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21 Mar, 2014
UDM Contribution at Human Rights Day Celebration at Sharpeville
Speech from Mrs Thandi Nontenja (UDM National Treasurer) to be delivered at the Department of Arts and Culture Human Rights Day Programme Director The Minister of the Department of Arts and Culture, Premier of Gauteng – Nomvula Mokonyane Leaders of other Political Parties Fellow South Africans: It is an honour and a privilege to be part of the commemoration of what we used to call Sharpeville Day back then. It is befitting for this day to be called Human Rights Day as the rights of those who were marching on that day were violated by the police under the apartheid regime. Today I want to discuss issues that relate to the challenges we faced as a nation. These challenges form the basis of our common humanity. What happened on that day? More than 50 years ago when the police in Sharpeville saw the masses marching towards them they opened fire, killing approximately 69 individuals and injuring hundreds. The scars are deeply embedded. On a daily basis we remember where we have been as a nation and where we want to be. We want to ensure that human dignity, equality and freedom are always entrenched in the lives of our people. Presently, there are so many questions posed about police brutality in South Africa. Police management is a major problem, this includes; poor training, disrespect for law, lack of accountability, criminals within police ranks and so on. You will recall that the South African Human Rights Commission has also expressed its concerns about policing. The United Democratic Movement (UDM) believes that Human Rights Day should be celebrated in the spirit of pride and joy of our human rights as described in our constitution. The terrible irony is that there have been so many human rights abuses in the past few years like Andries Tatane killing, the Marikana massacre, Madibeng killings, Bekkersdal, the list is endless. This is even more disturbing, when one considers that the government, which should be the custodian of this beautiful piece of legislation, has become a culprit in the abuse of human rights as evidenced by our police’s “shoot first, ask later” doctrine. Government has an undisputable responsibility to take action to end violence and not perpetrate it. Respect for human dignity is a value which should be cherished. People cannot be tortured or be treated in a cruel, inhumane or degrading way. As leaders, let us send a positive message to South Africans at large. Let us remind them about their Human Rights but emphasise the fact that with rights comes responsibility. The UDM believes that whoever violates someone else’s rights forfeits his or her own rights. We cannot have a situation where criminals have more rights than law abiding citizens. The state has a major role to play. The government has to create rules and laws that would guide the behaviour of individuals in the society. Institutions such as the Human Rights Commission must play an active role in the promotion and protection of human rights. We also need a strong national program on human rights education. When people look at their past they have to see a difference in their future. We need to be the authors of a new book where we can tell a new story. A story of a perfect nation that respects the rights of every South African. I thank you.
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11 Mar, 2014
Farewell and tribute to Mr Trevor Manuel by Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, MP
Mister Speaker, Mister Deputy President and Honourable Members, I am greatly honoured by the privilege to, on behalf of the United Democratic Movement (UDM), deliver a farewell speech to Minister Trevor Manuel. Minister Manuel has been an outstanding servant of the people and as a result, it is impossible for anyone to claim not to know him given the number of lives he has touched during his terms in Office. Mister Minister, When you moved from Trade and Industry to Finance on 4 April 1996, you took charge of the finances of a South Africa that faced a compendium complex of challenges. First, you had to help the Nation to reconcile the conflicting fundamental values between democracy and capitalism in a country, where many people did not believe that the two could coexist harmoniously. Democracy, as you know, puts emphasis on producing political accountability and on joint interests and equality, while capitalism entails the seeking of one’s own self interests. Through your outstanding leadership Sir, you proved that the two could exist side-by-side when capitalism was given a more humane face. Second, you took charge of the Finance Portfolio of a country that had limited resources and whose people were still deeply polarised along racial lines and whose socio- economic inequality levels were high due to the misguided policies of the past. Working under the ruling party Government, you adopted income redistribution policies which sought to achieve political and social stability in order to provide a secure context for economic growth. Though the needs and demands of the country were numerous, your idealistic approach to meeting our challenges was invariably imbued with a deep sense of pragmatism. You always ensured that in modernising our economy the policy choices and responses Government made were proportionate to circumstance and were sustainable. Nowhere is this more succinctly captured than in the legacy of fiscal prudence you left the Finance Portfolio. Mister Speaker, When I met Minister Manuel at the Union Buildings more than a year ago during public consultations on the National Development Plan (NDP), he came across as a leader who was willing to sublimate his individual interests to those of the collective. I was truly inspired by the humility and the outstanding leadership qualities of this intellectual giant. It is therefore not surprising that he leaves behind the National Development Plan (NDP) as one of his shining legacies. Fellow South Africans, As young people, the best farewell we can give to Minister Manuel is peace of mind that we too will leave South Africa in an even better condition for both current and future generations. Farewell son of the soil. South Africans of all races are going to miss your outstanding leadership qualities in the public sector and your sheer dedication to your job. You have served our Nation with distinction! However, given your skills, knowledge, expertise, the love and respect the people have for you as well as how much they still desire your services – as Abe Lemons once put it: “The trouble with your retirement is that you will never get a day off.” Thank you.
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11 Mar, 2014
Speech: Consideration of fiscal framework and revenue proposals (Mr N Kwankwa, MP)
Address by Mr Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, MP in the National Assembly Debate: Consideration of Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals Mister Speaker, Deputy President and Honourable Members, Economies around the world, including ours, have since the financial crisis in 2008 struggled to return back to pre-subprime crisis economic performance levels. This decline in business activity has resulted in massive job losses, business closures and in many families finding it difficult to make ends meet. Despite these challenges, good strides in economic and social development have been made to boost the economy, create jobs and reduce poverty. Mister Speaker, One of the good things the Minister and the Department have done well over the past few months is that they have heeded the call to reduce costs by keeping an eye on and actively seeking ways to moderate the public sector wage bill. It has also introduced a wide range of cost cutting measures. We also commend Government for ensuring that the consolidated budget deficit came down from the 4.2 per cent forecast in October last year to 4 per cent. However, while it makes sense to, in light of the current general economic decline, run a budget deficit of 4 per cent in the medium-term to support our developmental objectives, the budget deficit viewed together with the rising public debt, which stands at just over 40 per cent of GDP, gives an impression that Government is struggling to embark on a fiscal consolidation programme. Yes, we are aware that rising global interest rates have been a major contributor to the rise in debt service costs for Government. We are also cognisant of the fact that significant steps have been taken to improve the management of public debt and that currently only about 10 per cent of public debt is in foreign currency. However, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) believes that more needs to done to improve efficiency in Government. This is essential in reducing and bringing South Africa’s debt to sustainable levels. Mr Speaker, Labour unrest is hurting the South African economy and results in the loss of our country’s competitiveness. Nowhere is this loss of competitiveness more evident than in the current account deficit of approximately 6 per cent and the fact South Africa’s net portfolio investments declined to R24.3 billion in 2013 from R88.8 billion in 2012. Mister Minister, it concerns us that South Africa’s large current-account and budget deficits are beginning to attract the attention of rating Agencies, which already have a negative outlook on South Africa. The UDM calls on Government to take steps to improve the depressing investment climate in South Africa in order to ensure private investment – both portfolio and in particular foreign direct investment – is rekindled. This is one of the most essential ways to achieve economic growth rates that are necessary to arrest poverty. Mister Speaker, It makes us uneasy to see that Government’s debt and deficit reduction programme seems to principally depend on optimistic economic growth forecasts. Output growth in South Africa has been sluggish for quite some time and judging by Government’s failure to achieve past targets, we are not convinced that the new targets will be achieved. The UDM believes that output growth forecasts should be realistic so that we can begin the process of setting the country’s finances on a path to fiscal consolidation. The UDM supports the Consideration of Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals. I thank you.
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18 Feb, 2014
Speech: Debate on State of the Nation Address by Bantu Holomisa
Mister Speaker, Mister President, Deputy President and Honourable Members, State of the Nation Address debates give South Africans an opportunity to participate in discussions about issues that affect our country. We should therefore not underestimate the value of this important democratic practice in strengthening our democracy. Elsewhere in the world such opportunities do not exist. Mister President, allow me to apologise in advance for not being able to stay for the entire duration of this debate. I have to go to Pretoria to finalise the submission of the Defence Force Service Commission (DFSC) to the Portfolio Committee on Defence. I also need to prepare for my trip to Bloemfontein to attend the National Defence Force Day celebrations. I hope you understand Sir, because you assigned me this task. Mister Speaker, The 2014 State of the Nation Address debate takes place at a time when South Africa marks 20 years of freedom. This gives us an opportunity to reflect on the progress made and the challenges facing South Africa today. We acknowledge the good strides made since the attainment of our freedom. We also fully concur with you, Mister President, that South Africa is a better place to live in today than it was before 1994. However, contrary to popular belief, many South Africans do not have a good story to tell about our twenty years of freedom. Millions of South Africans in townships, rural and peri-urban areas still do not have access to land, houses, water and sanitation. Even in instances where services have been delivered the quality of the final product leaves much to be desired. As we speak, Government has to demolish and rebuild thousands of poorly built RDP houses around the country. There is also a general lack of maintenance of the existing infrastructure in many previously disadvantaged communities, which negatively affects the delivery of water and electricity. The real State of the Nation While the UDM acknowledges the impact of colonial and apartheid legacy on the South African economy, twenty years into our democracy there is clear evidence that poor economic policy choices, economic mismanagement and corruption have negatively affected our economy. Furthermore, over the last twenty years we have witnessed growing levels of tension and mistrust amongst the three main role players: government, labour and business. On the one hand, this mistrust has discouraged big business from investing billions of available cash in our economy. On the other hand, it has often resulted in illegal and violent strikes, which negatively affect the economy, depress the currency and investor sentiment. These strained and often volatile industrial relations have resulted in high unemployment rates. Millions of South Africans are unemployed – the majority of which are youth, while others live in abject poverty. Rising food prices and fuel costs have added to the misery by making it difficult for many South Africans to make ends meet. What adds insult to injury is that our education system fails to give our children the basic education they need to be economically active. In the meantime, levels of inequality increase at an alarming rate. The high levels of inequality are a direct result of corruption and policies that allow the rich to accumulate obscene wealth at the expense of the poor and marginalised. The most painful irony however is that of a former liberation movement that espoused egalitarian principles during the struggle years only to preside over the most grotesque and ever-worsening levels of inequality. Mister Speaker, Government has over the past 20 years taken decisions that have caused the country much embarrassment. Some of these decisions and transactions, which were laced with corruption include, but are not limited to, Sarafina II, the Arms Deal, Hitachi/Chancellor House/Eskom deal, the Dina Pule saga, the IEC and the South African Police Services’ (SAPS) lease agreement scandals, Nkandlagate scandal and so on. While talking about the Nkandlagate scandal, Mister President, we have noted your media comments over the past weekend regarding government’s spending of millions of taxpayer’s money on your private property. There is no doubt that this scandal has brought the country into disrepute. You keep telling us that you had no knowledge of these improvements, but you never tell us what steps you have taken to solve this fiasco. Mister President, had it not been for the media that exposed this scandal, there would have been no Public Works and Public Protector Investigations. We are concerned that in cases where senior ruling party leaders are caught with their hands in the cookie jar junior officials are made to take the blame. Even former President Nelson Mandela admitted to the widespread existence of corruption in the ruling party when he said in August 1998 that: “We have learnt now that even those people with whom we fought the struggle against apartheid’s corruption can themselves be corrupted.” Mister President, it seems other South Africans have a different story to tell. No one can dispute that: “Corruption destroys the gains of our freedom!” It also chases away the investors. Bearing this in mind, Government needs to take active steps to promote and entrench a culture of good governance. To root out corruption, the UDM believes that Government should introduce courts that are dedicated to handle corruption cases. Government should restore the powers of the accounting officers and ensure that there is no political interference. The role of political heads should be confined to that of oversight. The bleak picture I have sketched above about the strong prevalence of institutionalised corruption, reminds South Africans to never again put their eggs in one basket. Fellow South Africans, Over the past few years South Africa has been shaken by violent service delivery protests. People protest to register their dissatisfaction with Government’s dismal service delivery record. In most protests, lawlessness is regrettably celebrated, as both private and public properties are destroyed. What adds fuel to the fire is that the political leadership both at national and provincial levels does not make time to engage communities during protests. They instead rely on councillors and the police to extinguish the fire. We therefore join you, Mister President, in condemning the use of violence by all parties during protests. We will meet again when the new administration delivers its State of the Nation Address and its programme of action for 2014. Thank you.
