledge and given the poor track-record of past PIC boards brought me to my next exercise, which was to look at the composition of the PIC’s incumbent interim board which you appointed in consultation with cabinet almost a year ago. 6. To my surprise, in doing my quick study, I came across an individual who now sits on the PIC’s interim board, who is a past PIC beneficiary. 7. That person is Ms Irene Charnley; the company is her Smile Telecoms Limited, to which the PIC committed an investment of USD 100,000,000 in 2015. This is a little more than R1,7 billion when calculated at today’s Rand/Dollar exchange rate. The PIC Investment Details sheet where I obtained this information, is available at https://www.pic.gov.za/DocPresentations/95.-Smile-Telecoms-Holdings.pdf). 8. It is an interesting side-note that, at the time, the now disgraced former PIC CEO, Dr Daniel Matjila, said: “We are excited about our investment in Smile Telecoms as it provides us with an opportunity to accelerate and realise our mandate to invest in the rest of the African continent.” 9. Given this information I have provided thus far, I could not help but ask whether history was repeating; and it left me feeling quite uneasy. 10. This discovery piqued my interest and I also did a cursory internet search on Smile Telecoms Limited (‘Smile’) and found the following information, the context of which will become clear in my later questions to you: 10.1. “Capitalworks” is listed as Smile’s “partner” on its website but is named “CapitalWorks SSA” on the Investment Details sheet. Presumably, this name difference is due to there being different divisions of the same company. I then found an announcement that an entity called “Capitalworks Group”, in 2017, had launched “Africa Capitalworks”, an investment company, which aimed to raise USD 300 million to “…deploy permanent equity capital in mid-market companies in strategically selected sectors across Sub Sahara Africa (“SSA”) (excluding South Africa)”. This discovery in itself is not interesting, what however is, is that they had “… already secured early support and substantial investment, including from CDC, the UK’s development finance institution, and the Public Investment Corporation SOC Limited (PIC) on behalf of its client the South African Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF).” 10.2. I also found a PIC document called “ISIBAYA DETAILED INVESTMENT SCHEDULE AS AT 31 MARCH 2017” which is available on, investigative journalism organisation, Amabhungane’s website at https://amabhungane.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/170331_PIC-Unlisted-assets.pdf. Under the column called “FRESG Performance” the following is written about Smile: • “Financially Underperforming – economic headwinds, devaluation of local currencies mainly Nigeria and stiff competition led to underperformance”, • “Owner Managed Companies – Corporate governance principles are compromised- Governance policy, Delegation of Authority, succession planning and risk management framework need to be in place” • “Establishment of Social and Ethics Committee to manage the Representatives of local people on the boards be increased to ensure legislation in countries that advocate local representation on the board.” 11. Given the above information the following questions arose in my mind: 11.1. Were you aware that Ms Charnley had been a PIC beneficiary when you appointed her as an interim board member? If so, do you consider this to be a healthy situation and what were your reasons for continuing with her appointment despite the knowledge? 11.2. What was the agreement in terms of the USD 100,000,000 investment the PIC made in Smile and has investment paid dividends, especially given the PIC’s 2017 conclusion that Smile was “financially underperforming”? What were the implications of this lack of performance? Did the PIC write off this investment and if so, would this not constitute mere looting? 11.3. The PIC concluded that Smile’s “Corporate governance principles are compromised” whilst the company was squarely under Ms Charnley’s management. Would you agree that this casts doubt on Ms Charnley’s suitability to function at board level? 11.4. Did CapitalWorks SSA/Capitalworks Group/Africa Capitalworks receive PIC/GEPF funding? If so, what are the details, and would you consider it compromising that a board member has yet another link to a PIC beneficiary? The United Democratic Movement would argue that there is enough evidence that warrants that Ms Charnley must vacate her seat on the PIC board immediately. One other matter I would like to raise with you is the appointment of Mr Abel Sithole as the new PIC CEO. It would serve us well to remember that the GEPF wrote off billions of rands in investment losses, as was reported in 2018, whilst he was that entity’s Principal Executive Officer. Some of those so-called investments were quite dodgy and this scenario means that Mr Sithole is a man who failed at his job. Surely there were other competent individuals available for your consideration. We do not want to conclude that his appointment is to merely clean-up the mess he was part of and covering tracks in the process. We look forward to your response. Yours sincerely Mr Bantu Holomisa, MP President of the United Democratic Movement
Admin
03 Jun, 2020
Youth Month: the need for urgent change
