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31 years later: ANC has bankrupted the Eastern Cape municipalities

Statement by Bulelani Bobotyane, Provincial Secretary of the UDM in the Eastern Cape The United Democratic Movement (UDM) in the Eastern Cape is deeply disturbed by revelations that seven municipalities in the Eastern Cape are on the verge of financial collapse. This is not an isolated administrative failure. It is the product of decades of African National Congress (ANC) misrule that has left local government structures hollow, indebted, and incapable of delivering even the most basic services. The Provincial Treasury’s presentation to Parliament revealed that Makana, Sundays River Valley, Amathole, Raymond Mhlaba, Amahlathi, Walter Sisulu and King Sabata Dalindyebo municipalities will not survive beyond a month without intervention. Only Koukamma has slightly more cash reserves, barely enough for three months. Under ANC governance, 33 out of 39 municipalities are distressed, with only six receiving clean audits in the 2023/24 financial year. The scale of financial recklessness is staggering. Nelson Mandela Bay Metro recorded R22 billion in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure. Buffalo City Metro recorded R11.6 billion. Amathole District recorded R1.3 billion, OR Tambo District R1.1 billion, and Inxuba Yethemba R910 million. Despite this, more than R300 million in unspent infrastructure funds was returned to the National Treasury. This is an unforgivable betrayal of the people. A province drowning in unemployment and poverty is being robbed not only by corruption but by chronic incompetence. The UDM in the Eastern Cape holds Premier Oscar Mabuyane and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) MEC Zolile Williams politically responsible for the collapse of governance in the province. For years they have been warned about the dire state of municipalities but responded with empty plans and recycled rhetoric.  MEC Williams himself has acknowledged that Nelson Mandela Bay accounts for over seventy percent of the province’s R30 billion in irregular expenditure, driven by evergreen contracts that he admits are criminal. Yet there is no visible action, no prosecutions, and no accountability. The rot runs deep. A captured CFO in Sundays River Valley inflated consultancy contracts from R4 million to R38 million. Evergreen contracts in Nelson Mandela Bay have become the feeding trough for politically connected service providers. State departments owe municipalities such as Nelson Mandela Bay more than R208 million in unpaid rates and service charges, proof that even government does not respect local government. It is shocking and unacceptable that national and provincial government departments owe municipalities more than R208 million in unpaid rates and service charges. These are not private companies or delinquent ratepayers. They are organs of the same state that lectures ordinary citizens about paying their municipal accounts. This failure by the state to pay what it owes is an act of internal sabotage. It cripples the very municipalities tasked with delivering water, electricity, sanitation and waste removal to communities. When government departments do not honour their obligations, they drain the lifeblood of local government, its revenue base, and accelerate the collapse of essential services. The UDM in the Eastern Cape finds this behaviour reprehensible and hypocritical. It exposes a culture of impunity within the ANC government where accountability is applied selectively. Citizens are threatened with disconnection for non-payment, while government institutions continue to consume services without consequence. This situation also shows the utter breakdown of intergovernmental cooperation in the Eastern Cape. The Premier and his MECs have allowed a crisis where the left hand of government starves the right. How can municipalities be expected to survive when the very departments that fund them are also their biggest debtors? The UDM in the Eastern Cape is deeply concerned by the recent remarks of Buffalo City Mayor Princess Faku, who told Parliament that her municipality is “neither dysfunctional nor cash-strapped.” This statement is misleading and irresponsible. Both the Provincial Treasury and the Auditor-General have confirmed that Buffalo City incurred R11.6 billion in irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, and returned unspent infrastructure funds while residents continue to endure failing services. For a mayor to deny this reality shows disregard for the truth and for the daily struggles of the people she serves. It reflects the ANC’s entrenched culture of denial, where leaders protect their image instead of fixing what is broken. The UDM calls on Premier Mabuyane to act against Mayor Faku for misleading Parliament and the public. The people of Buffalo City deserve honesty, accountability and real solutions, not empty political theatre. As a partner in the Government of National Unity (GNU), the UDM in the Eastern Cape believes this crisis demands direct intervention by the National CoGTA Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa. The Minister must immediately: 1.    Deploy a national intervention team to the seven municipalities on the brink of collapse, with powers to stabilise finances, strengthen governance, and halt corruption. 2.    Oversee forensic investigations into the misuse of funds, fraudulent consultancy contracts, and the R30 billion evergreen contract scandal in Nelson Mandela Bay. 3.    Ensure strict consequence management, including suspension and prosecution of accounting officers, councillors and mayors who enabled this rot. 4.    Coordinate intergovernmental debt recovery, compelling all government departments to pay what they owe to municipalities. 5.    Enforce public transparency and reporting, ensuring that all municipal recovery reports demanded by Parliament are made public within thirty days. 6.    Work with National Treasury and the Department of Water and Sanitation to restore critical infrastructure and basic service delivery in the affected municipalities. 7.    Hold Premier Mabuyane and MEC Williams politically accountable for years of failed oversight and negligence under their leadership. The UDM in the Eastern Cape also reminds the ANC, as a partner in the GNU, that it carries the greatest responsibility for this crisis. Its national leadership must urgently call its counterparts in the province and municipalities to order. The continued collapse of governance in the Eastern Cape is not just a local embarrassment; it undermines the credibility of the GNU’s commitment to clean, accountable and effective government. If the ANC is sincere about renewal, it must start by cleaning its own house in this province. For thirty-one years, the ANC has turned the Eastern Cape into a case study of corruption and decay. The people deserve better. They deserve leaders who act, not talk, who serve, not steal. The UDM in the Eastern Cape calls on all honest public servants, civil society and communities to rally behind the call for accountability and renewal.  