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02 Feb, 2014
2014 Manifesto Launch address by Bantu Holomisa at Nasrec
The National Chairperson of the UDM, Mr Zolisa Lavisa ,• UDM Secretary General, Mr Bongani Msomi • The Members the UDM National Executive Committee Officer, • UDM PEC Members, • UDM Members of Parliament, Legislature and Councillors, • UDM REC Members, • Traditional Leaders, • Honoured Guests, • Members of the Media, • UDM Members, • Fellow South Africans: WELCOME I am pleased to welcome you to the United Democratic Movement’s (UDM) Manifesto Launch for the 2014 elections. On behalf of the UDM I thank you for taking time to share this important day with us. Before I deliver my address, I would like to request that we all stand and pay our last respects to the late UDM Deputy-President, Mr Ntopile Kganyago and our late global icon and former President, Mr Nelson Mandela. My fellow South Africans who are seated in this hall, as well as those who are watching and listening from all corners in Africa. FREEDOM AT LAST – THE RIGHT VOTE 2014 is an auspicious year when South Africa marks twenty years of freedom and democracy. We should be proud of the fact that our people have been empowered to cast their vote to choose a government of their liking. In many countries on the Continent, true democracy is a pipe dream and more often than not governments are changed at the barrel of the gun. In that regard we have made much progress after the Apartheid ended. I am sure that you, my fellow South Africans, will agree that in spite of our wonderful Constitution, and specifically the Bill of Rights, we have not yet reached the goal of transforming our Country into a Winning Nation. BRIEF STATE OF THE NATION Today, we are meeting at a time when the tensions between the police and members of the public are at an all-time high due to service delivery protests that are often characterised by anger and violence. The growing service delivery protests and labour unrests are an irrefutable indication of a growing crisis with the state relying more and more on violence and brute force as the infamous Marikana massacre and many other communities in the Northwest and Limpopo province have shown. During protests the ruling party sadly sends in the police to brutalise the public, instead of dispatching senior government officials to attend to the people’s concerns and complaints. In addition, councillors have become convenient scapegoats for the ruling party for service delivery failures. The situation is made worse by the fact that the ruling party, which is supposed to provide leadership, is imploding. This infighting has even spilled over to the local government level. Local government in South Africa is in shambles. Councillors have usurped the powers of the administrators and they often fail to distinguish between the party and the state. In many municipalities, councillors decide who should get which tenders and why and state resources are used for party political programmes. Another area of concern at local government level is that the institution of traditional leaders has been side-lined in rural development programmes. The UDM is of the view that the local government system should be overhauled as a matter of urgency. Talking of traditional leaders, the UDM believes that the institution of traditional leaders should be given the respect it deserves. The UDM commits itself to ensure that the decisions made by the traditional houses are referred the relevant bodies, such as the National Assembly and the National Council of Province for action. The UDM commits itself to capacitate traditional leaders to take a leading role in rural development and the colleges for the children of traditional leaders will be reopened. The UDM commits itself to standardise the packages of the traditional leaders of the various tribes. Travelling the lengths and breadths of our country during our party programmes revealed once more that our people are yearning for a strong political alternative. This compelled the opposition parties to engage in a series of discussions to explore possible models of cooperation. It is however important to highlight that political realignment is a process, not an event. Finding ideological and programmatic compatibility among different political parties is not an easy process. It requires proper sequencing and pacing due to the number of people and processes it involves. In 2010, the UDM National Congress gave us the mandate to actively find ways in which we can work and cooperate with sister opposition parties before and after the 2014 elections. But let me ask you a few questions… 1. Do you think that rich people are getting more and more money, and that poor just sink deeper into poverty? 1.1 Problem statement South Africa today has earned the dubious title of being one of the most unequal societies in the world. This badge of dishonour is a direct consequence of corruption and policies that allow the rich to accumulate obscene wealth in a vast ocean of poverty. This situation is made worse by the ruling party’s abuse of otherwise well-intended policies of empowerment such as BEE and state tender policies which are twisted to enrich the politically connected few. Even in the face of global and local economic and financial crises they insist on parasitic preservation of their lifestyle through taxpayers’ money. The most painful irony is that of a former liberation movement that espoused egalitarian principles during the struggle years, that presides over the most sophisticated form of institutionalised corruption, which worsens inequality. Do you agree with the UDM that: Corruption destroys the gains of our freedom? 1.2. Some of the UDM’s solutions are to: 1.2.1. root out this culture of corruption being celebrated and condoned – this can be done by applying the rule of law across the board irrespective of one’s social standing. 1.2.2. promote a culture of good governance. 1.2.3. Instil respect for the separation of powers of government, legislatures and the judiciary. 1.2.4. restore the powers of the accounting officers and ensure that there is no political interference. 1.2.5. introduce special courts dedicated to handle cases of corruption, as was done during the 2010 Soccer World Cup, to swiftly deal with cases of corruption. 1.2.6. conduct a skills audit to find out if the right people are employed in the right posts and at the right levels. Intensify training of civil servants. 1.2.7. review the current tender system that currently makes it possible for bribery and corruption to flourish. 2. Have you successfully completed your matric and/or degree, only to find that there are no job opportunities for you? 2.1 Problem statement The reality is that 7 million South Africans do not have jobs. What is however most disturbing is that 7 out of 10 young people can’t find word. What is going on here? The ruling party first tried to convince us that RDP was the answer; then GEAR and ASGISA; after that the New Growth Path. At the moment they are fighting about the whether the National Development Plan is a vision or a policy. 2.2. Some of the UDM’s solutions are to: 2.2.1. initiate job creation and opportunities for young South Africans; e.g. radically reduce the red-tape that stifles entrepreneurship, and introduce targeted incentives and support programmes for small businesses started by young people. 2.2.2. employ semi-skilled youth as “green battalions” in projects to remove alien species, combat soil erosion, afforestation and sustainable subsistence farming. 2.2.3. arrange youth mentorship and exchange programmes through bilateral agreements with other countries. 2.2.4. empower young South Africans to develop micro-businesses, where they for instance recycling and maintaining schoolyards, parks, cemeteries, sporting facilities, etc. 2.2.5. ensure participation of women in the development processes, sustained investment in human capacity through education, health and nutrition programmes. 2.2.6. eliminate all obstacles that still limit the access of women to decision-making, education, health care services and productive employment. 2.2.7. reverse the trend of shrinking numbers of South Africans in the retail sector which is gradually being taken over by foreign nationals with little, if any, assistance for South Africans to compete effectively in this sector. It is a hard fact that jobs are shed, because of this practise when South African workers are replace with family members of foreign business owner. 2.3. Whilst on the subject of job creation, let’s talk about South Africa’s industrial policy: In 1995, the South African government embarked on a massive trade liberalization programme that dramatically reduced trade tariffs in a wide range of labour intensive sectors, such as textile, agriculture, and mining, etc. This resulted in massive job losses because our country’s core industries and labour intensive sectors had to compete with countries whose labour intensive industries are heavily subsidised by their governments. Even worse, key strategic industries such as the steel industry (ISCOR) were unbundled and sold to the private sector which is now selling the same product for infrastructure development at very high costs. The governments of the most powerful economies in the world, such as the United States of America, China and India as well as various countries in Europe recognise the responsibility they have towards their citizens. These governments do not hesitate to intervene in their economies by protecting local jobs and businesses. A government that proposes anything less does not care, and is not willing to accept responsibility for the welfare and prosperity of their people. If you drive around Ekurhuleni, which used to be a hub of the steel industry, it now bears the scars of neglect and disuse, because it could not compete with subsidised industries in other parts of the world. 2.4. Some of the UDM’s solutions are to: 2.4.1. create an environment that is conducive for the manufacturing sector and industry to flourish. 2.4.2. reduce the red tape that stifles the ability of domestic companies to export their products to the rest of the world. 2.4.3. develop support programmes for the labour intensive sectors and give special attention to those that create job opportunities for all South Africans. 3. Now, let’s talk about infrastructure development: 3.1. Problem Statement Well-targeted and strategic infrastructure development is critical for the proper functioning of the economy. It is the cornerstone of sustainable social and economic development. The ruling party’s infrastructure development programme is not planned properly and fails to address past imbalances and backlogs. For instance, while government has budgeted and approved more than R800 billion over the next few years for infrastructure development, very little of this goes to rural areas and other previously disadvantaged communities in the townships, informal settlements and peri-urban areas. As a result, the infrastructure in these areas is in a state of disrepair. Even as new infrastructure is being put in place there is a decay of the old infrastructure due to the lack of maintenance plans. 3.2. A UDM Government commits itself to: 3.2.1. Produce a “map of infrastructure development”, with emphasis on transparency and closer cooperation between government, state-cooperation and the people. 3.2.2. invest in the economy through a properly planned infrastructure development programme and other large scale, government funded programmes that are community-driven and applies good environmental practices. 3.2.3. ensure that South Africans have access to passable roads, electricity, water irrigation and reticulation and an efficient rail network. 4. Creating consensus with hosting Economic Indaba 4.1. Problem Statement As I conclude my discussion on the South African economy, it is clear that we cannot longer allow a few powerful individuals to unilaterally decide what our economic policies should be. We have seen the negative effects of this model of policy formulation. Over the last twenty years we have witnessed growing levels of tension and mistrust amongst the three main role players: government, labour and business. On the one hand, this mistrust has discouraged big business from investing billions of available cash in our economy. On the other hand, it has often resulted in illegal and violent strikes, which negatively affect the economy, depress the currency and investor sentiment. It is clear that after nearly twenty years of economic experimentation that the ruling party has run out of ideas. It is merely tinkering with policy in the blind hope that it will somehow stumble upon a solution. 4.2. A UDM Government commit itself to: 4.2.1. Call a National Economic Indaba along the lines of the CODESA negotiations to discuss an economic policy that will help to eradicate poverty, reduce unemployment and lessen inequality in South Africa. 4.2.2. Use the Indaba to propose the development of a social pact between business and labour in order to improve industrial relations. 4.2.3. Propose that challenges pertaining to land and property ownership be high on the agenda as some are the direct result of the current sunset clauses. 4.2.4. Recommend a discussion topic on mining in South Africa – some of the matters to be discussed are: o Land and mine ownership, o The allocation of mining rights to the ruling elite and its implications o Socio-economic conditions of the workers and the communities. o The controversial issue mineworkers’ access, or lack thereof, to a provident fund worth billions. o The unions’ investment arms and dividend pay-outs to those workers who have contributed to the fund. o Appointment of an independent commission inquiry to investigate how these workers’ monies were invested, especially in cases where the workers were retrenched or had retired or passed away. 5. The future of our children the quality of education they receive. 5.1. Problem Statement 5.1.1. Although South Africa invests a significant amount of resources into our education system, the quality of the education our children receive leaves much to be desired. Learners leave the school system ill-equipped to find employment. 5.1.2. Another factor that puts our learners and teachers at a disadvantage is the chopping and changing of education policy with the appointment of each new minister. Just when the teachers master a new curriculum, they have to start from scratch and in turn the learners suffer. 5.2 A UDM Government commits itself to: 5.2.1. translate the large education budget into quality education by developing and maintaining an education system that produces school-leavers and graduates that are equipped with job-related and life-skills. 5.2.2. Career-orientated advice and education will be enhanced to ensure that children can determine their future careers timeously and can attain the various goals on the way towards their employment. 5.2.3. Curriculum development will also be an inclusive process involving all the relevant stakeholders. It will be designed in such a way that it adapts to changing needs of society. It is important that the vital pillars of our education policy do not depend on the whims of one party Minister, but are agreed to by all. 5.3.4. improve the quality of the educational infrastructure, such as the physical infrastructure, teaching material and human resources. The will increase spending on the development, maintenance and provision of school buildings, water, sanitation and electricity. Thank you
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26 Jan, 2014
West Rand Region Rally at Wedela Stadium in Carletonville
Speech by Bantu Holomisa, UDM President Programme Director, UDM NEC Members, UDM Gauteng PEC Members, UDM West Rand Regional Leadership, UDM Members, Fellow South Africans: Thank you to you all for making this rally a success. Words fail me to express how grateful we are for your hard work and contribution. Many of you come from and work in the surrounding mines. This places the assessment of the impact of economic conditions in this area at the centre of my speech today. This year South Africa celebrates twenty of democracy. This provides an opportunity to reflect on the progress made and the distance covered. As people who are responsible for mining the mineral wealth of this country, questions should be asked whether the ruling party has done enough to empower you both economically and otherwise. The answer to this question is regrettably an emphatic no! Since 1994, the ruling party has adopted policies that go against the spirit of the Freedom Charter, which says that the mineral wealth of the nation should be shared by all. The ruling party has instead develop policies, such as the Black Economic Empowerment, which enrich select few politically connected individuals. Such policies have left the poor, the marginalised and you the working class without economic freedom. While this occurs, some of the architects of the Constitution and our political liberty live in extraordinary opulence. These people are now the new lot of billionaires that continue to protect the interests of monopoly capital at your expense. As workers, you had high hopes that our political freedom would translate into job opportunities and meaningful economic freedom. This has not happened. Instead your former comrades and friends have turned against. They work with the capitalists to mechanise operations here, so as to increase profits. This results in many of you being retrenched every now and again. These predators are now obsessed with building railway lines to transport raw materials to countries like China for further processing because their primary focus is profit maximisation. Their modus operandi now affects all industries, including steel. Are these not the same people who always promise to beneficiate our natural recourses as a way to create jobs? One of the things that embarrass us as a nation is the level and the extent of corruption in the public sector. You heard that recently an amount of R6 million was set aside by the Eastern Cape government for the memorial service of the late former President Nelson Mandela. However, according to media reports it now turns out that the money was used to print ANC t-shirts for the 2014 elections and that these hyenas used some of it to spoil their girlfriends. How can such people claim to be serious about fighting corruption if the culprits walk scot free scandal after scandal? On Sunday the 02 of February 2013 in Nasrec, the UDM will be launching its manifesto where it will explain to you the slippery slope in which South Africa finds itself in under the ruling party. I thank you.