We are always reminded of the bravery of the young people of 1976, who took to the streets of South Africa to fight a system of injustice, prejudice, inequality, racism, sexism, classism, ableism, and suppression. They fought for a regime change and laws that would favour the majority and, in turn, all the people of South Africa. With freedom in 1994, there was a beam of light – it was a new day, a new dispensation, and the dreams and aspirations of all South Africans, especially the young, were awoken. Little did we know that our democratic society would breed greed, have poor leadership who lacked accountability and that the aspirations of the youth of ‘76 would be cast aside. The United Democratic Movement (UDM) Youth Vanguard believes that we find ourselves barely existing in a society of crumbs, whilst the rich, connected elite and the politically powerful enjoy themselves at the expense of the poor masses. Twenty-six years into democracy and South Africa ranks as one of the most unequal societies in the world, with the formerly oppressed still having no opportunities and living in squalor. Our mostly geriatric cabinet has no clue how to deal with young people or their plight. We have for years said that it is necessary to have young people in all kinds of decision-making positions. It is, however, of no use to appoint a token young person as a minister who does not even deal with youth matters. We have an uneven society where a staggering 29% of its youth block is unemployed. To compound matters, youth unemployment must have increased dramatically because of the Covid-19 lockdown and the end is not in sight. Another thing the pandemic has proven, is our country’s lack of innovation and research tools. South Africa will need an economic repositioning, which focuses on youth and skills development. We no longer want to hear lip service; we want rigorous action. The UDM Youth Vanguard also believes that our education system needs a major overhaul as it mostly generates dropouts and perpetual jobseekers. There must be greater focus on building young people to be job-creators – skilling them to, for instance, be innovators and artisans, work the land and produce food and start small businesses that can grow. Such a transformed education system must speak to today’s needs considering the current industrial revolution. As we remember the youth of ’76, we call on all young South Africans to reflect and ask themselves what their role in society is and whether they think they have been playing that role. It begins with a right and responsibility to vote and to make the right choice i.e. to not vote based on sentiment. Our message to young South African’s is this: vote with your minds and realise that betting on the same horse for the past 26 years has gotten us nowhere; the UDM Youth Vanguard believes that the United Democratic Movement is deserving of your vote in the next elections. We wish everyone a well in celebrating Youth Month 2020. Issued by: Mr Yongama Zigebe UDMYV Spokesperson
Admin
26 May, 2020
UDM KZN perplexed at renaming of Umzinyathi District Municipality to Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) in KwaZulu-Natal is shocked at the announcement made by Umzinyathi District Municipality Mayor PMS Ngubane, that the municipality is undergoing a name change to “Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi District Municipality”. The Umzinyathi community was taken by total surprise when we heard the announcement via uKhoziFM. What is at issue here is the constitutional mandate the directs municipalities as per Sections 152(1)(e) and 153(a) of the Constitution, which reads: S152(1) “ The objects of local government are: (e)To encourage the involvement of the communities and community organizations in the matters of local government “. S153(a) “A municipality must structure and manage its administration and budgeting and planning process to give priority to the basic needs of the community, and to promote the social and economic development of the community”. As far as the UDM in KwaZulu-Natal is aware, there was no consultation with the community, regarding the name-change, as is dictated by Section 152(1)(e) and for all intents and purposes, a name is being forced down their throats. If the community had been consulted, there would have been several, well-known local names that would have been thrown into the hat, such as Inkosi Simakade Mchunu, Mr FS Sikhakhane (former mayor of Msinga) and Bambatha kaMancinza. At the heart of the matter is a lack of prioritisation when a random name change is now more important than this municipality discharging its core functions. Section 153(e) explicitly directs municipalities to give priority to basic needs provision in its budgeting and planning. The Umzinyathi District Municipality is failing to provide water to its communities. One of the excuses is that it awaits financial assistance from the provincial Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs department, to fix 706 dysfunctional water hand pumps to the tune of R1.5m. Yet it has the audacity to splash scarce funds on a name change. The UDM in KwaZulu-Natal calls on the Umzinyathi District Municipality to correct its skewed priorities, halt the name change and re-channel those funds into fixing the 706 water hand pumps. This is the morally and constitutionally correct thing to do. — end — Issued by: Mr Boysey Gumede UDM KwaZulu-Natal Interim Provincial Secretary
Admin
25 May, 2020
Africa Day 2020
