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14 Feb, 2017
Address by Lennox Gaehler in Parliament: UDM reply on the State of the Nation Address(SONA) 2017
Honourable Speaker, Honourable President and Members The task of creating a developmental state where the primary mandate is to build an inclusive economy by fundamentally changing the status quo in favour of the poor majority, who find themselves in the rural hinterland, is now more urgent than ever before. Further and any unnecessary delay will have grave consequences for our hard-won freedom and the governability of state. In this regard, South Africa must indeed review the many agreements entered into before, and at, the Codesa negotiations. Such an exercise will identify the bugbears which makes it difficult to ensure that all citizens enjoy equal economic freedom. Whilst our welfare system has helped millions, who would have gone to bed with empty stomachs, the painful truth is that the super-exploitative economic system the new South Africa inherited, continues to produce structural inequality and remains enemy number one. The United Democratic Movement suggests that radical economic transformation should not just be mere rhetoric and we believe that: • Patronage and corruption must fall, and that prudence and good governance must rise; • Free education must not be “free of quality”; but it must produce young adults, and especially black young adults, who are ready to operate new enterprises and be job-creators rather than being job-seekers; • Whilst progress has been made with housing delivery; the minister should have clear, achievable timeframes for the correction of the defects in some of the existing buildings and act decisively against those found to be on the wrong side of the law; • Recent reports on alleged maladministration, and possible corruption in the department of water affairs, is worrying. If true, it flies in the face of the spirit of the announced radical economic transformation. Speedy action must be taken, especially given the current drought. • In agriculture, we need to train more agronomists with practical skills to utilise and manage the land once it is returned to the people. Indeed, and in the words of OR Tambo whose centenary we are commemorating, liberation has no meaning without the return of the country’s wealth to the people and therefore the existing economic arrangement must be radically changed to the equal benefit of ALL South Africans. I thank you
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14 Feb, 2017
Address by Bantu Holomisa in Parliament: debate on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) 2017
Honourable Speaker, Honourable President and Members As we enter the 23rd year of our democracy, we see a rise in the levels of anxiety and anger among citizens, with anarchy knocking at our door. Notwithstanding these trends, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) acknowledges the great strides South Africa has made since 1994. The most disturbing reality is that we see an increase in the politics of patronage, uncontrollable corruption, the collapse of government institutions, a high unemployment rate, lack of development, failing health and education systems, widening inequality, chronic poverty and ineffective provincial governments. With regard to provincial governments; the question is, do we really need these glorified homelands or rather strengthening the local sphere of government and let national government take control and introduce the lacking uniformity. We are commemorating the late OR Tambo; an undoubted champion of the struggle for a just and free society. It would be interesting to know his thoughts on the so-called leaders who have dumped the deprived masses and took care of themselves at the expense of the poor. We believe that no individual party’s policy conference could proffer all the sustainable solutions to the challenges we face as a nation. This is even more apparent when the governing alliance lacks policy coherence; thus threatening investor confidence. It is in this regard that the UDM resolved that, in preparation for 2019 and beyond, we will during this year convene a consultative conference which will be open to all citizens, to amongst others: • Take stock of the 22 years of our democracy; • Identify areas of intervention to bring about meaningful economic transformation; • Review the legislative framework that impedes fundamental socio-economic transformation, including the Constitution; • Develop mechanisms to stop corruption and maladministration; • Take stock of the quality, qualification and placement of our civil servants including those who provide security services to the nation; • Improve our constitutional democracy with the introduction of a people-driven electoral system; • Introduce legislation for transparent political party funding; and • Find a lasting solution to reduce tension between the social partners at NEDLAC in particular labour, government and business. At the envisaged National Consultative Conference, we shall also evaluate the agreements between the ruling party and the apartheid government pre- and during the Codesa negotiations. Meaningful transformation, including the transfer of land and control of the economy, will never realise so long as those agreements are used as scarecrows and lock the majority of our citizens outside the economic mainstream. South Africans, it is our collective task to ensure that the ideals of a truly democratic and prosperous society as envisaged by OR Tambo and others, are realised. In this regard, I encourage you to take advantage of the proposed conference to ensure that we reclaim the original objective of the struggle we have so dearly fought for. I thank you
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28 Nov, 2016
UDEMWO calls on men to campaign against women abuse