Dlamini 2.0: How Social Development is sliding back into scandal

Statement by Zandile Phiri, Acting Secretary General of the United Democratic Movement The United Democratic Movement (UDM) is deeply concerned by the avalanche of revelations exposing the collapse of governance, accountability, and ethics within the Department of Social Development (DSD) and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA). Recent reports from the Auditor-General and Parliament confirm what the UDM has warned for years: that a department meant to be the moral anchor of our democracy has regressed into a web of mismanagement, patronage, and disregard for the poor. Allegations surrounding Minister Sisisi Tolashe’s conduct have plunged the portfolio into scandal. The appointment of a 22-year-old Chief of Staff, the reported romantic relationship with a special adviser, and the extravagant R3 million trip to New York, all paint a disturbing picture of arrogance and impunity. The dual role of Minister Tolashe as both ANC Women’s League President and head of a department responsible for welfare programmes has raised questions about partisan influence over state resources.  This is not the first time that the Department of Social Development (DSD) has been brought into disrepute under the leadership of an ANC Women’s League President. South Africans will remember former Minister Bathabile Dlamini, who left behind a trail of corruption, negligence, and constitutional violations. She presided over the 2017 social grants crisis that nearly collapsed SASSA, was found guilty of perjury by the courts, and had earlier been convicted for her role in the Travelgate scandal. The parallels are disturbing. What the country is witnessing today under Minister Tolashe is Dlamini 2.0, another example of a department seemingly captured by political insiders, mired in scandal, and indifferent to the suffering of the poor. The latest report from the Auditor-General confirms that the DSD has regressed in performance and financial management. Persistent irregular expenditure, vacant posts, and weak internal controls continue to undermine delivery. At the same time, SASSA, once a cornerstone of social protection, has become synonymous with chaos. Payment failures, technical breakdowns, and corruption have repeatedly left millions of pensioners, people with disabilities, and child grant recipients destitute. The crisis at Postbank and its dependency on the collapsing South African Post Office (SAPO) illustrate the state’s failure to separate financial operations from logistical ruin. Postbank, which is still in transition to becoming a stand-alone state bank, relies heavily on SAPO’s broken infrastructure. This entanglement has crippled SASSA’s payment system and created an endless cycle of system failures, contract extensions, and beneficiary suffering. The UDM calls for: 1.    An independent forensic investigation into all contracts, expenditures, and appointments linked to SASSA and Postbank, including the R3 million New York trip. The Portfolio Committee on Social Development, working with the Auditor-General and the Public Service Commission, must lead this process. 2.    The urgent separation of Postbank from the failing Post Office. The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies must pull up its socks and fast track the implementation of the Postbank Amendment Act to make Postbank a fully independent, modern, and secure state bank. The Department must also accelerate SAPO’s reform through modernisation, digital transformation, and diversification of postal services. South Africans cannot continue to suffer because the state insists on patching up two failing institutions instead of reforming them. 3.    A full audit of the social grant payment system to guarantee reliability, transparency, and protection from political interference. 4.    Stronger parliamentary oversight to ensure that social protection serves the poor and not political insiders. Behind every scandal is a pensioner who sleeps hungry, a child whose grant is delayed, and a family whose only income disappears in bureaucratic confusion. The DSD has lost its moral compass. It is unacceptable that those who rely most on the state should pay the highest price for government incompetence. As a committed partner in the Government of National Unity, the UDM will not remain silent while the poor are betrayed by those entrusted to serve them.  The GNU was established to restore credibility, rebuild ethical governance, and deliver on the promise of a capable state. It cannot succeed if some of its members treat public office as a personal fiefdom. The President must ensure that accountability is not applied selectively and that all departments, including Social Development, reflect the values and discipline that the GNU was created to uphold. Social development should be the conscience of the state, not a playground for self-enrichment. The UDM urges the Government of National Unity to act decisively to clean this department, restore integrity, and protect the dignity of our people. The welfare of South Africans cannot continue to depend on a ministry drowning in scandal and a payment system built on failure.  

