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13 Feb, 2026
SONA2026: vision has been declared. Delivery will decide
Statement by Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, MP, UDM Deputy President and Leader in Parliament The 2026 State of the Nation Address was characteristically vision driven, aspirational and wide ranging. President Cyril Ramaphosa once again laid out an ambitious reform agenda across the economy, crime prevention, local government, infrastructure, agriculture, public service reform and social protection. The difficulty, however, has never been the quality of the vision. The difficulty has consistently been implementation. South Africa has heard many turning point speeches over the past decade. Each one has identified the correct problems. Each one has proposed the appropriate frameworks. Yet departments have repeatedly failed in execution, coordination and accountability. That is the central concern the United Democratic Movement (UDM) raises in response to this address. On the economy, President Ramaphosa points to improved macroeconomic indicators, investment commitments and infrastructure allocations. These are welcome developments. However, macro stability does not automatically translate into employment at scale. The UDM will be watching closely whether infrastructure projects move beyond announcement phases and whether small and medium enterprises actually experience reduced red tape and improved access to markets and finance. The same applies to energy reform and logistics recovery. Structural reform is necessary, but tariff stability, grid expansion and port efficiency must now be visible in declining costs and increased competitiveness. South Africans cannot live on reform processes. They must feel outcomes. The President’s firm stance against organised crime is appropriate. Organised syndicates, illicit trade, illegal mining and gang violence are undermining the state and terrorising communities. The deployment of the South African National Defence Force to support the police is a serious step and reflects the gravity of the situation. However, such deployments must be carefully managed and time bound. UDM President General Bantu Holomisa, MP has however cautioned that when the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is deployed internally, public cooperation is essential. Communities must cooperate fully and ensure that firearms are not drawn against soldiers. Escalation will only result in tragedy. At the same time, deployment must not become a substitute for fixing weaknesses within South African Police Services (SAPS) and the criminal justice system. Long term safety depends on professional policing, intelligence coordination and successful prosecutions. On the water crisis and local government reform, the President Ramaphosa has correctly identified systemic failure, poor planning and patronage as root causes. The establishment of a National Water Crisis Committee and the threat of personal liability for municipal managers signal seriousness. But here too, the UDM’s concern is implementation. We have seen interventions before. The question is whether dysfunctional municipalities will actually be stabilised, whether revenue will be ring fenced for infrastructure maintenance and whether political interference in appointments will truly end. The response to foot and mouth disease and the commitment to vaccinate the national herd is necessary. Yet this outbreak again highlights a pattern of reactive governance rather than anticipatory planning. Biosecurity must become a permanent strategic priority, not an emergency response after damage has been done. Smaller and communal farmers must not be left exposed while policy is refined. On youth employment and skills reform, the structural overhaul of the training system is overdue. However, public employment programmes must evolve into real economic pathways. Too many young people cycle through short term opportunities without progression into permanent work. The continuation and redesign of the Social Relief of Distress grant is understandable in the current economic climate. But redesign must be credible, administratively stable and clearly linked to economic participation. Dependency without opportunity cannot be the long-term model. President Ramaphosa speaks of professionalising the public service and insulating appointments from political interference. The UDM strongly supports this. Yet the country will judge reform by whether unqualified individuals are removed from critical posts and whether disciplinary processes are finalised swiftly. Announcing professionalisation is not the same as enforcing it. In many respects, the 2026 State of the Nation Address identifies the right priorities. The risk lies in whether line departments possess the capacity, discipline and coordination to deliver at the speed required. Vision without execution deepens public frustration. The UDM therefore approaches this address with cautious scrutiny. We will support reforms that strengthen the state, protect communities and grow the economy. But we will equally insist on measurable timelines, transparent reporting and consequence management where departments fail. In many respects, the 2026 State of the Nation Address identifies the correct priorities. The risk lies in whether line departments possess the capacity, discipline and coordination to deliver at the speed required. Vision without execution deepens public frustration. The UDM therefore approaches this address with cautious scrutiny. We will support reforms that strengthen the state, protect communities and grow the economy. But we will equally insist on measurable timelines, transparent reporting and consequence management where departments fail. The true test of this vision will begin in the upcoming Budget Votes and departmental budget speeches. It is there that priorities must be matched with credible allocations, implementation frameworks and performance targets. It is there that we will see whether this is a speech of intention or a programme of action. South Africans are not asking for inspiration alone. They are asking for implementation. 2026 must not become another year of plans layered upon plans. It must become the year where delivery finally catches up with vision.