Statement issued by Thandi Nontenja, UDEMWO Secretary General The country is marking another 16 days of abuse against women and children but the battle is far from being over. As the United Democratic Movement Women’s Organisation (UDEMWO), we feel that nothing much has been done to successfully combat the problem. If women are still petrified in their own homes and communities, it shows clearly that there is something wrong with our society. Every day there are reports of women being raped, assaulted and murdered and in most cases the perpetrator is someone the victims knows. What is more saddening is to see a culprit walking free due to lack of evidence. We are calling upon the hand of justice to be punitive to those found guilty of these inhumane acts. Also the quietness of the department of women adds more sadness to the pain. The department is not paying more attention on matters affecting women and only interested in marking these days as governmental events. We find ourselves asking what the department for women really championing if it is failing on its mandate. Violent acts against women and children take place throughout the year hence the call by the UDEMWO for 365 days of activism. We would also like to encourage more men to take part in campaigns that are to protect women and fight against violence towards them. End
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23 Nov, 2016
President Zuma is considering a judicial inquiry into South African major banks in favour of the Gupta Family
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) is appalled to learn that President Zuma is considering establishing a judicial inquiry into the closure of the bank accounts of the Guptas’ Oakbay Investments. The President confirmed this after being asked the following straight-forward question during the oral question session in Parliament on 23 November 2016: “Mr. President, on the 2nd September 2016, you told the nation that the statement made by Minister Zwane was not representing presidency, cabinet or government and is unfortunate. However, five days later, on the 7 September, Minister Zwane said in this House “the inter-ministerial committee made five recommendations to cabinet. Four of the recommendations were approved … and one was referred to the president for further consideration as it was not within the purview of cabinet to take a decision on the matter”, now my question is, what is the status of this recommendation as it cannot be left hanging forever?” To my astonishment, the President replied that… “the recommendation in being considered”. This is answer by the President is disturbing because: Firstly, this consideration is confirmed on the eve of the arrival of the rating agencies on out doorstep and at a time when our economy is struggling to breathe. Secondly, this is a direct departure of not contradicting his statement of the 2 September. The President further said, that the “the unfortunate contents of the statement and the inconvenience and confusion caused by the issuing thereof, are deeply regretted”. Thirdly, and notwithstanding the serious allegations filed in court by the Minister of Finance, the President deems it necessary to continue considering a judicial inquiry. Amongst these, is an allegation that the Minister is doing favours for the Gupta family, and that his department has withheld information related to its approval of a transfer of R1.5 billion from a trust account held with Standard Bank to the Bank of Baroda in India. We would have thought that the President would be consistent with his 2 September statement to dismiss the recommendation and allow the private relationship that exists between banks and their clients. This is so because any bank customer, who has a complaint about his or her bank, may approach the Ombudsman for Banking Service (OBS). This action by the President makes him an ombudsman of the Gupta family.
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11 Nov, 2016
UDM on resignation of Eskom CEO, Brian Molefe
Statement by President Bantu Holomisa, MP The United Democratic Movement, noted the reported resignation of Mr. Brian Molefe, the Chief Executive Officer of Eskom. The damning revelations in the report of the Public Protector on the State of Capture and the subsequent remedial actions therein, are unbearable. Whilst, his office has informed the nation, that his resignation is not an admission of wrong doing; the UDM is of the firm view that Eskom in general and Mr. Molefe in particular featured extensively in the report of the State of Capture. We hope that many others, like him, who are implicated by the report will do the right thing, and go home. Mr. Zuma must lead by example in this regard, and resign. However, resignation should not exonerate anyone from accounting and taking full responsibility for their actions during their time in office. Whilst we welcome his departure, we strongly believe that his institutional knowledge and memory, will assist the judicial inquiry into the State of Capture. Accordingly, we hope that he will fully cooperate with the Independent Judicial Commission to be instituted by the President as determined by the Public Protector. End
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10 Nov, 2016
Motion of no confidence in the President in terms of section 102 (2) of the Constitution of South Africa
Address by Bantu Holomisa, MP Madam Speaker, Deputy President and hon members Two weeks ago, the president misled the nation, during the NCOP question session when he claimed that he was never given an opportunity to present his side of the story to the Public Protector. We now know with evidence in our hands that this is contrary to the facts as they are also confirmed by the audio version of the report. In normal democracies, this is an act of perjury and punishable through impeachment. Many South Africans have long lost confidence in the leadership of this monumentally flawed president. We also heard, from amongst others, the mouth of the ANC Chief Whip, that many branches of his party have also lost confidence in his leadership and are calling for his removal. President Zuma, the ANC and the world over, must know that South Africans reject to be led by an irreparably damaged leader. However, the ruling clique on this side of the house, is behaving like wolves, screaming in unison, to defend one of theirs at the expense of the country. They are showing South Africans a middle finger. Another confusion is being made by the party Secretary General, who on the one hand calls for his leader to follow his conscience yet his party members in this house are blocked from thinking. It begs a question, how many and to what extent are the apex leaders of the ANC are contaminated by the actions of their flawed leader. This crisis is only equal to the collective conscience of all the citizens. In this regard, UDM calls on all citizens, irrespective of their political persuasions, not to abdicate their historic and fundamental civic responsibilities. We must find a common point of convergence to defend our hard won democracy. The remaining months to 2019 must be about re-claiming our collective freedoms, and I dare say, there is a lot to be done. We support the motion. I thank you