Fort Hare must rise again through dialogue and reform

Statement by Lucia Matomane, UDESMO Eastern Cape Provincial Chairperson The United Democratic Students’ Movement (UDESMO) is deeply disturbed by the violent turn of events at the University of Fort Hare. As an organisation that stands for the right of students to learn, organise, and express themselves without fear, we are both pained by the destruction of this historic institution and compelled to speak to the deeper causes that led to this crisis. What is unfolding at Fort Hare is not simply an outbreak of lawlessness. It is the eruption of years of frustration among students who have been ignored, sidelined, and denied a voice in decisions that directly affect their lives and education. Students have long raised concerns about governance failures, delayed or inconsistent SRC elections, financial exclusions, and an institutional culture that too often treats them as subjects rather than partners in higher education. These grievances have been met not with dialogue and reform, but with silence, interdicts, and sometimes violence. UDESMO does not condone the destruction of property or the endangerment of lives. Acts of arson and violence do not advance our struggle for a just and accountable university system. They set it back. Yet condemning violence must not become a way to avoid addressing the legitimate demands of the student body.  The University’s leadership, the Department of Higher Education, and the broader Government of National Unity must confront the structural crises that continue to ignite campuses across the country: underfunding, authoritarian management styles, and the exclusion of poor and working-class youth. Fort Hare, once a beacon of African intellectual liberation, cannot become a symbol of despair. UDESMO calls for: 1.    An independent mediation process to rebuild trust between the university administration, students, and workers. 2.    Immediate support for affected students, including trauma counselling and academic recovery plans. 3.    A national dialogue on student governance to ensure democratic representation at all institutions of higher learning. 4.    Firm action against those who exploit unrest to pursue political or criminal ends. 5.    A review of campus security practices to end the cycle of violence between students and private security personnel. The flames at Fort Hare should awaken the conscience of our nation. Students are not enemies of progress. We are its engine. The time has come for government, university leadership, and society at large to listen before the next campus burns.  