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31 Dec, 2013
Tribute to the late Lieutenant General (Ret) Lambert Moloi
Tribute to the late Lieutenant General (Ret) Lambert Moloi by Major General (Ret) Bantu Holomisa, MP, Deputy Chairperson National Defence Force Service Commission We mourn the loss of the late Lieutenant General (Ret) Lambert Moloi; a former commander of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) – an outstanding man and a disciplined soldier. As an MK Commander, General Moloi worked closely with then Transkei Defence Force (TDF) officers and as a result he was assigned “Comrade A” as his code and nickname. We worked with General Moloi for many years; first when he was an MK Commander during the struggle. He and I again crossed paths in September 2009 when the South African Ministry of Defence established the interim National Defence Force Service Commission (NDFSC). Our work in the interim NDFSC was to, amongst others, advise on the remuneration and service conditions of the members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). When the Commission started its work, General Moloi campaigned hard for the improvement of the conditions of service of the SANDF personnel. His military background, together with the crucial role he played in overseeing the integration of the different armed forces in 1994 enabled him to anticipate and understand the needs of the SANDF members. General Moloi’s institutional memory contributed immensely towards the realisation of the Commission’s objectives. This quality came in very handy when the Commission conducted benchmarking studies in various countries around the world. He was a man who paid attention to detail and could at times be extremely pedantic and he interrogated all the recommendations of the Commission. No tribute to General Moloi is complete without acknowledging his monumental contribution to the struggle for liberation. We successfully handled many operations with him long before former President FW de Klerk unbanned the liberation movements. Comrade A therefore was a frequent visitor to our shores and he demonstrated a great deal of humility and empathy – he would take the time to engage TDF officers about every issue under the sun. He organised and oversaw many training projects, including the training of MK cadres, by the TDF, in Transkei and Uganda with a specific focus on conventional warfare. TDF General Mandela managed this project and it was a great success. During our joint operations he proved to be a very disciplined and focused individual who prized the liberation of our people above all else. These events and programmes culminated in a strong relationship and mutual trust between the ANC, its military and the Transkei Military Government. It was against this backdrop that the Transkei Military Government embraced change long before 1994 and agreed to be integrated into the new South Africa without resistance, unlike other homelands. The other rarely mentioned benefit of this relationship was that, by the time the senior MK commanders came back from exile, Comrade A’s relationship with TDF had laid a solid foundation for the relatively smooth integration of these two armed forces into a single national defence force. I express my heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Lieutenant General (Ret) Moloi. It is never easy to get used to the passing of a loved one especially that of a person of his calibre. He will be sorely missed. May His Soul Rest in Peace.
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24 Dec, 2013
Tribute to the late former President Nelson Mandela
Tribute to the late former President Nelson Mandela delivered on behalf of the UDM in the Joint Sitting of Parliament on 9 December 2013 by Mr Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, MP Mister Speaker, Deputy President, Honourable Members, Distinguished Guests and Fellow South Africans, From the outset, let me apologise for the absence of my President, Mr Bantu Holomisa in today’s joint sitting. Mr Holomisa was unable to make it due to being busy with the funeral arrangements of our late former President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. On behalf of the United Democratic Movement (UDM), I wish to join the millions here at home and abroad in extending our heartfelt condolences to the family, the African National Congress (ANC) and friends of the late former President Mandela. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this time of grief. In fact, words seem inadequate to express how sorry we are for your loss. Fellow South Africans, We are gathered here to undertake the sad duty of bidding farewell to an outstanding leader of the 20th century, the father of our Nation, our struggle icon and the first democratically elected President of the Republic of South Africa, the late Dr Nelson Mandela. Tata Madiba – as he was affectionately known – spent 27 years in prison fighting gallantly in order to ensure that you and I can enjoy the freedom and democracy that he and his generation of heroes and heroines did not enjoy. To Tata and his generation, no price was too high for the liberation of the peoples of Africa. This turned him into a repository for all the hopes and aspirations of our people- a duty he discharged with distinction. When Tata came out of prison, he displayed an amazingly high capacity for forgiveness, which at times brought a look of complete incredulity in the faces of those who believed that we did not have it in ourselves to transcend our divisive political past. Tata was however undeterred by this. He continued to epitomise the values of non-racialism, reconciliation and service to the people. Under his sterling leadership, we demonstrated to the whole world that we too were capable of building a winning Nation, united in our diversity. In the words of former President Thabo Mbeki and I quote: “Madiba pre-eminently represented a generation of the Titans that pulled us out of the abyss and placed us on a pedestal of hope on which we continue to rest.” End quote. Mister Speaker, Madiba was a man of integrity, whose humanity and compassion inspires us greatly and will continue to inspire us, and future generations, for many years to come. John Maxwell’s apt description of integrity, in his book, The Four Pillars of Leadership, captures the essence of the values that Tata Madiba espoused during his lifetime, when he says and I quote: “Integrity commits itself to character over personal gain, to people over things, to service over power, to principle over convenience, to the long view over the immediate.” The outpouring of grief after Tata’s passing, the likes of which are rarely seen, bears testimony to this and also clearly demonstrates that he was not only thought of as just the father of our Nation, but as one of the greatest leaders and outstanding heroes of the 20th century. Honourable Members, One of Tata’s facets of leadership which also deserves mention here today was his willingness to listen and learn from people from all walks of life. Growing up in deep rural parts of the Eastern Cape during Tata term and watching him in action, I was always inspired by his ability to listen to opposing views and his courage to admit when he was wrong. We should learn these important values of tolerance and humility from Tata, as they will help us in our efforts to revive his and Bishop Tutu’s vision of building a Rainbow Nation. Fellow South Africans, The passing of Tata, sad as it is, provides us yet another opportunity to reflect on the progress made and the distance we have come. It should remind us that our hard-won liberty is built on a contrasting tale of men at their most evil and most heroic, and where like everything else in life, the good emerged victorious over the bad. This is one victory that we must never betray or squander. In this regard, the best present we can give to Tata Madiba is to preserve his legacy by espousing his values and ensuring that the torch of freedom and democracy, for which he courageously fought, continues to burn. In his eloquent words, we should ensure that: “The sun never sets on so glorious a human achievement.” Lala ngoxolo Yem-yem, Ngqolomsila, Sophitsho, Vela Bembhentsele, Madib’ iindonga. Ugqatso lwakho ulifezile. Aaah, Dalibhunga! Aaah, Dalibunga! I thank you.
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24 Oct, 2013
Speech: Annual Black Management Forum conference Debate: Can Good Governance increase trust amongst Government, Civil Society, Labour and Business?
by Mr Bantu Holomisa at Gallagher Convention Centre Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for the opportunity to interact with you today; I’m honoured to address this forum on the importance of good governance in engendering trust among the various stakeholders in society. Let me state from the outset that the answer to this question is an emphatic YES! Yesterday the Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela in this conference gave a candid and concise assessment of poor state of governance in the public sector in South Africa. She called on people to refrain from using their connections as a means to access tenders. Even though much has been said and written about corruption in South Africa and many laws have been passed to fight corruption, corruption remains a serious problem in our country. Far too often, many top government officials and politicians have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. In addition, when allegations of corruption engulf once revered institutions, such as the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and the Presidency, they weaken our ability to successfully crackdown on corruption. In the process they affect our international ratings. It would, however, be mischievous and dishonest to suggest that corruption in government only started during the Zuma regime. Many of you will recall that some of the most devastating corruption scandals go back as far as the Sarafina-2, Arms Deal, Oil Gate, Travel Gate, Chancellor House/Hitachi and Eskom Deal. The latter deal being a classical example of an institutionalised corruption. Efforts have been made to determine the possible causes of corruption in South Africa. While we admit that there are many possible causes of corruption, we believe that at the heart of the problem is the tender system. In particular, it is the usurpation of the powers of accounting officers by politicians in this system. Since the advent of democracy we have seen an increasing number of political directives given to accounting officers on how to allocate tenders and to whom. To make matters worse, in many instances tenders are awarded to incompetent people, who either do shoddy work or leave it unfinished. A case in point, not long ago former Human Settlements Minister, Tokyo Sexwale stated publicly that his Department was planning to demolish thousands of RDP houses that were not built properly and are a health hazard. The Medupi tender was awarded to the ruling party investment arm without being subjected to an open to tender system. This means that in this deal the ruling party became both player and referee. After this scandal was revealed they had the nerve to tell the public that they have a right to do this. These occur despite people being aware that they go against the principles of good governance. We need to reverse this trend, Ladies and Gentlemen. We need to restore the power to make administrative decisions back to the accounting officers, and that politicians should confine themselves to do oversight work. What is also of grave concern is that when the media and the Public Protector expose incidents of corruption, nothing serious is done about it. Instead, the culprits get rewarded with redeployments and or promotions, which firmly entrenches the culture of corruption and impunity. For examples one has to look no further than former Minister of Communications, Dina Pule and those who were found guilty in the Travel Gate scandal. This altogether necessitates a review of the programs and some of the governance systems we have been using. Put more accurately, we need to change the software. We need to move towards a mixed electoral system that draws from the strengths of both the proportional and constituency based electoral systems. In addition, our people should be allowed to directly elect their president. In addition the cabinet which has been nominated by that president should be a subject of scrutiny by the Parliament’s Ethics Committee before they are sworn in. Such a system will among other things make sure that the cabinet represents the population or at least the geographical spread of South Africa and that such individuals understand the field they are to enter. A directly elected president would have no motivation to fill the cabinet with people from his/her home province, as is currently the case. This is a recipe for prompting ethnicity and unfair distribution of resources. These steps would, among others, help improve accountability. If the civil society and the public in general is going to fold their arms while these hyenas and predators continue to loot this country’s resources with impunity, they must know that our children will inherit an empty shell in the future. I thank you.