We celebrate Africa Day this year, amid the Coronavirus pandemic, which has certainly forced our focuses away from the African agenda and has indeed exposed the need for its acceleration. The United Democratic Movement (UDM) believes that some progress has been made with Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the formation of the Africa Union (AU). The OAU constantly had to put out fires across the continent and it saw military regimes toppling corrupt governments. Under the OAU’s watch many democracies had been formed in sub-Saharan countries like Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Salim Ahmed Salim, former OAU Secretary General, did good work and managed the transition to the AU very well. We also remember the work of people like Chester Crocker, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in the Reagan Administration (from 1981 to 1989) who was the architect of the United States’ policy of “constructive engagement” towards Southern Africa. He oversaw the implementation of the United Nation’s Security Council’s Resolution 435 which delivered Namibian independence in 1990. We are slowly reaching the goals of healthy democracies, enshrining civil liberties and human rights, amongst others, but the continent still has a long way to go, especially where fighting corruption is concerned. Unfortunately, conflicts and war, human rights abuses, food shortages, exploitation of mineral resources and poaching of rhinos and other animals are still at the order of the day. African countries also need to focus on infrastructure development and creating manufacturing industries in order to secure our riches for the benefit of our peoples, thus stopping our shores from being a dumping ground for imported goods. The UDM celebrates Africa Day 2020 with the rest of the continent and wishes all countries the best in managing the Covid-19 pandemic. Issued by: Mr Bantu Holomisa UDM President
Admin
22 May, 2020
Covid-19 and government: a worst nightmare for women and children
The United Democratic Movement Women’s Organisation (UDEMWO) is deeply perturbed by how life is turning out for many South Africans, especially women, as we daily hear of large numbers of retrenchments, due to the Covid-19 lockdown. This is hitting very hard in the cases of sole family-breadwinners. It was recently reported that there is a spike in child abandonment, which is attributed to the desperate choices of parents who are in the throes of financial hardship as the country experiences unimpeded job losses. According to Premier David Makhura, Gauteng, on its own, may lose about two million jobs, which means that child abandonment will likely increase. As much as it is good that abused women and children can contact the Gender-Based Violence Command Centre for assistance, children could be far more vulnerable as they have less resources, emotionally and physically, to make that life-saving call. UDEMWO is also worried that the government departments, which are supposed to look after South Africa’s most vulnerable, are failing them dismally. The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) is the worst of them all, with shoddy service and poor communication around processes and forms. In addition, Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu seems to not have her facts straight as she recently appealed for the distribution of food-parcels to not be politicised, yet this is exactly what the ruling party is being accused of lately, with evidence of this floating all over social media. There is something very wrong with this entire picture, as government seems to not realise how its inefficient systems are negatively affecting the poorest of the poor, who are fighting for their very existence. Government is not providing effective leadership and services where this is concerned. Issued by: Ms Thandi Nontenja UDEMWO Secretary General
Admin
20 May, 2020
UDEMWO rejects reopening of schools
The United Democratic Movement Women’s Organisation (UDEMWO) rejects the reopening of schools, on 1 June 2020 for Grade 7 and 12 learners, as announced yesterday by Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga and so approved by the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC). The fact that the Minister herself had said that she cannot assure parents that there is no danger of infection, is proof that her department does not have a proper plan in place. We are concerned about the safety of both teachers and learners, especially in disadvantaged schools across South Africa. This move is a gamble with our children’s lives. The Minister also confirmed that a number of schools were either burnt or vandalised over the past two months, which makes the situation even worse. The UDEMWO calls on the Department of Basic Education and the NCCC to review this decision as the confirmed cases of Covid-19 are rapidly increasing on a daily basis. We realise the importance of education, but we cannot put the lives of future South African leaders in danger by taking them back to classrooms at this point in time. We have seen what happened in France where, within a week of reopening schools, they have reported 70 new Coronavirus cases. In South Africa, private schools could fairly safely reopen simply because they have fewer learners per class, but what about our overcrowded public schools where social distancing is not possible. Minister Motshekga must act like a parent in this matter. Issued by: Ms Thandi Nontenja UDEMWO Secretary General
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