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11 Feb, 2026
FMD is not a photo opportunity: farmers need solutions, not political point-scoring
Statement by Zandile Phiri, Acting Secretary General of the United Democratic Movement The United Democratic Movement (UDM) condemns the emerging political row over who deserves credit for South Africa’s renewed local production of the Foot and Mouth Disease vaccine. At a time when thousands of farmers are facing income collapse, livestock losses and prolonged movement bans, it is deeply inappropriate for political parties to reduce a national agricultural crisis to a contest over headlines. This outbreak is not about party branding. It is about farmers who have been unable to sell cattle for months. It is about rural families who cannot pay school fees. It is about auction houses losing jobs. It is about rising beef and milk prices affecting ordinary households. It is about cultural and economic systems in rural communities being placed under severe strain. It is also, critically, about smaller and communal farmers who simply cannot absorb the financial shock while political point scoring continues. Unlike large commercial operations, small scale farmers do not have reserves to cushion prolonged movement bans. When cattle cannot be sold, income stops immediately. There is no fallback. There is no diversification. For many households, livestock is the only reliable asset. Every week of delay deepens debt, weakens herds and pushes families closer to crisis. The production of locally manufactured vaccines after more than two decades is a positive development. It should be welcomed. However, the question South Africans are asking is not who stands in front of the cameras. The question is why the country allowed itself to become so dependent on external supply for over 20 years. Why were biosecurity weaknesses not addressed earlier. Why was vaccine manufacturing capacity not rebuilt proactively. Why was this level of outbreak not anticipated and prevented through stronger surveillance, traceability and veterinary capacity. These are governance questions, not partisan ones. South Africa has experienced previous outbreaks in 2000 and 2010. The risks associated with cross border movement, buffalo reservoirs and livestock traceability have long been known. The scale of the current crisis suggests that systemic vulnerabilities were allowed to persist. Political energy would be better directed toward correcting those structural weaknesses rather than arguing over retrospective credit. The UDM calls for the following urgent measures: 1. Full transparency on vaccine production volumes and distribution timelines. 2. A clear national vaccination rollout plan with measurable targets. 3. Stronger enforcement of livestock movement controls, supported by community engagement rather than coercion alone. 4. Inclusion of private veterinarians and agricultural bodies to accelerate implementation where capacity is stretched. 5. Clear communication channels for farmers so that misinformation and uncertainty do not undermine compliance. 6. Consideration of temporary financial relief mechanisms for severely affected small scale and communal farmers. This crisis requires unity of purpose. It requires coordination between national and provincial governments. It requires collaboration with organised agriculture, communal farmers and traditional leaders. It requires urgency. Farmers do not care which party claims a breakthrough. Smaller farmers in particular cannot take the financial hit while this situation drags on. They care whether vaccines reach their herds in time. They care whether auctions reopen. They care whether their livelihoods survive. The UDM urges all political actors to lower the temperature of partisan conflict and focus on delivery. The fight against Foot and Mouth Disease must be guided by competence, transparency and speed, not political theatre. In a Government of National Unity, political sensitivity should compel all partners to prioritise collective responsibility and delivery over partisan credit, especially in moments of national crisis affecting livelihoods and food security. South Africa’s agricultural stability and rural economy depend on it.
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16 Jul, 2014
Budget Vote 2 – Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MTEF 2014)
Contribution made by UDM Member of Parliament, Mr ML Filtane, in the National Assembly Honourable Chairperson Minister and Deputy Minister Honourable Members The United Democratic Movement (UDM) makes the following contribution to this important debate and subject. In the previous term the department achieved very little in so far as its core business is concerned. We are talking about the business of, amongst others. • Ensuring food security for all the citizens of the country especially through agriculture and fisheries and indirectly through forestation. Statistics South Africa reported in August 2013; that 21.5% of people suffered severe inadequate access to food as of 2012. In the Eastern Cape that figure translated to 1.3 million people out of 6.2 million as at that time. 11% or 5.6 million SA citizens actually experience hunger as we speak. The department is mired in institutional operational and policy related problems. To compound the situation, it has a totally new ministry; consequently it is failing to deliver on its mandate. This has left the door wide open for established practitioners in farming, fisheries and forestry to just maintain the status quo. The charters are not being operationalised. Currently more than half of all smallholder households live below the poverty line. How can they produce food for anyone then if they themselves are starving? The department is unable to prevent the exploitation of marine reserves. Rich export markets can only be accessed by those with expert industry knowledge, none of these has been produced yet by the department. Timber products are exported with hardly any consideration for supporting local economic development initiatives, not even those supported by government itself. The Baziya Forests in the EC are a typical example here. In Baziya afforested land is the subject of a validated claim but the claimants are not benefitting in anyway, be it jobs, rent or products and the company running the forest is enjoying a recently renewed lease for another 60 years. This department is folding its arms, helpless in the meantime. The fiasco in fisheries permits is well documented and published, no solution yet, jut plans by the new minister. The department has neither bold/robust nor radical plans to change the situation. The EC has all the potential to be the food basket of South Africa but the Ncera farms programmes has collapsed right under the watchful but ineffective management of the department. It is facing either closure or transformation when either of those happens momentum is sure to be lost. The UDM responds and recommends: • Stop planning too long the past 5 years are enough, start implementing, even bit by bit. Fund communities in afforestation. • Implement your charters and thus create jobs for the surrounding and interested communities. • Fast track partnerships between community-based co-operatives and the well established practitioners and appoint dedicated mentors for at least 2 years, where it is not possible to have partnerships. • Make sure that all your programmes are developmental and food productive in nature otherwise there is no social value for money. • Lastly, ask yourself Hon Minister, Do I have the right mix of entities and do the current one speak with one voice that of addressing the core goal of the department. Thank you