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08 Oct, 2013
Uniting the Opposition
Address by Mr Bantu Holomisa, MP (UDM President) to Leaders of the Opposition on uniting the opposition at Mannah Lodge, Kempton Park, Gauteng Presidents and leaders of Political Parties, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen 1. INTRODUCTION We are gathered here to, amongst others, measure the progress we have made since the advent of democracy in South Africa. We need to assess whether we, as a Nation, are still on track in fulfilling the original agenda, which is to improve the lives of all South Africans. There have been some positive changes, but we are far from reaching the ideal that is described in our Constitution. We unfortunately see far too many incidents of racism, ethnic tendencies, nepotism, corruption, violence, crime, religious intolerance and the widening gap between the rich and the poor… the list goes on. 2. ASSESSING THE CURRENT POLITICAL LANDSCAPE The United Democratic Movement (UDM) believes that multi-party democracy is our only defence against one-party dominance and dictatorship – we are finely balanced between opportunity and disaster. Looking at the 2009 election results, we notice that the African National Congress (ANC) lost ground in eight out of the nine provinces. Unfortunately, most opposition parties failed to capitalise on this and the ANC managed to absorb its national setback with a very strong showing in KwaZulu-Natal. It is vital that we, as opposition parties, correctly analyse the State of the Nation and the status of the Multi-Party Forum in order to develop the best strategies for electoral victory in 2014. 3. HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES WORKING TOGETHER You will recall that we established the first version of the Multi-Party Forum in 2008. This forum included parties from both inside and outside Parliament. A number of issues were discussed and agreed upon, those are: a. Party funding; b. Electoral reform; c. The Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC’s) level of independence; d. The decision making powers of Political Liaison Committees (PLCs); e. The practical side of elections and the way in which they are run; f. The role of the media (e.g. the SABC and ICASA); g. Creating an enabling environment of participatory democracy and; h. Intra- and inter-party democracy. For more details on the aforementioned, I have brought copies of the: “Draft resolutions of the Multi-Party Forum with specified long and short-term goals as agreed upon at the meeting of the Multi-Party Forum with the Independent Electoral Commission on 7 April 2008”. Sadly most of these resolutions could not be implemented, because the ruling party and its IEC simply did not want to come to the table and talk sense. It is clear that we cannot continue to bat on this wicket; we need to take a different approach lest the outcome of this process ends in the same way. 4. LESSON LEARNT FROM 2009 ELECTION The results showed that the South African electorate wants a system where two large parties, of similar strength and size, compete for the mandate to govern. This proved to us that we should explore ways in which we could bring about such a balanced party political system. 5. WHY ARE WE HERE? The discussions we have had thus far, have led us to the point where we must now move forward and give the voters a clear picture of how we want to work together in future. We need to interrogate the various options on the table and be clear about what we want to present to the voters. Political leaders have made various statements and phrases like: “uniting the opposition”, “merging”, “cooperating”, “coalition”,“alternative”, “alliance” and “realignment” were bandied about. People have different understandings of what these concepts mean. In the meantime expectations have been raised with the South African electorate. People, who saw us working together on issues like the Information Bill, expect us to formalise our relationship. We have the challenge of finding each other, considering that we have different ideologies and philosophies. The advantage is that the precedent has been created in different places in the world where, political parties with different interests, work together without losing their identities. We have a perfect local example. Look at the ruling party, where communists, capitalists, traditionalists, liberals, unionists and even their old foe, the National Party, sit at the same table and speak with same language. We cannot deny that we have common concerns, amongst others: the economy, corruption, service delivery, unemployment, poverty, education, health, the environment and civil disobedience. I hope that we will leave this meeting today having agreed on how we will walk the road to 2014 and which route we will take. How will we “unite the opposition” and which model and vehicle will we use? What would our common language and message be? Would we be able to accommodate other stakeholders, such as civil society, labour, business, youth formations, traditional institutions, faith based organisations, special interest groups and the public at large, and how we will achieve this? 6. THE WAY FORWARD The UDM agrees that we should formalise our cooperation. We cannot afford the same mistake, where each party goes it alone (as we did in the past), because it would be a waste of valuable time and resources. We would miss an opportunity to make the paradigm shift needed to ensure that our Country and her people prosper. The UDM proposes that opposition parties contest the 2014 National and Provincial Elections under one banner, but that we retain our identities. This can be done by forming an alliance (we describe an alliance as a pact, coalition or friendship between two or more parties, made in order to advance common goals and to secure common interests). An alliance agreement, governing cooperation between the different stakeholders, should be drafted as soon as possible with a clear mission, vision and objectives and it should also define the role of each stakeholder. This would enable us to pursue a set of agreed upon goals, whilst each party retains their independence. Some of the benefits of such an alliance include, but are not limited to: a. Substantially improving competitiveness; b. Sharing competencies; and c. Bundling competencies and resources across provinces. However, the success of such an alliance depends on our ability to create a win-win outcome for all stakeholders. Formalising the current arrangement would guide our interaction with the public, because the current configuration creates confusion. Should there be consensus to form an alliance, as we proposed earlier, we should establish an umbrella body where all stakeholders contest the 2014 elections under one banner, without losing their identities. To achieve this we will have to register this umbrella body as a political party with the IEC. We must strive to be as inclusive as possible and we should champion equality and transparency: One thing is certain, if we agree on this course of action, we have an enormous task ahead of us and very little time to accomplish our goals. The responsibility of making this “project” work cannot rely on only one party. We will have to be practical and establish a Committee of Parties, that will act as a steering committee, which is mandated to among others: a) Facilitate the development of a name, logo, colours, vision, mission, core principles, etc.; b) Draft a memorandum of understanding/constitution/contract between stakeholders; c) Give a platform for stakeholders which they can use to reach consensus on issues of common interest; d) Coordinate, consult and interact with all stakeholders; e) Develop a strategy of how to approach organisations and bodies outside the sphere of politics; f) Develop mechanisms that will give structure to stakeholders’ participation in the 2014 elections, for example the compilation of candidates lists, fielding party agents, etc.; g) Develop a project plan with timeframes and deadlines; h) Develop a model for fundraising and putting the necessary checks and balances in place; i) Develop a communication and marketing strategy; j) Design an organisational structure, with subcommittees; k) Suggest a decision-making/leadership structure; l) Develop a mechanism to resolve deadlocks; m) Suggest an administrative support structure; n) Convene a plenary of stakeholders as and when necessary. 7. CONCLUSION We have heard several points of view today, and the UDM hereby tables its own. We are ready to contribute to the debate that follows. We must however remind ourselves that time is of the essence. South Africans are waiting to hear what the future holds. We must resolve on what we are going to do and we must do it soon. In the final analysis, our success depends on our ability to pursue electoral strategies that will help us develop a compelling vision for the future and revive public interest in politics. We should focus on that which unites us and not that which divides us – our common goal should be fulfilling the original agenda, which is to improve the quality life of all South Africans. Thank you.
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08 Oct, 2013
Parliamentary Debate: Budget Vote 22 – Defence
Address by Mr Bantu Holomisa, MP in the Parliamentary Debate: Budget Vote 22 – Defence (23 May 2013) Mister Speaker, honourable Ministers and Deputy Ministers and Honourable Members, The UDM supports Budget Vote 22. President Zuma’s decision to reshuffle the cabinet a few months ago slowed down the progress the Department had made since 2009. The inordinate amount of time the Department is taking to finalise the Defence Review and the appointment of permanent Defence Force Service Commissioners bears testimony to this. When questioned about this delay, the Department often tells us that the Minister is still busy familiarising herself with the Department. The question is: “How long does it take for the Honourable Minister to familiarise herself with her Department?” This House will recall that the Interim National Defence Force Service Commission tabled a report which recommended that Government reviews the 1998 Defence Review with a view to allocate adequate resources to the task of building an effective Defence Force, among others. This is particularly critical in the light of our obligations and mandate to maintain peace and stability here at home and on the Continent. Honourable Minister, The Nation is concerned about the fact that you are spending most of your time out of the country attending to some insignificant issues, rather than in the country running your Department. If the majority of your trips had any significance, the Department would have benefited from them. With regards to your overseas trips, the UDM is still considering where to direct a sensitive question about the close proximity of a UK-based company and a certain Zimbabwean citizen to your office. Your failure to prioritise the Department and its needs could be seen in the dismal manner in which you handled the Central African Republic (CAR) fiasco. Whilst you were busy gallivanting around Durban during the Brics bash, our troops were engaged in a 13 hour battle with the rebels in the CAR. You did not even deem it appropriate to leave the bash and join the SANDF Commanders in Pretoria. It took almost 48 hours to hear from you. Honourable Minister, you failed to provide leadership in the CAR fiasco in that you have thus far neither established a board of inquiry to look into the matter, nor have you briefed this House on your Department’s Operational Report on it, if there is any. Thank you.
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08 Oct, 2013
Budget Vote 33: Rural Development and Land Reform
Address by Mr Stanley Ntapane, MP in the Parliamentary Debate: Budget Vote 33: Rural Development and Land Reform (31 May 2013) Mr Speaker and honourable Members, The UDM supports Budget Vote 33. President Zuma announced in the 2013 State of the Nation Address (SONA) that government would reopen the lodgement of claims in order to accommodate those who missed the December 31, 1998 deadline and to accommodate the Koi and San people who were dispossessed of their land prior to the 1913 Land Act. We were too happy to hear this announcement from the President. And as expected, this raised our people’s expectations. However, after scrutinising Government’s track record in processing land claims, we are left wondering whether it has the capacity to deal with new land claims considering that it is still struggling to address the current backlog on outstanding land claims. The Department also has inadequate post-transfer farmer support programmes. Nowhere is this more evident than in the low number of land-reform beneficiaries who are actively farming. And in the majority of cases where there is some agricultural activity, many of the beneficiaries use only a small piece of their land. In addition, an increasing number of farms have become white elephants in the post-transfer period. One such example is a farm in KwaZulu-Natal that used to produce 4000 tons of bananas, which has now become a white elephant. Mister Speaker, We have been receiving complaints from members of the public about the land reform programme. It seems there is a growing perception out there that the majority of land reform beneficiaries are male. We call on the Department to look into this matter and ensure that its land reform programme is line with gender equity policies. We hope that once completed the research report on reopening land claims will, among others, speak directly to these problems. We wish to take this opportunity to commend the Department for all the good work it has done thus far. Thank you.
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08 Oct, 2013
Mr Bantu Holomisa on Political Realignment
Lecture by Mr Bantu Holomisa, MP (UDM President) on political realignment at the University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park Campus on Thursday, 01 August 2013 Programme Director, University Management and Academics, Young Intellectuals, Ladies and Gentlemen Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. INTRODUCTION It has been more than fifty years since freedom and democracy reached the shores of the African continent, although the time at which each country tasted political liberty varies from country to country. BACKGROUND AND EFFECTS OF ONE-PARTY DOMINANCE However, since the attainment of freedom and democracy, the common denominator in many African countries today is one-party dominance. Some examples that come to mind are: • The African National Congress (ANC), which has been in power since 1994 here in South Africa. • The Zanu-PF of Zimbabwe, that has been in power since independence in 1980 and the • The Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) that has been in power since their independence in 1960. The negative effects of one-party dominance are numerous. Chief among them, however, is the conflation of “the party” and “the state”. The Eskom/Hitachi/Chancellor House deal in which the ruling party gets a share of the spoils every time Eskom increase the price of electricity, is a case in point. This corrupt behaviour unfortunately extends to most government departments and institutions in South Africa. The ruling party’s cadre deployment policy in which loyalists are deployed to senior positions in the public sector, without regard for their competence and suitability, is another negative effect of one-party dominance. One-party dominance in South Africa has also resulted in a situation, where the ruling party does not account to the electorate regarding progress on service delivery, the failures and the challenges. As I am speaking to you, the levels of complacency and arrogance among the ruling elite have reached crisis proportions. While this occurs, opposition parties have to operate on shoestring budgets and with inadequate resources. POLITICAL REALIGNMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA It is against background that the United Democratic Movement (UDM) took a decision, as far back as 1999, to engage other political formations in discussions about the need to realign South African political landscape. We took this decision primarily because, as a party, we felt and still feel that, under the present government, the nation is not on track in fulfilling the original agenda – which is to improve the lives of all South Africans. Ladies and Gentlemen, Our version of political realignment does not refer to a ganging up of opposition parties against the ruling alliance, but rather a re-grouping of people around new concepts that were brought up in the wash of momentous political change over the years. We feel this should not be difficult to accomplish given the fact that political parties already have common concerns with regards to matters like: the current economic policies that cause unemployment and poverty; corruption; service delivery, education, health, environment and civil disobedience. Fortunately, sister opposition parties heeded our call. In 2008, the first version of the Multi-Party Forum was established. This forum included both parties both inside and outside of Parliament. Despite the many achievements of the Forum since 2008, there have been many stops and starts along the way. However, the hard work and commitment to place the country back on the path to the original agenda is what has kept us together. We have also drawn courage and lessons from the fact that a precedent has been created in different places in the world where, political parties with different interests, work together without losing their identities. In fact, we have a perfect local example. Look at the ruling party, where communists, capitalists, traditionalists, liberals, unionists and even their old foe, the National Party, sit at the same table and speak with same language. The results of the 2009 elections gave further impetus to the political realignment project. They showed that the South African electorate wants a system where two large parties, of similar strength and size, compete for the mandate to govern. The election results also show that the ANC lost ground in eight out of the nine provinces. Unfortunately, most opposition parties failed to capitalise on this. As a result, the ANC managed to absorb its national setback with a very strong showing in KwaZulu-Natal. This occurred due to our misreading of the state of the nation, where each party believed it had what it took to dislodge the ruling power from power on its own. As we speak, I have invited leaders of political parties to a meeting on the 12th of August 2013 in Cape Town to discuss a wide range of issues that would help us level the political playing field in the period before and beyond the 2014 elections. We are optimistic that these political parties will emerge out of this meeting with a strategy on how best to put an end to this one-party-dominance, which breeds corruption and arrogance of power. “What is the way forward, Mr Holomisa?” You might ask. WAY FORWARD In our presentation, at a the meeting of the leaders of political parties held inn Kempton Park on the 25th of January 2013, we warned our colleagues about the dangers of each party going it alone in the 2014 elections. This is because we believe that not only would going it alone be a missed opportunity, to increase political competition and provide South Africans with a credible alternative, it would also constitute a waste of resources and valuable time. In that meeting, we proposed that opposition parties contest the 2014 National and Provincial Elections under one banner, but that we retain our individual identities. This can be done by forming an alliance, which we describe as a pact or friendship agreement between two or more parties, made in order to advance common goals and to secure common interests). An alliance agreement, governing cooperation between the different stakeholders, would be drafted as soon as possible with a clear mission, vision and objectives and it should also define the role of each stakeholder. This would enable us to pursue a set of agreed upon goals, whilst each party retains their independence. The success of such an alliance depends on our ability to create a win-win outcome for all stakeholders. Ladies and Gentlemen, This task will be impossible to accomplish without your help. I encourage you to make your voices heard on this matter in order to ensure that we develop a political alternative that caters for all the interests and needs of the people of South Africa, both black and white. Thank you.