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02 Nov, 2016
Address by Bantu Holomisa at the March Against State Capture
Fellow South Africans We are here today to talk about the challenges we face as a Nation and we wish to send a strong message to Government. Our Nation finds itself on the slippery slope of corruption, lawlessness, anarchy and dissatisfaction. We must capture the lost ground of the past 22 years. We are frustrated. We are tired. We are hungry. We don’t have houses. We don’t have jobs. Election promises that were made, such as free education, have not realised. Our resources are syphoned out of the Country at the expense of our people. The agencies, that are there to protect the interest of the public, are being openly abused and/or undermined. We want things to be better. We want our people to be happy and to be proud South Africans. The big question is: can we trust the current establishment to lead the nation out of this quagmire? For instance, instead of delegating representatives of Government to talk to dissatisfied citizens, they dispatch the police. The Marikana example, and other related incidents, remain the tragic products of this style of leadership. Must this country wait for the ruling party’s congress next year for them to elect new leadership whilst the country is burning in the meantime. Even if they choose new leadership, there is no guarantee that those new leaders will be able to address the current challenges. If not for the work of the opposition parties in Parliament, the situation would have been worse; but it can no longer be the opposition parties alone, being tasked to find solutions. Don’t you think it is each of our responsibility, as citizens of the country, to work together in finding solutions? All sectors of civil society should participate in a dialogue. During the negotiations, after the Municipal Elections of 2016, the African Christian Democratic Party, the Congress of the People, the Democratic Alliance, the Economic Freedom Fighters, the Freedom Front Plus, the Inkatha Freedom Party, the United Democratic Movement and the United Front, agreed in principle that it is necessary for the Nation to meet. In this regard, we proposed that a National Convention should be held as a platform to discuss the problems facing South Africa today. Some of the issues we need to talk about date back to the Codesa era. We can no longer afford a situation where discussions around South Africa’s problems devolve into a talk-shop or yet another useless bosberaad. Should there be an emerging consensus at the proposed National Convention that there is a need to change legislation, it should go straight to Parliament for ratification. We must not lose momentum. We must harness the energy we’ve generated thus far, and use it to find solutions to the current challenges. For anyone who is interested in reading more about the concept of the National Convention, the proposal that the UDM sent to other political leaders yesterday, is available on https://udm.org.za/road-map-towards-south-african-national-convention-udm-perspective/. Thank you Delivered at St Alban’s Cathedral, Pretoria
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01 Nov, 2016
Road map: towards the South African National Convention: A UDM perspective
This document is a suggestion of the United Democratic Movement (UDM) to find a way towards the hosting of a National Convention, as agreed upon in the Co-governance Agreement for Local Government between the several political partners. INTRODUCTION The participating political parties have agreed on four main challenges confronting South Africa i.e. poverty, unemployment, inequality and corruption, which requires that the nation unites around a strategic and fundamental interventionist programme of action. Our constitutional democracy is unitary in nature with elements of federalism. Government, the organs of state, legislation, the role of Chapter Nine Institutions and the national fiscus, fall within the national sphere. Accordingly, and if any strategic intervention is to be made, to aggressively address the four challenges, such intervention must be done at a national level – both in terms of form and content. After our meeting on 7 August 2016, of the Congress of the People, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the United Front (UF), as well as the UDM, we developed a framework to form the basis of any discussions about co-operation and/or coalition. The aim of this proposal was to guide these parties in case they were approached by either the African National Congress (ANC) and/or the Democratic Alliance (DA) about the possibility of forming part of governments in certain municipalities. Our goal was to obtain a commitment to finding answers to the various challenges facing South African on the short, medium and long term. There is no denial that some national issues impact daily on how local government operates, e.g. water, land, electricity, environment, etc. During that period of negotiation, other parties joined this initiative, such as the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). Our discussions culminated in an agreement that was signed with the DA. The ANC was however not interested in engaging with us about our wish-list. The EFF, in the end, did not form part of any coalitions, but they indicated that they would support other parties in countering the ANC in municipal councils. The coalition partners agreed that after municipal governments were put in place, we would meet again to map the way forward in implementing the goals we articulated in our agreement. Some of the key issues, that were identified during out talks, were however not within the ambit of local government, but could only be addressed at a national level. As was articulated in our co-governance agreement: “These challenges include, but are not confined to, land reform, electoral reform, education and how it is financed, the independence of Chapter 9 Institutions, and the professionalization of the civil service.” One of the stated goals was to hold a National Convention to address these and other issues of national importance. There