Transport Month: Rebuild SA’s rails

Statement by Mandla Peter, United Democratic Movement Member in the National Council of Provinces As we mark Transport Month, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) extends condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the recent tragic crashes on the R81 in Ga-Sekgopo, Limpopo, and on the N2 in Phongolo, northern KwaZulu-Natal. These are not isolated incidents. They reflect a deep and ongoing crisis in South Africa’s transport and logistics system. The high number of accidents involving heavy trucks is a national disgrace. These tragedies are not only caused by reckless drivers, but also by a collapsed freight logistics network weakened by poor governance, corruption, and neglected infrastructure maintenance. Over the past decade, Transnet Freight Rail volumes have fallen by as much as 80% since 2010, due to vandalism, flood damage, safety lapses, and chronic underinvestment. As a result, our roads are overloaded with trucks carrying goods that should be moved by rail. This has destroyed critical infrastructure, constrained productivity, and claimed far too many innocent lives. The UDM has long maintained that greater investment in rail infrastructure is vital to move freight off roads, reduce accidents, and restore economic efficiency. Stricter enforcement of truck regulations, including roadworthiness, driver rest periods, and load management, is also essential and long overdue. We note the recent initiatives by Transport Minister Barbara Creecy to revitalise South Africa’s rail and port systems through private sector participation in five priority corridors. This is a welcome acknowledgment of the crisis, but the pace of implementation remains far too slow. Promises must now produce tangible results such as operational freight trains, reopened corridors, and a visible reduction in the number of heavy trucks on our national roads. In March 2025, the Department of Transport announced that a second Request for Information (RFI) for private sector participation in passenger rail would be issued in May. However, weeks later, during her address at the Rand Merchant Bank Think Summit, Minister Creecy indicated that the RFI would instead be released in June. These repeated delays reflect a troubling pattern of shifting timelines and uncertainty in government planning. To date, there has been no evidence that this RFI has been issued, raising questions about the government’s seriousness in addressing the crisis Promises must translate into tangible outcomes: operational freight trains, reopened corridors, safer roads, and the visible removal of heavy trucks from national highways. The public deserves clear timelines, transparent progress reports, and measurable results. The UDM believes that rebuilding South Africa’s transport system requires: 1.    Immediate prioritisation of freight rail rehabilitation, with guaranteed deadlines for corridor reopening and transparent monitoring of progress. 2.    Release of the second RFI for private sector participation in passenger rail. 3.    Strong public–private collaboration, not as a substitute for state accountability, but to unlock investment, technology, and logistics expertise. 4.    Stricter regulation of the trucking sector, including the establishment of a national Truck Safety and Compliance Unit to enforce vehicle standards, rest periods, and load management. 5.    A national road safety audit, to identify high-risk corridors, improve infrastructure, and reduce fatalities in line with the United Nations target of halving road deaths by 2030. Transport is the backbone of the economy. When it collapses, jobs, safety, and growth collapse with it. South Africa cannot continue to treat mass road deaths as routine. The time has come to shift freight back to rail, restore safety to our roads, and put accountability at the centre of every kilometre travelled. The UDM remains committed, in Parliament and beyond, to fighting for a transport system that serves the people, protects lives, and drives inclusive economic development.  

Assault on Kimberley police officer: gender is not the story, lawlessness is

Statement by Zandile Phiri, Acting Secretary General of the United Democratic Movement The United Democratic Movement condemns in the strongest possible terms the recent assault on two police officers who were performing their duties in Kimberley’s central business district. The video of the attack, which has gone viral, is a disturbing reflection of the growing hostility toward law enforcement officers in our communities and the erosion of respect for the rule of law. The gender of the one officer should be immaterial. Whether male or female, no police officer should face physical harm or humiliation for performing their lawful duties. To highlight the gender of the one officer, as if the assault were more shocking because she is a woman, is the wrong logic entirely. It subtly reinforces the false and dangerous notion that women are somehow less capable of enforcing the law or managing conflict in the field.  What happened in Kimberley is not about the strength of a woman but about the weakness of public discipline. The real issue is that criminals and ordinary citizens alike now believe they can defy, insult, and attack law enforcement officers without consequence. This is a clear sign that respect for authority and public order has collapsed. Law enforcement officers stand at the frontline of public safety. When they are attacked, it is not only an assault on an individual but on the authority of the state and on the safety of every South African. Communities cannot call for safer streets while simultaneously undermining and brutalising those tasked with maintaining them. At the same time, the South African Police Service (SAPS) must reflect deeply on how it interacts with the public. Many communities have lost confidence in law enforcement because of corruption, brutality, or neglect. SAPS must work intentionally to rebuild trust through fair, respectful, and community-based policing. Restoring public faith in the police will not only protect officers but also strengthen partnerships with residents who are often the first to see or report criminal activity. A police service that listens, serves, and respects citizens will find that respect returned. The UDM calls on SAPS to ensure that the perpetrators face the full force of the law and that consistent national measures are taken to protect officers on duty. Police morale, discipline, and safety are national priorities that require leadership and visible consequences for acts of defiance. We also urge community leaders, civic organisations, and faith-based institutions to play their part in restoring respect between citizens and the police. Building a safer country requires trust, cooperation, and the understanding that the law applies equally to everyone. No uniformed officer should ever fear for their safety while serving their nation. The time has come to restore both order and trust in South Africa’s streets.