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07 Mar, 2013
Management and Administration Class
Contribution by Mr Bantu Holomisa, MP at a University of Cape Town State Management and Administration class Programme Director, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to take this opportunity to thank your lecturers, Ms Raenette Taljaard and Mr Jon Cayzer, for giving me the opportunity to talk with you today. It is pleasing to know that I am discussing these challenges besetting our public administration with future political leaders and public administrators. I am therefore looking forward to a stimulating discussion. My contribution today mainly draws from the experience I gained while I was working with various administrations, starting from my involvement in the former Homelands system, the Nelson Mandela administration, the Thabo Mbeki administration to the current Jacob Zuma administration. Before 1994, civil servants took their jobs as a career. Many civil servants took pride in their professions and spent their working lives in public service. Job satisfaction and employee retention in the public sector was made possible by, inter alia, the Public Service Commission’s (PSC’s) investment in employee training and development. After political freedom, the ruling party ascended to power without a coherent skills development and employee retention programme. People with years of experience in public administration were removed from positions in favour of political deployees. This led to an exodus of experienced personnel and a politicisation of the public sector. The other challenge of cadre deployment is that people were put in positions without regard for their skills and suitability for the jobs. Nowhere is this shortage of skills more evident than in the overreliance of state departments on consultants and high levels of maladministration. According to the Auditor General’s report, national government departments spent R33.5 billion on consultants between 2009 and 2011, whilst provincial departments spent another R68.5 billion. In other words, government departments spent a staggering R102 billion on consultants during that period. Of great concern, is that the plans these consultants develop, do not get implemented due to capacity constraints, while consultants continue to hover over State departments like vultures. This is a damning indictment of a modern day public administration. It is also clear that there are serious structural and organisational deficiencies in our public administration, when political heads are allowed to usurp the powers of Accounting Officers (Directors General). In South Africa, Political heads give directives to the accounting officers which often contravene certain sections of the Public Management Finance Act (PMFA). This culture permeates all the different spheres of government, including the local government level. For examples one has to look no further than the Arms Deal and the incident in which the Minister of Communications awarded a tender to her boyfriend, among others. The following are some of the areas the United Democratic Movement (UDM) believes require immediate attention: De politicisation of the public service, Strict adherence to PMFA rules, Intensification of training and development, Development of a merit-based appointment system, Development of a clear promotion and career progression policies, Improvement of employee monitoring and evaluation by the Public Service Commission. It would bode well for public administration if politicians focused on playing their oversight role, rather than interfering in operational issues. As future leaders, I urge you to take part in campaigns that militate against the prevalence of instutionalised corruption in government. We cannot afford to do nothing while the investment arms of the ruling alliance partners are first in line for government tenders. Programme Director, the audience will recall that none of these issues is new. They have been part of public discourse for many years, with South Africans from all walks of life calling on government to address them. However, government failed to heed our call to change course. Arrogance of power has caused it to trivialise our people’s legitimate concerns and grievances. This arrogance of power manifests itself in various forms. However, the most important one is the overreaction of the government during service delivery protests. It sends the police in to brutalise and suppress protests. Ministers and top government officials are only dispatched to listen to grievances after unnecessary loss of life and destruction has occurred. The Andries Tatane incident and the Marikana massacre are a sad reminder of this. In addition, some protests turn violent because of the failure of democracy at local government level. Many people accuse government of failing to consult them when making key decisions that affect them, or of refusing to take their concerns seriously. Whatever the reasons, this political instability coupled with extraordinarily high levels of corruption and maladministration by the ruling party has had a crushing effect on our economy. They reinforce negative investor sentiment about South Africa. As a consequence, investors and rating agencies are jittery about South Africa’s prospects. You will recall that in October last year, international rating agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s downgraded South Africa’s sovereign rating. They cited, as some of the reasons, a decline in the government’s institutional strength amid increased socio-economic stresses and the resulting diminished capacity to manage the growth and competitiveness risks and the challenges posed by a negative investment climate in light of infrastructure shortfalls, relatively high labour costs despite high unemployment, and increased concerns about South Africa’s future political stability. Ladies and gentlemen, you are aware that rating downgrades have huge implications for government and companies, such as Eskom and Transnet that also suffered downgrades. They increase their external borrowing costs, which are then passed on to us, the taxpayers and consumers. Amid this dispiriting situation, there is hope about the role that each one of us can play to pull the country out of this quagmire. There are a number of proposals on the table. Some believe that there is an urgent need to reform our electoral system in order to improve accountability, while others are of the opinion that Parliament has to improve its oversight role, among others. In addition to these proposals, there is a school of thought that opposition parties should join forces in an effort to build a strong and credible political alternative for South Africans. In this regard, some opposition parties are busy exploring various models and vehicles available at their disposal that they can use to formalise their working relationship for the 2014 elections and beyond. In realising this objective, we will work with all the relevant stakeholders. We therefore call on you to make use of this opportunity when it arises to advise us on the best way forward. Once more, thank very much for inviting us to come and talk with you today. I look forward to your questions and contribution. I thank you.
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08 Aug, 2001
Contribution: UN Conference on Racism – Is South Africa winning the battle?
INTRODUCTION The United Democratic Movement (UDM), while recognising the global character of racism, will nevertheless confine itself to dealing with the scourge here on the home turf. Racism still permeates the entire social fabric of South Africa. Its origins are in the nature and course of our history. The encroachment of a relatively advanced technology in the hands of racially and culturally different people on a people with an inferior technology and of a different cultural identity resulted in economic disparities along racial and cultural divisions. The colonisers subjugated the indigenous peoples who did not have the technological know-how to resist the invaders and imposed their political and economic will on them. During a period of over 350 years economic divisions crystallised and assumed a racial character. Every effort was made by successive governments to exploit the racial issue in order to create a permanent caste/ class structure that benefited the dominant White race at the expense of the indigenous Black peoples. The latter were systemically reduced to a social position of servitude and penury. MANDELA’S LEADERSHIP It took the unique leadership skills of Nelson Mandela and his colleagues to negotiate a peaceful transition from an institutionalised racist society to a democratic one based on the most enlightened constitution in the world. The wisdom, statesmanship and skill with which the transition from Apartheid to democracy was made stunned the world by creating such a miracle of peaceful change in a situation that could have been a bloody catastrophe because of the latent racial animosities inherent in our brutal and hateful past. This unique historical feat generated such euphoria in our new democracy that we have tended to take our past for granted and believed that racism would suddenly disappear at the flick of a magic wand. It would not be, ours is a deeply divided society. All the elements of our history have conspired to reinforce a wide social chasm between sections of our nation that will require the type of wisdom and skills, the temperament and accommodation that characterised our historic CODESA negotiations, in order to bridge it and enable the weavings of a coherent and harmonious society in our nation. However, our achievement was made possible by the compromises reached at CODESA, which guaranteed the integrity of existing property relations and therefore the preservation of a status-quo (at least for the present) that would leave the White minority an economically and socially dominant class. It was hoped that the new democratic order would have removed the racial barriers that prevented social and economic advancement of the disadvantaged Black majority. REVERSE RACISM The advent of democracy and the social and political opportunities created by this dispensation for blacks have ushered in a new milieu and terrain within which our racist legacy manifests itself. Policies and strategies advanced by the state for the transformation of our society, re-ordering of historical imbalances evokes protest of “reverse racism”, and discrimination against the former privileged white minorities. This section of our society still enjoys economic privileges and their loss of political power tends to crystallise white economic exclusivity which todate has incorporated a token of black elite and rented black surrogates while retaining the basic class/race structure of white economic domination over a largely impoverished and increasingly unemployable and least educated black mass who vent their frustration and disillusion at unfulfilled expectations in crime, emasculating and energy dissipating internecine conflicts. These complaints are exacerbated by the present government who practises chronism and nepotism when appointing people in various positions. At the same time, there is a tendency by the government to shun responsibility and apportion blame for failure to a historical past. There is a growing perception that the black leadership has not begun to grapple with the nation building challenges head-on. It is believed that our psyche is still trapped in the past in which we lament our historical misfortunes rather, than turn these into strength with which to conquer the future for posterity. We are therefore faced with a situation where there are subjective perceptions about race on both sides of the social divide. What we need is an objective appraisal of our society, which will place it in its historical perspective, that approach will distinguish those structural features of society which nurture racism and devise ways of removing them. It is universally agreed that race was exploited to engineer an oppressive social order which resulted in acute socio-economic disparities between black and white in South Africa. Nothing short of an economic revolution will rid us of racism. A radical economic transformation has to occur within acceptable time-frames that can avert the type of a social explosion that the CODESA negotiations succeeded in avoiding. The creation of our economic egalitarian society cannot be left to the vagaries of the market forces only that are inherent in government’s GEAR policy. Nor can we tolerate the ANC, COSATU and SACP Alliance political massage and collective posturing by them, while the country ‘s economy is sliding. NEW ECONOMIC REVOLUTION We need a creative state intervention, which recognises that artificially created impediments to social advancement of the disadvantaged majority are removed and a programme of accelerated wealth and land redistribution is implemented without delay. None of the current economic strategies of para-statal’s privatisation and selective black empowerment can achieve that objective. A transformed economic order will give impetus to other social and educational programmes that are designed to truly integrate our society and create a new democratic South African ethos. We should not forget that we emerged from a regime that was characterised by state intervention in the economy. It is not practical to make a right-about-turn and plunge into a Western-type free market economy and in the process render a whole nation unemployed. We should look at a middle course that will cautiously transform our production relations, in a manner that will incorporate a social programme that brings relief to the millions who are beginning to believe that they lived better under apartheid where the state was not shy to intervene albeit under the separate development policies. The present economic policy is incomprehensible when implemented by a Black former deliberation movement government. It is difficult to understand why a government which has been carried to power on the crest of the wave of mass support should be shy to intervene constructively in economic reconstruction on behalf of the very disadvantaged people who put them in power. In 1948 the Nationalists did it for their own people. For example, the membership of COSATU alone at that time was close to three (3) million, today it is estimated at 1,3 million (take note of the fact that we had economic sanctions during this period). If unemployment is this country’s public enemy number one (No 1), then our strategies must be geared towards elimination of unemployment and creation of sustainable quality jobs. There is also a need to balance the interest of the employed and the “majority” unemployed. Since its transition to democracy, South Africa is undergoing a path-breaking struggle to achieve structural reforms. Evidently, academic economic analysis and debate needs to move on to the development of a detailed and far-reaching policy agenda capable of tackling the inheritance of apartheid and radical enough to turn around the South African economy and society. It is not enough to draw on international evidence only without addressing the peculiarities of the South African situation. For this country, we still need a regulated, state-led growth and development strategy that offers the possibility for economic change sufficiently deep and sustainable to address the problems of poverty and inequality, and to strengthen democracy. It is too early and immoral for government to throw the fate of South Africans to the performance of the market forces without any form of government intervention. Instead, the present economic policy has opened floodgates for over R50 billion to leave the country without prospect of getting them back. Although the partnership between business, labour and government is often emphasised it is clear that there is confusion about the political basis of economic policies. Government must accept its responsibility in social and welfare spheres even in the context of economic strategies based on GEAR. Ideologically, the widespread acceptance of economic orthodoxy, from stabilisation to trade liberalisation and privatisation has been the key reason for lack of progress in the delivery of social and physical infrastructure. POLITICAL TRANSFORMATION We would like to note that there is a strong opinion that the transformation process cannot be confined to the economic sphere only and that in the political arena transformation is also needed. South Africa has a painful history in which racial divisions and social inequalities have co-incided with party political formations. The resultant antagonisms and mutual suspicions will continue to mar our society for sometime yet, because they cannot be easily wished away by the constitution that highlights the non-racialism and unity in diversity. Today, South Africans are still voting along racial lines, e.g. Blacks vote for Black political parties and Whites vote for White political parties. Proponents of this view suggest that such a transformation will culminate into the emergency of two major political parties in the centre stage of national politics in our society. Experiences in established democracies elsewhere give credence to this view. Britain, France and USA are examples that come to our mind. The economic and political stability of these countries is common knowledge. We are convinced as a party that such a process will need the support of and acceptance by the majority citizens of this country. Such support will not only give legitimacy to these developments but most importantly will prevent them from degenerating into tendencies wherein appeals to racist and narrow class interests are utilised as a vehicle for the mobilisation of followers in pursuit of short term gains. The 1994, 1999 and 2000 election campaign by some political parties is a living testimony A two party system that is anchored on a commitment to the transformation of our society provides the best prospect for democratic consolidation in South