is no doubt that the agreements that culminated in the new dispensation were not cast in stone, they served a certain purpose at that point in the time. There are however still challenges that impact today and we need to review those decisions. An evaluation of the past 22 years, and identifying inherent deficiencies in the management of government, is a complex exercise that needs to have stakeholders give input so that we arrive at a holistic solution to South Africa’s problems. Some of the frustrations are people express with civil disobedience and the general anarchy are attributed to the agreements that were made at Codesa. The complaints about the lack of economic emancipation, struggles to get access funding, as well as land and property issues are well documented. We hear calls such as that the ANC sold out the people and that some of the concessions made, were not in the interest of the disenfranchised masses. THE PURPOSE OF THE NATIONAL CONVENTION A National Convention will provide a platform for stakeholders from all sectors of society, and South Africans in general, to find each other and map a way towards: • Economic emancipation of all South Africans; • Eliminating corruption • Land reform and property ownership; • Bolstering Chapter Nine Institutions; • Basic and Higher Education • Health and social welfare • Professionalization of the civil service; • Electoral reform; • Legislation governing the funding of political parties; and • Any other matters of national interest. We cannot deny that many policies have been developed and then chopped-and-changed. As an example, let us look at the Reconstruction and Development (RDP) programme right through to the latest National Development Plan (NDP). But this constant shifting of the goal-posts and the tensions between government, labour and business, scuppers implementation time and again. PARTICIPANTS AT THE NATIONAL CONVENTION To achieve the objective of maximum participation in the proposed National Convention and to ensure buy-in, the participation of the following participants is envisaged (but are not limited to): • Government departments (at all three tiers); • Parliament and provincial legislatures; • The National Planning Commission; • All Parastatals; • Chapter Nine Institutions; • Financial institutions like the Reserve Bank; • National Development Council; • Professional Associations and Governing Bodies; • The Judiciary; • Business; • Religious communities; • The media • Traditional institutions and bodies; • Labour and unions; • Civil Society and Non-Governmental Organisations; • Institutions of higher learning (Intellectual community) and student bodies; • Special interest groups and issue based organisations; • Women and youth based organisations; • Political parties; and • The South African citizenry. Certainly, to resolve the chronic challenges confronting our nation, we need to tap into our collective wisdom. Codesa delivered political freedom, but more still has be done with regards to economic emancipation and our economic policies in general. For instance, the divergent opinions of business, labour and government creates a situation where there is no consensus on what kind of macro-economic policy South Africa should have. The intention must be to ensure that all South Africans can participate fully in determining their future. In this regard, the National Convention will be a tool to ensure maximum and meaningful participation of all stakeholders. COORDINATION OF THE NATIONAL CONVENTION: NOT ANOTHER TALK-SHOP For a proper and a productive dialogue at a forum of this magnitude, the following important points must be considered: • As the initiators of project, the participating political parties, should have a meeting with Leader of Government Business in Parliament, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, as soon as possible to unpack the idea of a National Convention and garner government support. • A National Convention Planning Committee (NCPC) should be appointed and convened to develop a framework to guide all participants at the proposed National Convention and plan what form it should take. • The NCPC should meet and discuss the appointment of an independent person with a certain gravitas as its chairperson. For instance, a person such as retired Chief Justice Ngcobo could be considered as a person who would ensure impartiality and who has the necessary knowledge and wisdom to make sure that participants, with divergent and/or conflicting ideas, can engage constructively and reach consensus. • This is a long-overdue exercise where we can make introspection as a nation. Government must fund the proposed National Convention, because a sponsorship model will not work. A scenario where a company could sponsor the event, but would also wish to be a participant, might be accused of “buying” influence to ensure a certain outcome. • It would be realistic to have the proposed National Convention somewhere in 2017/18. • The proposed National Convention cannot be just another talk-shop or a useless bosberaad. Should consensus emerge on the issues discussed, immediate action (with attending time-frames) should be taken to ensure that that the National Convention’s resolutions are implemented. For instance, if there is legislation that needs to be changed, Government must set the ball rolling as soon as possible. Such resolutions should not be subjected to more ideological debates in Parliament and changes to existing legislation should be ratified without delay. • The National Convention will also have to mandate the NCPC to manage and monitor the implementation of its resolutions. • The NCPC must always accountable to the National Convention, in other words, the people of South Africa. CONCLUSION We need to capture the lost ground. South Africa has been on the slippery slope with scandal after scandal, even at the highest office, and we need to reignite South Africans’ pride in their Country and confidence in government. We need to convince the world that South Africa is a well-run state and a worthwhile investment destination and not a junk status nation. The National Convention must emerge with a comprehensive blue print for a flourishing South Africa. We must remain committed to the Country and its citizenry and always put South Africa first. Thank you Prepared by Mr Bantu Holomisa, MP – UDM President
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