Time to end the tavern killings and restore public safety

Statement by Zandile Phiri, Acting Secretary General of the United Democratic Movement The United Democratic Movement (UDM) is deeply disturbed by the latest mass shooting at a tavern in Zithobeni, Bronkhorstspruit, where five people were killed and six others injured on Saturday night. According to police reports, armed men stormed the establishment, disarmed a patron, and opened fire indiscriminately as people tried to flee for their lives. Over the past year, South Africa has witnessed a wave of similar tragedies that have turned ordinary social spaces into crime scenes. These include mass shootings in Mokokotlong informal settlement in Orange Farm, Pienaar outside Mbombela, TK's Tavern in Sebokeng in the Vaal, the Bloemfontein CBD, Umlazi township of Durban, and the Choba informal settlement in Tshwane. In each of these incidents, lives were lost in cold blood while families were left to grieve and communities to live in fear. This growing pattern of violence shows a country under siege, where heavily armed criminals act without restraint and the state appears powerless to stop them. Communities have every reason to feel abandoned. The right to safety and security enshrined in the Constitution has become meaningless when gunmen can walk into a tavern, home, or taxi rank and slaughter innocent people without fear of arrest or prosecution. The social fabric of our nation is being torn apart by unchecked criminality, poor policing, and the proliferation of illegal firearms. The UDM believes this is not merely a policing issue but a symptom of deeper systemic failure i.e. the collapse of local intelligence networks, the erosion of visible policing, and the absence of proactive crime prevention in vulnerable communities. South Africa urgently needs a coordinated national audit of firearms in circulation, including a focused review of lost, stolen, and unaccounted-for weapons from police, military, and private security stockpiles. This audit must be supported by forensic tracing of ballistic evidence, tighter control of firearm licensing systems, and an intelligence-driven effort to dismantle illegal gun trafficking networks. The goal is not to count weapons in criminal hands, but to close the loopholes that allow them to get there. The UDM calls for: 1.    A national audit of illegal firearms and a comprehensive crackdown on gun smuggling and trafficking networks feeding this violence. 2.    Dedicated tavern safety and compliance units within the SAPS to monitor and protect high-risk venues, working with local business and community policing forums. 3.    Immediate deployment of intelligence-led operations to disrupt organised criminal networks that use taverns and shebeens as targets or recruitment hubs. 4.    A cross-departmental safety strategy led by the Ministers of Police, Small Business Development, and Social Development to strengthen community resilience and ensure responsible management of social spaces. 5.    Swift justice for the victims of these massacres through fast-tracked investigations and specialised prosecution teams. As a partner in the Government of National Unity, the UDM will continue to push for urgent and coordinated reforms in policing, intelligence, and firearm control. The safety of South Africans must be treated as a national priority, and every arm of the state must be mobilised to end this cycle of violence once and for all.  