Africa. Our analysis of the changing socio-political order in South Africa indicates that there will be discernible political shifts along interest group divides distinguished by common concerns and aspirations and not along racial lines as we witness today. This process will move towards the crystallisation of two major political streams, which express the ethos of the beneficiaries of the established order, on the one hand, and the aspirations of the emerging major social groupings that are marginalized on the other hand. This will necessitate the emergence of two political formations representing these interest groups. I once said that, the tremors of social change have dislodged people, and groups from familiar traditional positions. Five years ago on one in his wildest dreams could have visualised top Afrikaner academics, businessmen, the likes of Derrick Coetzee (who murdered ANC’s Mxenge in Durban), Chris Fismer and Pik Botha campaigning for the African National Congress, their erstwhile mortal foes, urging their Afrikaner volk to take the great trek into the ANC. We encourage these trends, because they defuse racial political polarisation. NARROWING OF THE GAP After seven years of democracy the rich become richer and the poor regressed to unparalleled levels of poverty. Consequently the racial divide has been consolidated and entrenched the racial antipathies because of the suffering that has ensued. The diminishing of resources occasioned by the economic policies pursued by the government has inflamed xenophobia among South Africans who feel threatened by the flood of migrants and refugees who have swarmed our borders in search of better opportunities. The historical inequalities are exacerbated by lack of access to capital by the majority. Past apartheid policies confined 80% of the population to 13% of the land surface of South Africa. They could not acquire title deeds on that little land in which they were crowded, save a few from the homelands. As a result, seven years after Uhuru celebration of 1994, Blacks in the main do not have the collateral with which to borrow from the commercial banks. These same institutions have demonstrated a marked resistance to liberalise their lending policies in a way that can facilitate greater black economic empowerment. This situation is aggravated by the present government’s housing policy in terms of which people still do not have title deeds to the residential units being built. It is difficult even to talk of a housing policy where people are allotted poor quality rooms euphemistically described to as houses. Even, had these units been freeholds they would not qualify as security to obtain bank loans. There are growing perceptions, that the CODESA compromises can no longer be ignored or sustained as they continue to haunt us. A democratic order cannot endure on the foundations of a society with social and economic disparities. The preponderance of education, and technological skills among a privileged minority and the absence of these among a disadvantaged majority ensure the perpetuation of the racial-cultural divide and economic inequalities that have been handed down by history. The Ministry of Education is not helping the situation by closing down Black teacher training institutions and tertiary institutions while preserving the historical White institutions, which have been the bastions of White privilege and continue to treat Black students with patronage and condescension. Instead of spending scores of billions of rands on armaments during peace time, the government should be strengthening the former Black Colleges they are now closing, and building more among the disadvantaged communities. Government should be financing educational programs that will empower our Black youth with technological skills such as information technology, science and mathematics and mastery of the language of international communication. It baulks imagination, that at a time when there is so much to be done to correct these historical imbalances, we have a government which retrenches teachers and closes down black teacher training institutions and universities in a country with approximately 80% illiteracy. The UK, the founder of South Africa’s literary tradition, a first world developed country, which has long overcome illiteracy, is currently recruiting teachers and medical personnel from South Africa. The South African government on the other hand would rather import teachers and doctors from Cuba than employ its own. Government should be spending more money on job creation (infrastructural programmes), accelerating the transfer of land from the landed minority gently to the landless who have been systematically dispossessed by colonial and apartheid regimes. There need to be a commitment by South Africans who currently enjoy the monopoly of skills and wealth to be willing to take significant steps, of their own free will to reverse the situation of social and economic disequillibrium. Reconciliation is a two way reciprocal process. We must all be prepared to part with something and give to our fellow countrymen that do not have. Equally the disadvantaged must also have the responsibility and generosity of spirit to work harmoniously with their erstwhile privileged fellow countrymen to build a better society for posterity. Government has a central role to play in the transformation of our society into one in which all share its resources and work with comparable commitment to build a secure future. Our empowerment policies have been gravely flawed. Government has not restructured public enterprises in such a way that the primary beneficiaries are the poor and unemployed. Instead they have enriched offshore companies and their own party cronies and relatives. They must rearrange their order of priorities so as to place the interests of the poor and disadvantaged at the top. The reordering of priorities is reinsurance against land invasions resulting from homelessness. It will inhibit chronic industrial stoppages, rampant unemployment and retrenchments, escalating crime and xenophobia. ETHNICITY, DISCRIMINATION AND CORRUPTION Our patriotic duty requires that we spell out the truth and not delude ourselves into thinking that all is well when the contrary is the case. Ordinary South Africans are experiencing more hardships now than before. More people are walking the streets without the prospects of getting employment. Vast expenditure on overseas trips by the President, his cabinet, nine Premiers, countless MECs and their senior officials and advisors, purporting to attract foreign direct investment has not been matched by foreign investments’ inflows into the country. Economists recently expressed their concern at the lack-lustre performance of our economy as a result of decline in investor confidence and sluggish growth. The government is insensitive to workers opposition to the kind of restructuring of state enterprises that has been embarked upon, which renders tens of thousands of workers jobless. This pattern of total disregard for the interest of our people is also reflected in the developments, which followed the Defence Review of 1998. That Review’s budget was estimated at R9.7 billion and was subsequently approved by parliament up to 2005/6. The aim of the Defence Review was to reduce personnel costs through demobilisation in order to free funds for capital expenditure. The R30 billion budget, which has now escalated to R51 billion, has not been authorized by parliament. The investigating agencies will have failed in their task if they do not establish the source and reason for the departure from the original mandate. That original budget had taken into account the socio-economic demands of our society, hence the conservative figure. President Mbeki has echoed these social considerations in his discourse on the AIDS pandemic debate. How do we explain this surreptitious escalation of the arms budget to R51 billion when these socio-economic conditions have not changed? There is no sign of the promised massive employment creation, instead we read in the media how MPs, ex-minister of Defence and some military personnel in the command structure of the SANDF, being unable to account how did they end up owning mansions, flashy cars and even shares worth R40 million by an individual etc. etc. All these “sweets” being paid for by companies who won tenders in the arms deal. On the other hand, the victims of racist apartheid regime are struggling to make the ends meet. This looting spree of our resources is no different from the strategy used by our former oppressors. Even former President Mandela has publicly complained about corruption in our government today “little did I know that some of our comrades are also corrupt”. South Africa, because of its history provides a fertile environment for the proliferation of discriminatory tendencies and ethnicist perceptions. In the struggle days, martyrs who fell were never characterised as African, White, Coloured or Indian. They were freedom fighters who had paid the supreme sacrifice. Today there are perceptions of “Xhosa-Nostra”, “Indian hegemony” etc, etc in certain state departments. These are unhealthy sentiments, which have been thrown up by a less than fair culture of allocation of resources, which has tended to accentuate the latent ethnic prejudices of our past history. Deployment into lucrative positions in state enterprises and the private sector has been the exclusive preserve of the ruling party favourites. One of the mechanisms of dealing with these realities and perceptions is a robust and deployment of competent South Africans from across the political divide. Companies are reluctant to contribute donations to opposition parties out of fear of losing state tenders if such donations come to the knowledge of the ruling party. Discrimination breeds more discrimination until it becomes a vicious circle. We must all take stock of our attitudes and conduct in the public and private domain. Work-seekers who do not carry ANC membership cards have little chance of getting employment at employment bureaus. Government contracts are awarded on a preferential basis to ANC supporters e.g. subcontractors in R51 billion Arms Deal. There are numerous complaints from NGOs and old age pensioners who have been discriminated against on the basis of political affiliation or sympathies. We must not bury our heads in the sand by pretending that these inimical attitudes and behavioural patterns do not exist. Let us face them squarely and admit them where they surface in order to deal with them. On the other hand people should not shield their inadequacies behind accusations of racism and ethnicity It will be seen from the above that racism and discrimination has a material basis. People do not simply become racists because they are bad people. It has evolved from a socio-historical process that sought to structure a society that would benefit a few at the expense of many. Government, business, education and all other stakeholders must join hands to structure a social environment in which democratic values can thrive and brotherly love and mutual support flourish in order to build a greater nation for our future generations. Thank you!
Admin
22 Mar, 1999
UDM Manifesto Launch Election 1999 “The future hope for all South Africans”
Address by Mr Bantu Holomisa, MP in Johannesburg, Gauteng It is most appropriate that the release today of our manifesto coincides with the weekend of our National Youth Conference, because we are charting a future, which will be led by the youth. Our objectives therefore address the needs of the future which belongs to them. We are grateful to our youth movement for inviting us to share ideas with them and keep us relevant to their needs and aspirations. In our manifesto we address the historical imbalances which are the heritage of this century. It is up to us to ensure that we do not enter the new millennium with the baggage and legacy of conflict, corruption, greed and selfishness of the 20th century. We must begin a fresh and promising era. This is the challenge facing us all. On the 2nd of June 1999, South Africans will be voting in the last South African elections this century. These elections are of a tremendous significance to the people of South Africa who will be choosing which political party has the most relevant vision and best capacity to lead the country into the next millennium. The main challenge of this year’s election is to give hope to millions of disillusioned South Africans who have seen most of the promises made by incumbent government evaporate before their eyes. South Africans demand an apology from the ANC government for failing them. Further, the choice which will be made on 2nd June 1999 will be about building a government that is clean, accountable and who cares for the people. It will also be about a government which will make South Africa a competent nation that enjoys the support of its citizens and the respect of other nations. As UDM we must give leadership and clarity to a people whose material well-being has degenerated to unparalleled levels even under apartheid. We must restore faith in governance by reversing the process of disempowerment. Our poor working people have been systematically edged out of employment with no prospects of alternative employment for them. Millions of the unemployed, whose ranks are annually swelled by school leavers and more retrenchments, stare a bleak future in the eye. The 1994 elections in our country provided a historic framework for the transition from apartheid oppression towards an era of democracy and prosperity. The transition was conceived in various phases with each phase costing the lives of many South Africans as they, in different ways, struggled to develop a common vision and purpose in the search for a democratic society. Unfortunately, for South African people, the reality in our country indicate that the ANC-led government neither has the will nor the ability to govern. This reality is seen in the escalation of unemployment, crime, interest rates, corruption and the general state of institutional decay in all spheres of government. We in the UDM must arrest this downward spiral which is turning state departments and corporations into a playground for ANC deployed members, who line their pockets by driving other black and white South Africans into the streets in the name of down-sizing and rationalisation. The UDM will substitute a new economic philosophy for ANC’s GEAR. The ANC’s policies are impervious to the needs of the disadvantaged who are bewildered by the disregard of their needs by a government they voted into power. The poor have paid the capital price to ensure the success of a struggle they waged in the fore-front when those who now enjoy the fruits of their labour were touring the capitals of the world. Our manifesto is a statement of intent, which provides a framework for a ten-year period within which we would govern when elected to government. The manifesto seeks to address the glaring national grievances and provides alternatives and solutions in the future as the way forward. Inspired by our unifying love for our country and respect of her people for each other we will address these grievances. It is only by means of genuine co-operation and partnership that we, South Africans, will be empowered to ensure a better quality of life and individual freedom for every citizen, family and community. This will be based on good governance and civil order. One of the most serious flaws in the economic policy of the present government has been a blind leap onto a band-wagon of globalisation without taking the necessary measures to protect local emerging industries and markets which have become the dumping ground for cheap foreign goods. The demise of local industries as a result of unfair competition resulting from inferior technology of the sanctions era has resulted in massive job losses and stifling of economic growth. Our manifesto recognises that globalisation is a reality, but argues for a balanced global strategy that does not reduce South Africa into a satellite economy. An UDM government will develop an economic policy that will enable our economy to withstand the external shocks that have rocked the Asian tigers and other emerging markets. To that end the UDM has adopted a policy of enterprise development to empower South Africans to create wealth and thereby narrowing the gap between the have’s and the have-nots. However, globalisation accounts for only part of our economic woes. Lack of investor confidence has been occasioned by lawlessness and escalating crime. Rightly or wrongly there is a growing perception that the relocating and delisting of mining giants like Anglo-American is linked to the deteriorating law and order and lack of confidence in the future of South Africa. We need to arrest this process and restore confidence. In this regard, the UDM will adopt realistic and committed strategies to stop the rampant crime wave and to transform the penal code into an effective mechanism for punishing wrong doers. In line with our philosophy of an integrated approach, we propose a single Ministry of Civil Order. This Ministry of Civil Order will combine the current ministries of Justice, Safety and Security, Correctional Services, National Intelligence and Defence into one, effective mechanism to combat crime and restore civil order in South Africa. In doing so we shall instil pride and commitment in our law enforcement agencies to ensure their loyalty and dedication to their job of protecting the public and divest them of the feeling of despair and disillusionment at the hands of a government which treats them with contempt. We will give the people an opportunity to decide whether the life of a murderer is more valuable than that of its victim, by holding a referendum on the death penalty. The UDM recognises that while students in centres of learning must be given a hearing and allowed to make a meaningful contribution to the learning process, their primary responsibility to themselves and their parents who pay their fees is to restore the culture