UDM at 28: honouring the past, acting today, shaping tomorrow
Statement by Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, MP, UDM Deputy President and Leader in Parliament
As the UDM marks another year in its journey, we pause to reflect, not with pride alone but with renewed purpose. From its birth in on 27 September 1997, this Movement has never sought glory. It has always sought impact, to stand between power and the people, to guard against complacency, and to speak truth to authority.
Our record tells its own story. We have defended the rights of South Africans against loadshedding, where the courts ruled in favour of our challenge, compelling government to shield schools, hospitals, and police stations from blackouts. We have championed accountability in Parliament and beyond, from helping abolish the immoral floor-crossing legislation to exposing corruption at the Public Investment Corporation, IEC, NSFAS, and within Cabinet itself. We have protected democracy and transparency through our fight for fair party funding, electoral reform, and clean governance, work that has shaped laws and strengthened institutions. And we have stood with the vulnerable and voiceless, whether by rallying behind rural sub-headmen, advocating for SATBVC pensioners, or demanding the eradication of pit latrines in our schools.
In the 2024 elections, the UDM demonstrated measurable growth and renewed public trust. Nationally, we expanded our parliamentary representation to four Members of Parliament, and in the Eastern Cape Legislature we secured three seats. These gains are a clear sign that our message of integrity, service, and accountability resonates with the people of South Africa.
Since joining the Government of National Unity in 2024, the UDM has assumed a special responsibility. Not merely to govern but to scrutinise, to hold every decision, every policy, and every expenditure to the light. That has always been our defining role: not power for its own sake but oversight in the public interest.
As Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans within that framework, UDM President Bantu Holomisa’s tireless diligence has revealed systemic challenges such as legacy lapses, budget distortions, and capacity gaps. His work has compelled deeper accountability in areas where many had ceased to ask hard questions. Through this role he has ensured that even those serving in government would not escape public scrutiny.
Looking ahead to the Local Government Elections of 2026, the UDM is actively preparing to build on its track record of principled leadership. We are strengthening our structures on the ground, growing our membership base, and empowering the next generation through the UDM Youth Vanguard and United Democratic Students’ Movement. Far from resting on the shoulders of one leader, the UDM is building collective leadership and preparing its public representatives to serve with accountability and integrity. Our focus is on issues that matter most to the people, including reliable access to water, proper housing, safe schools, dignified healthcare, and responsive municipalities. These priorities will shape our manifesto and guide our contribution to local government renewal.
As we celebrate, we recommit ourselves to the children still forced to learn in unsafe schools, to the pensioners whose years of service were forgotten, and to the communities left without reliable access to water, dignified housing, proper sanitation, or dependable electricity. We recommit to exposing corruption, resisting abuse, demanding consequences, and never allowing power to rest while service delivery continues to fail our people. We stand with the vulnerable and voiceless, confronting gender-based violence, rural neglect, and the scourge of maladministration that robs our nation of dignity.
Happy Birthday, UDM. Twenty-eight years later, our purpose is unchanged. We guard, we challenge, we serve. The road ahead is long, but our resolve remains rock steady.