UDM concludes successful two-day public representatives’ workshop

Statement by Zandile Phiri, Acting Secretary General of the United Democratic Movement and Bulelani Bobotyane, Provincial Secretary of the UDM in the Eastern Cape The United Democratic Movement (UDM) in the Eastern Cape successfully hosted a two-day capacity building workshop and engagement session for public representatives from across South Africa in Mthatha on 4 and 5 October 2025.  The workshop brought together UDM public representatives from across the country, serving at national, provincial, and local levels of government, to strengthen their capacity to serve communities with excellence, accountability, and integrity. It was an opportunity to reflect on the responsibilities entrusted to those who hold public office, and to renew the shared commitment to ethical leadership and responsive governance. The programme was made possible through the generous support and partnership of the Education and Training Unit for Democracy and Development (ETU). The UDM extends its sincere gratitude for this valuable collaboration, which enriched the workshop and contributed meaningfully to building the capacity of our public representatives. The sessions were highly informative, engaging, and practical, focusing on good governance, effective representation, and improved service delivery. Participants engaged in robust discussions on coalition management within the Government of National Unity, the separation of powers, fiscal responsibility, and strategies to rebuild public trust in institutions. They also explored ways to deepen community engagement, strengthen oversight at all levels, and ensure that public resources are managed in the best interest of citizens. The UDM and its public representatives emerge from this workshop united and energised in their mission to promote honest, accountable governance and to serve the people effectively. Our leaders are now better equipped to translate the UDM’s vision and values into tangible results for the benefit of our people. As the nation moves toward the 2026 Local Government Elections, the UDM stands ready to play its part in advancing South Africa through principled leadership, transparency, and an unwavering commitment to the service of our people. The workshop reaffirmed the UDM’s conviction that ethical governance, grounded in accountability and compassion, is the cornerstone of meaningful transformation.  

Post Office mismanagement: a wake-up call for real reform

Statement by Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, MP, UDM Deputy President and Leader in Parliament The United Democratic Movement (UDM) notes with grave concern the Auditor-General’s latest findings exposing widespread financial mismanagement at the South African Post Office (SAPO). The report paints a disturbing picture of an institution crippled by irregular expenditure, poor governance, and an almost total breakdown of accountability. This confirms what the UDM has been warning for years, which is that the collapse of SAPO is not the result of underfunding, but of deep-seated mismanagement and lack of strategic direction. The figures laid bare by the Auditor-General reveal an institution that continues to haemorrhage public funds while failing to deliver even the most basic of services to South Africans. The Post Office remains insolvent, unmodernised, and incapable of performing its core mandate. Worse still, the same management failures that bankrupted SAPO are now being rewarded with additional bailouts, while thousands of workers have been retrenched or left unpaid. Treasury confirmed that SAPO will not receive any new financial rescue packages beyond the R381 million allocated through the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s (UIF) Temporary Employee Relief Scheme. The UDM has repeatedly cautioned that using the UIF to bail out failing state entities is a dangerous precedent that places workers’ hard-earned contributions at risk. The UDM reiterates the position we took as early as 2023 and 2024: that the Post Office’s crisis cannot be solved through bailouts and business rescue plans that merely reshuffle management and cut jobs. Instead, SAPO must redefine its role as a modern public utility that meets the needs of the people it serves. The UDM again calls for: 1.    SAPO to diversify its services by expanding into insurance, microfinance and other community-based financial services that cater to rural and low-income customers. 2.    A strong focus on digital transformation by embracing e-commerce logistics, secure digital postal services and providing public internet access to ensure competitiveness in the 21st century. 3.    Greater accountability and oversight, with the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies ensuring that bailout funds are used transparently and that management failures result in real consequences rather than rewards. 4.    The protection of workers, as retrenchments cannot be viewed as a genuine reform strategy. Government must instead explore alternatives such as redeployment and retraining through institutions like Productivity South Africa. Like Alexkor, Denel, Eskom, Transnet, Land Bank, Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, South African Airways, South African Broadcasting Corporation, SAPO has become a symbol of failed oversight, where billions in taxpayer funds are poured into institutions that cannot deliver sustainable or efficient public service SAPO was once a cornerstone of community life; a bridge between people and government. Today, it has become a symbol of failure. The Auditor-General’s report must serve as a wake-up call that the time for patchwork solutions has long passed.