of learning. Learn in the process and equip them to salvage the disadvantaged from the throes of perpetual enslavement. The students of today and in the future must take a leadership position in society which only skills can assure. Conversely, we will not countenance lawlessness, anarchy and disrespect for authority law and order. Ladies and Gentlemen, the foreign policy of the UDM will determinedly work towards reclaiming the international opportunities squandered under most favourable circumstances. We will play a leading role internationally by assiduously co-operating with other states, the U.N., the O.A.U. and the Non-aligned Movement to protect and promote human rights and democracy on a universal basis. The UDM believe that South Africa’s role on our continent and in our region can be meaningful without being hegemonic and coercive in our approach. For that to be a reality we need a foreign policy that reflects the wishes of our people and the wisdom of our parliament so that we are not accused of following destabilisation policies of the apartheid era. Therefore in our region, the UDM government will play a significant role through co-operation and consultation in all forms of interactions including trade, investments security and other forms of partnerships in order to bring shared development and happiness to the many disadvantaged in our region and continent who have yet to realise the material benefits of political liberation. As far as the elections are concerned, we are fully prepared for a hostile winter election. The ANC, by its own admission, is mobilising its forces to stop the growth of the UDM all over South Africa. We are hardly surprised that no other party has been targeted, like ours, because scientific forecasts indicate that the UDM is the fastest growing party in South Africa. The UDM is the only party that can erode the power base of the ANC. It is up to the UDM and all its supporters that all the checks and balances as enshrined in our constitution are guaranteed. As long as South Africa is being seen by the international world as drifting towards a one-party state, investor confidence will elude us. It is for this reason that we are calling for a more objective and non-partisan election monitoring mechanisms. To this end I have recommended to the I.E.C. Commissioners to convene a summit of all the leaders of the registered political parties to clear some concerns related to the levelling of the political playing field. However, it is to the credit of our leaders at all levels that our membership growth patterns reflect that we have support in all South African communities irrespective of colour, race or class. This is testimony to our total break with the past and the acceptance of the UDM as a political home for all South Africans. The UDM has a message for all South Africans. Our lack of resources should not constrain the distribution of this manifesto. We appeal to all South Africans to make this document accessible to all voters. This will enable them to make informed decisions when they vote. We have moved from the past and converged on a common course to a shared future. Any suggestions, as have been made, that we are a marriage of convenience or a home of outcasts is devoid of truth. We have severed all links with the past. We are a party of the future. We are a party of hope. Those who think otherwise are themselves extinct dinosaurs. In summary, the UDM believes in alternative, independent and competitive politics and responsible government; UDM believes in empowering all South Africans; UDM offers hope; this is our challenge. If you want to preserve South Africa’s beautiful land and cultural diversity; If you are concerned with the ANC’s economic dependence on outside forces and jobless growth; If you are aggrieved by the escalating crime; If you are concerned by the deteriorating health and educational standards in state hospitals, clinics and schools; If you are concerned with the uncontrolled influx of illegal aliens into South Africa, who deprive South Africans of employment opportunities; If you are concerned about our neglected senior citizens and handicapped; If you are concerned with the misuse of government resources, bribery and corruption, theft and fraud in the government departments; If you are concerned with the low morale of our law enforcement agencies. THEN VOTE UDM!!!!!! Thank you
Admin
29 Sep, 1998
Speech at the First Birthday Celebration of the United Democratic Movement
At the launch of the UDM on the 27 September 1998, the leadership was mandated to set up organisational structures that would spread the political mission of our new movement. The thousands of people gathered here today, from all nine provinces of SA are a living testimony to our success in carrying out that mandate. It is humbling to know that people were not just bussed in here to make up the numbers, but rather pay for themselves and came to our celebrations in response to the mobilising and organising drive of our leadership structures at all levels of our party. We know the personal sacrifices you have made in order to attend these celebrations today. The true historical significance of your sacrifices is that you have demonstrated that despite the governments arrogant and unjust refusal to allow us our rightful election – fund share as tax payers, in our own country, we will succeed on our own meager resources in the 1999 general elections. Over the last eleven months our organising department has issued to all our provincial structures more than a 100 000 (hundred thousand) 25 membership cards. It is pleasing to note that the majority of the provinces have finished those books. You are therefore called upon to balance your books and be ready to renew the membership of our supporters. Despite the peaceful transition to democracy in South Africa through the 1994 elections which were declared free and fair at home and abroad, there are already serious economic and political problems in the country, which threaten to undermine the democratic transformation. Today we celebrate the birth of the UDM which has a vision and a mission that makes it the political home to all who live in South Africa. As we all know, at the birth of the UDM many of us were hopeless and demoralised because of the general state of poverty, crime, unemployment and corruption. A year later things are getting worse and the government departments have shown no will or know how in addressing these critical social ills. Through hindsight it is clear that we were correct to establish the UDM because the situation is fast deteriorating into a frightening abyss of chaos and anarchy. This is shown by the daily reports in the media of callous murders of farmers on their own properties, raping of children, the breakdown of discipline in schools, escalating unemployment levels and incidents of government corruption at all levels with the government neither prepared nor willing to admit inability to deal with these problems. Poverty levels are rising, confidence in the ability of the governing party to get its act together is diminishing. Added to this is the fear of the impending departure of President Mandela where after South Africa would loose a great deal of status and influence internationally. Despite Mandela’s admirable efforts to sell his successor internationally, people on the ground have a different picture of things to come, i.e. increasing crime, violence, unemployment, homelessness, corruption, nepotism, and general instability. Already, foreign investors are applying a wait and see attitude. They are asking whether Deputy President Mbeki will run the country or the Alliance partners who have openly defied him on his GEAR policy. The situation currently is compounded by the absence of an economic policy that sustains all South Africans. The present government’s economic policy which is even disowned by the governments own allies is not anywhere in addressing these social ills. Their so-called GEAR policy has the following problems: Created profits for export without domestic investments, Abandonment of RDP agenda accepted by all after thorough consultation No commitment to social services such as health, education and welfare, Unemployment and retrenchments in all sectors; Lack of commitment to human capacity development. It is therefore clear from the above that Gear has shortcomings which affect the majority of South Africans. The positive economic growth in 1995/6 can best be described as early successes of inheritance. Indeed Gear as it is now, does depend on a lot of goodwill and some luck. To this end, the UDM realises that as a first step towards achieving our vision, we must narrow the gap between those that have and those that do not have. The gap can only be effectively narrowed if all and everyone in society benefit. Our policies will have to ensure the enlarging of the economic “cake” by expanding production opportunities and enhancing human development without impoverishing the wealth creators. The key is to establish and implement policies which empower all South Africans. ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT IS THE KEY In our National Congress held in Johannesburg on 27 June 1998 the UDM Congress endorsed a need to vigorously pursue policies which encourage and open-up opportunities for individuals, single households, or groups of people to start and sustain their own small businesses. Through these, they will empower and enrich themselves materially and spiritually, provide work to others in their communities and enhance the general well being of their society. As a result therefore, UDM will drive a policy of enterprise development as the answer to unemployment. We will apply the integrative policy approach that simultaneously addresses all those issues that are inhibiting job creation today, so that South Africa becomes a hard working and a winning nation. The key issues that relate to job creation are: enterprise development: civil order: access to capital: basic education and skills training: land ownership: tourism and environment and the respective roles of government, business and labour. The implementation of these policies would require a government that recognises it, has the responsibility to lay them down. The state has a moral and legal obligation to its people and cannot allow the destiny of its citizens to be decided by an economy that is dominated by stocks and bonds as these themselves alone do not necessarily entail investments and empowering of the poor against poverty and social deprivation. For example, in the last four years only 25% of foreign capital has gone to direct investment in the economy, hence the escalating unemployment levels. Most importantly, the restoration of civil order is needed to ensure a stable society in which an entrepreneurial spirit and productive enterprise can develop and flourish. While we appreciate that globalisation is the international context of all economies in the world, we need to make a commitment which puts the needs and interests of our own people first in all our policies. Our immediate painful past must not be glossed over when our policies are being developed. However, the ANC government has neglected our people to the pitiful state of poverty through unemployment and retrenchments because the government’s economic policies and strategies to deal with challenges of globalisation are not based on a commitment to deal with the needs of our people. The Gear is silent about the plight of 60% of our population who do not have access to capital. It is no secret that the past apartheid economic policies did not cater for blacks, they were just employed as teachers, civil servants, policemen etc. Therefore, the pending retrenchments of 55000 civil servants after the elections in June next year will exacerbate the already untenable situation amongst the black. CAPITAL, SKILLS FLIGHT AND INSTITUTIONALISED CORRUPTION Compounding the economic situation in this country is a current system of institutionalised corruption and crime which have forced many to invest their monies outside the country. Others are immigrating in search of better opportunities and lack of confidence in government’s ability to deal with crime. The UDM does not believe that these fears are born out of a lack of patriotism as suggested by President Mandela. On the contrary we believe that they are patriotic statements in condemnation of a government’s security, safety and judicial systems that make heroes out of criminals and refuses to implement tougher measures against those who commit crimes against the innocent and especially vulnerable in our country. The UDM vision encourages that the people of South Africa should unite and work as a team so that they can collectively participate in the transformation process of our institutions and thereby become a winning nation. Most investors see the “deployment” of ANC and COSATU leaders only (as per ANC NEC decision) in business as a threat because it means companies are forced to employ on their managerial staff people deployed by the ANC who could not get positions in government. This pattern of corruption undermines the equity bill and affirmative action policies, which seeks to level the playing field not for ANC and its Allies only but for all South Africans. Those who immigrate have no choice and are no less patriotic than anyone of us. They do so because they dislike being instructed to create special political appointment opportunities in their companies for ANC deployed officials in disregard of many professional blacks who qualify for jobs. The overall effects of our government’s economic policies and the accompanying pattern of institutionalised corruption and high rates of crime is that the country has no capacity of its own to withstand any external shocks and challenges of globalisation. DEMAND FOR A CULTURE OF DELIVERY The public will recall that when the government published its budget this year, the UDM stated, categorically, that this was a false budget and that it would be impossible to implement it. Hardly few months after that the government admitted that it was difficult to implement some of the more fundamental delivery projects such as maintenance of roads and schools, let alone building the new ones. As in many social services projects which South Africans were promised in the RDP, the government has not only failed but has lied and betrayed the trust which South Africans pinned on it in 1994. The UDM demands the building of roads, schools, clinics and updating of police services. These projects are long over due. We condemn the government practice of only employing ANC card carrier members on government projects and demand that all people, irrespective of their political affiliations, be accorded the same employment opportunities and service delivery. On more than one occasion, the government has adjusted MP salaries to offset the negative effects of inflation on their earnings. By contrast the Minister of Welfare and Pensions only increased by R20 in April and R10 this coming October, the pension allowances of our most vulnerable and needy old-age citizens who have hardly any other sources of support. These increases cannot go far enough to cushion people against inflation. We ask that the concern with MP’s protection against inflation be extended to the rest of South African old-age pensioners and not be restricted to the few whose salary packages are already astronomical and unjustified. The people of this region (Transkei) should also demand that the government must continue the project of bringing clean water to every household as was started by the DBSA and Transkei government then. By 1994 we had already serviced 6 magisterial districts such as Lusikisiki, Lady Frere etc. There is no need to do another feasibility study. The implementation of bringing clean water to this region was meant to have been finalised by the year 2000. What happened to that plan? Transkei region alone has 28% water capacity of Southern Africa through rivers of this area. What the ANC government is doing now, is to selectively put bore holes in areas where they think the ANC is strong. The UDM therefore demands from the ANC government a culture of delivery and equal treatment of all citizens across the board. 1999 ELECTIONS A party like ours, which has limited resources, must rely on the discipline and commitment of its members. Our members must make sure that we cover every Ward and area to build branches. We must assist people in their registration for ID’s and in voter education in general so that the ANC maybe proved wrong in its lies that these activities are done only by itself. Our immediate target is to intensify the launching of UDM branches throughout the country. The compilation of election lists for UDM is not a priority. We need to build anywhere and everywhere so that where there is a councillor (UCEBA) there is a UDM branch or branches. Our election list will be chosen by the UDM branches themselves and their job will be to find people they know and can trust and include them in the election list. The experience of Lesotho where a governing party is accused of having rigged the elections requires us to be vigilant for the forthcoming elections. Every branch would have to familiarise itself with the demarcations, the venues of the election points. The UDM structures must participate in all the IEC structures, be it at national, provincial, regional, local or branch levels. The forthcoming elections are going to be about: choice between crime and safety job creation and unemployment job security and retrenchments corruption in government or good governance respect and support for our traditional leaders institutions or societal chaos and breakdown of values farm killings or protection and promotion of security and safety for the farmers. I know that none of our UDM members celebrate our birthday by cutting throats of innocent farmers, raping children or engaging in robberies. Our most sacred birthday present to prosperity and our children is UNITY and PEACE as we build a prosperous democratic South Africa. You will remember that I mentioned that the UDM is the political home of all South Africans. It is in that spirit that Traditional leaders and Religious leaders feature so prominently in our activities. These leaders are in their own respective ways guardians of the values that we espouse in our vision and mission. The centrality of their role in the UDM is reflected in their involvement in all our structures. In the same vain youth and women’s structures are important integrated structures of our movement. The UDM is defined within a constitutional framework that is singular and directly includes youth and women whose existence and work is defined by this single constitution. As a result the youth and women structures of the UDM are preparing for their respective national conferences in November and December in Bloemfontein. Your supreme challenge and task is to UNITE, BUILD AND WIN. Make this a passion that distinguishes you from other political parties in South Africa. Our greatest weapon should be discipline and diligence at all costs. Our membership will always be challenged as youth, women, students, elderlies, teachers, civil servants, security services and organised labour. In our national conference in June this year we passed a resolution which stated that workers should resist being dictated to in the manner in which they vote for political parties. We therefore condemn the continuous harassment by COSATU who demand that our members should pay for the ANC’s election costs and that they should vote for the ANC. One of our challenges in South Africa is the need to examine the labour Act. There is an urgent need to accommodate the input of unemployed workers when we talk about job creation and enterprise development, always bearing in mind that the best starting point should be the needs of the people and this is what has been forgotten in Gear. Our aim in the UDM is to create jobs and self-employment. The implementation of such a policy demands a commitment for flexibility from business and organised labour to take into account the special needs of the unemployed and emerging small businesses. FOREIGN POLICY If our domestic policies must be informed by normative principles which seek to address the needs of all South Africans in the spirit of reconciliation and peace, our foreign policy must reflect those same values in our interactions with others. However, sadly for the people of South Africa, we have a government whose foreign policy on a large number of critical issues rests on the decisions of individuals hand picked from time to time as the Deputy-President wishes. The involvement of our soldiers in the Lesotho debacle is a case in point. The UDM strongly condemns the unconstitutional deployment of our soldiers and invasion of Lesotho. The manner in which South African troops were deployed in Lesotho has received strong condemnation from Lesotho and people of South Africa. The honourable position by our government is for President Mandela and his deputy Mbeki who authorised the invasion, to accept all the consequences and the moral responsibility for the suffering and damage caused in Lesotho and then immediately withdraw from Lesotho and allow SADC and Lesotho to choose an acceptable process for the resolution of that conflict, even if it means South Africa will be replaced by another SADC member to ensure the so-called stability. President Mandela and his government owe an apology to the people of Lesotho and South Africa. They should know by now that their bellicose and arrogant approach to Lesotho incident has shamed our country. South Africa’s regional hegemonic ambitions are a disgrace to the people of this region and continent. The people of South Africa must refuse to be used as pawns in this unjust war of egos. The SADC agenda for co-operation and mutual assistance in areas of economic development and democratisation can only progress through initiatives based on consensus and consultations by all stakeholders. The deployment of troops in Lesotho without warning South Africans and people of Lesotho or the world can only mean one thing, that is, that there was an INVASION OF A SOVEREIGN STATE by a foreign country. It was not a peace – keeping force, nor are we impressed by the shabby manner in which South Africa was involved beginning with the discredited commission itself. How do you agree to initiate a commission as a trusted friend, then report to a third partner first about the commission’s findings, then instruct these parties to invade people who asked for assistance and then take a hasty trip to watch athletics at far away exotic locations while our troops are dying and killing our neighbours who only yesterday offered us refuge. This makes the whole idea of an African renaissance a fuss and a nightmare especially if the mechanism for its enforcement is through military force. We hope that this will serve as a message that most countries are correct in having one foreign minister instead of six who have contributed to this fiasco. South African government is also called upon to pay their immediate attention to the food shortage in Lesotho, as a result of their failed and embarrassing invasion. A NEED TO REVIEW SADC AGENDA Our own experience in negotiating a peaceful transition to a democratic dispensation in South Africa should serve as a guiding principle in any mediation role in conflict situations when called upon to assist. It is in recognition of this experience that our neighbours and the international community have accepted our leadership role in initiating diplomatic measures to resolve regional conflict in SADC. But the military deployment of our troops in Lesotho without consulting the interested parties in Lesotho has caused confidence in this country to wane. As we speak today SADC is divided as a result of CONGO and LESOTHO problems. There is no doubt that SADC image would never be the same again. The investors will be reluctant to come to this region. The UDM therefore, propose a consultative forum of all parties who are in favour of democracy and development in SADC region so that similar military interventions in the affairs of member states maybe exposed by people who stand to lose most. This proposed forum should include all political parties (ruling and opposition parties), business people, labour, religious leaders, traditional leaders and non-governmental organisations. This proposed forum will enable the members to adhere to the spirit of the OAU and UN in their deliberations. The current SADC policymaking process is flawed and is subject to individual and selfish political agendas. Perhaps, the model of the European Union can go a long way in improving the working relationship amongst SADC member states. The proposed SADC forum will enable the member states to focus on the issue of democratisation, peace and African development rather than political competition and involve in war of egos, as is currently the case. History has shown us that it was because of collective actions that the liberation movements of Eastern and Southern Africa working jointly with the frontline states and through the OAU and UN were able in the 1960’s and 70’s to remove the remnants of white colonial rule in our region. These channels enabled African people to work as partners and in consultation with all involved members and international communities. It is in the interest of all people in SADC that opposition political parties involve themselves in the activities of their own governments in order to safeguard against the promotion of unmandated agendas by member states. TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION It is a known fact in South Africa that after the 1990 coup attempt against our government in the Transkei I as the head of that government, demanded a thorough investigation on the South African apartheid government’s involvement in that failed coup. I again, in 1996 reported to the TRC that this matter should be investigated especially in the light of alleged involvement of my predecessors. You will recall that on the 22 May 1996 amongst other matters, which I covered in my testimony to the TRC, I stated that the abortive coup was part of urgent requests made by my predecessors to then RSA government to remove us from power by force. For the record and in the interest of bringing the truth to our people who are certainly told lies about our track record in Transkei especially by the ANC and their apologists. (Play a cassette version of 1989 news bulletin) I will quote what I said in my testimony to the TRC: ” When Chief George Matanzima, then Prime Minister of Transkei, refused to step down as a result of his implication in financial scandals, the Transkei Defence Force intervened and forced him out of politics. A new Prime Minister, Miss Stella Sigcau, was elected. We discovered that Chief Matanzima was paid R2 million as a bribe for exclusive gambling rights. Bank statements were obtained from the Bank of Transkei which showed that some of the senior Ministers and Paramount Chief K.D. Matanzima had each received a sum of R50 000 00. This created curiosity among the TDF ranks, that is, lower ranks, including troops, up to Senior Officers as to why the amount was devised among politicians if it was destined for Chief George Matanzima only. On the morning of 31 December 1987, all ranks of the TDF took a decision to remove the government of Miss Stella Sigcau since she was also a recipient of the R500 000. In the context of South African politics the move by the TDF was construed in various ways even by the recipients themselves. The TDF insisted that all culprits be brought before the Courts of law where their fate was to be decided. The toppling of former politicians prompted them to approach Pretoria for the forcible removal of the Military Government from power. To counteract these moves, the Military Government started implementing the recommendations of the Commissions of Inquiry by bringing people like Chief George Matanzima and others to our Courts of Justice. He was sentenced to nine years for his involvement in housing projects”. To my knowledge this matter has not been investigated by the TRC and instead what we hear are noises from the ANC calling for the arrest of alleged killers of these coup plotters. No reference is made to the circumstances surrounding the staging of the abortive coup. Only last week an individual who was responsible for delivering weapons to the leaders of the coup against the government of the then Transkei has come forward and confessed his role. This person has now applied for amnesty from the TRC. On the 17th of September he has indicated to us as leaders of the UDM that he is willing to tell the truth on the coup attempt, and the role played by his Vlakplaas unit on the instructions of the then South African Army. It is on the basis of this revaluation that I want to invite all commanders of armed operations of the then Transkei security forces, families of the victims and injured TDF soldiers to compile a full report for the attention of the Amnesty Committee. I am convinced that the Transkeian people will need their own lawyers paid for by TRC and access to all investigation documentation so that they can freely put their side of the story. The TRC was given this information as far back as 22 May 1996 but Bishop Tutu chose not to take action. This attitude by the chairman of the TRC is still difficult to comprehend but I hope the chairman did not think that the lives of Transkeians were insignificant and thus no investigation was warranted. However, it is clear that his inaction allowed the ANC to shield Minister Stella Sigcau from explaining together with the Matanzimas their reasons and motives for asking the then South African government to forcibly remove us from power. It is clear that the South African army was acting on specific political directives. What we need to know now is whether these political directives were an accumulative result of the Stella Sigcau and the Matanzima’s respective delegations to Pretoria or not. I am convinced that there is a symbiotic relationship between these political directives to the South African Army and these delegations. Since this matter has for some mysterious reasons not been investigated by the TRC despite the overwhelming weight of the above stated facts it is now necessary to provide these details to the TRC Amnesty Committee. VOTER EDUCATION Explain our colours, logo and symbols CLOSURE Thank you messages
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10 Dec, 1997
The challenges facing South Africa as we approach the New Millennium
Presented by Mr Bantu Holomisa, UDM Co-leader, at the South African Institute of Race Relations, Johannesburg In the letter of invitation which I received from the Institute of Race Relations, it is stated that the United Democratic Movement (UDM) is attracting much media attention. The UDM on the other hand feels that scant attention is paid to its activities by the media, so it is a matter of debate as to whether we enjoy any sufficient media coverage or not. However, what is important to us is the reasons of our existence or the process which led to the formation of the UDM. The process which led to the first 1994 April democratic elections in the history of South Africa was initiated to bring about freedom to the people of South Africa. Indeed the first democratic government was unveiled to assume its task of continuing with the democratisation process of state institutions, above all to bring about qualitative change and particularly improving the lives of the poor. The UDM is ready to measure to current and future challenges facing South Africa, as we approach the 21 Century. We embrace the challenge with passion and alacrity the practical demands of rebuilding our severely divided society with unprecedented vigour. We will set free the creative power inherent in our diversity, and will co-operate with all stake-holders to ensure a quality of life and freedom for every citizen, based on good governance and civil order, towards being a winning nation. The UDM presently is for obvious reasons not represented at parliament. This does not necessarily mean that our primarily aim is to contest the 1999 elections and be part and parcel of other political parties in parliament without any broader vision and sense of purpose. We clearly see ourselves playing an effective role outside and inside parliament if ever we gets sufficient seats in 1999 elections. The UDM programme of action is geared towards the achievement of just social outcome. In dealing with: unemployment; civil order; housing; education; economy; We are currently involved in the process of designing specific policy positions, what the UDM have contrary to what is said, is broader policy framework or principles. Can the current political parties stand to the current and future challenges? The parliamentary experience/or observations such as: the inability of minority parties to exert pressure and hold the executive to account; the majority party using its numeric strength to dismiss constructive views from other parties; the past activities of parties in parliament being used by the majority party to weaken its opposition during policy-making process with some of the issues with no direct connection on what is being deliberated upon; These are some of the factors, which had weakened the current political parties in terms of playing effective opposition role. It is against this background that the UDM has a role to play and to fill this gap and unite the country by consolidating and defending this hard won fledgling democracy as we move towards the 21 Century and positioning ourselves in dealing with the unforeseen challenges of the future and building together a just society for all. The role of civil society in addressing these challenges should not be undermined. The non-government sector in South Africa has played an important role in making sure that Apartheid as government policy fails. This sector has played an important role in capacitating our communities through various means, in the form of training, poverty reduction programmes, particularly in the rural areas, providing support for small and medium enterprises for the disadvantaged sector of our communities, adult basic education to combat illiteracy. The South African Institute of Race Relations with other similar minded NGOs has in the past and I believe still made education a priority by recognising its importance as a liberating tool. The fact that these institutions granted scholarships and bursaries to the needy bears testimony to this commitment of uplifting our communities. It clear that the government alone cannot transform our society without the active involvement of the Non-governmental Institutions. The fact that NGOs by their nature are suppose to be apolitical they are strategically placed to intervene on behalf of citizens, especially when the government is inclined to abuse its political power in pursuance of sectional/ or individual interests. The civil society can effectively play its role by supplementing oppositional parties in government. This can be achieved by being public watchdogs or whistle blowers, especially when acts of corruption are detected. However, we do acknowledge the limitations which the NGOs are faced with in carrying out their mandate, precisely that the funding environment had dried up. The future direction of South Africa is already mapped by the ANC through RDP initially which was later abandoned and replaced by GEAR as government normative policy document, it sets out in no uncertain terms as to what the ANC hopes to achieve in a given period from job creation to provision of infrastructure. Today teachers who are supposed to be building the nation are to be retrenched. So compare the objectives of GEAR with what is happening now. Is it more jobs or speedy retrenchments of the people whom should be benefiting from the new dispensation? Judge for yourselves… In conclusion I wish to take this opportunity to thank the Institute of Race Relations for inviting me and the audience. Bantu Holomisa UDM Co-leader
