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13 Feb, 2018
Success! UDM reaction to “Suspect Number One”; Jacob Zuma being recalled
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) welcomes the decision to recall Mr Jacob Zuma as the President of the Republic of South Africa (SA). It has taken far too long for this to happen, once it became patently clear (years ago) that he was not fit to hold the highest office in the Country. We can rightly say that the African National Congress (ANC) only reached this decision because of the continued, consistent pressure exerted by opposition parties; civil society; and the media, who played a critical role in exposing institutionalised corruption such as #GuptaLeaks. It is encouraging that those who campaigned for Mr Zuma to vacate his office, had free access to media and radio talk shows. This demonstrates that the tools of democracy and a free society, as provided by our Constitution, work. The ANC’s much vaunted self-correcting nature is a damp squib. South Africans, especially eligible voters, have realised that the ANC has lost its moral high-ground and had relinquished its status as South Africa’s liberation movement. If it wants to be taken seriously, the ANC – which have been protecting Mr Zuma, at all cost – must own up to this mess and immediately charge Mr Zuma and his fellow gangsters. In the end him and his colleagues your deployees! Regarding the future, the UDM is positive, but recognise that it will take the nation years to recover from the damage caused by the tangible effects of Mr Zuma’s administration on the lives of our people on a daily basis. It will also take time to convince the international community, the ratings agencies, and investors that South Africa no longer has a weak and corrupt government that easily succumbs to the influence of pirates and privateers. However, only half the battle has been won at this time. All patriotic South Africans, opposition parties, civil society, and the media should not now rest and lower their guards. We must ensure that the culprits face the full might of the law and that the billions of stolen Rands be returned to the last cent! South Africa has learnt several harsh, but valuable lessons in this experience. One thing that should be done to curb corruption in Government – perpetrated by political deployees and officials alike – should be the appointment of specialist investigating units, with forensic auditing capacity, as well as dedicated courts to expedite the prosecution of offenders. We hope that Mr Zuma’s departure from office also signals a departure from this almost cult-like hero-worshiping of certain individuals just because they have “struggle credentials”. Struggle credentials do not maketh the man! There is no place in our history for people who have tarnished the legacy of our freedom fighters; we must draw a line in the sand and start from scratch to create a corruption-free government that works in the service of the people. Issued by: Mr Bantu Holomisa, MP and UDM President
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08 May, 2017
Vuwani no-show: A sign of disrepect
Statement issued by UDM Secretary General – Bongani Msomi It is with sadness that we witness the belittling behaviour of President Jacob Zuma towards the people of this country. His no-show at Vuwani, at the weekend, displays the clear arrogance of his government and his party. There have been widespread service delivery protests but nothing changes. Citizens need to realise that the ruling party does not consider them and that it is time to make different choices. President Zuma and his allies should be made to feel the anger of the citizens; the only ways to do this is for South Africans take back their power and punish the ruling party in 2019. President Zuma must stop taking people for a ride and they must stop allowing this to happen.
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14 Feb, 2017
Address by Bantu Holomisa in Parliament: debate on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) 2017
Honourable Speaker, Honourable President and Members As we enter the 23rd year of our democracy, we see a rise in the levels of anxiety and anger among citizens, with anarchy knocking at our door. Notwithstanding these trends, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) acknowledges the great strides South Africa has made since 1994. The most disturbing reality is that we see an increase in the politics of patronage, uncontrollable corruption, the collapse of government institutions, a high unemployment rate, lack of development, failing health and education systems, widening inequality, chronic poverty and ineffective provincial governments. With regard to provincial governments; the question is, do we really need these glorified homelands or rather strengthening the local sphere of government and let national government take control and introduce the lacking uniformity. We are commemorating the late OR Tambo; an undoubted champion of the struggle for a just and free society. It would be interesting to know his thoughts on the so-called leaders who have dumped the deprived masses and took care of themselves at the expense of the poor. We believe that no individual party’s policy conference could proffer all the sustainable solutions to the challenges we face as a nation. This is even more apparent when the governing alliance lacks policy coherence; thus threatening investor confidence. It is in this regard that the UDM resolved that, in preparation for 2019 and beyond, we will during this year convene a consultative conference which will be open to all citizens, to amongst others: • Take stock of the 22 years of our democracy; • Identify areas of intervention to bring about meaningful economic transformation; • Review the legislative framework that impedes fundamental socio-economic transformation, including the Constitution; • Develop mechanisms to stop corruption and maladministration; • Take stock of the quality, qualification and placement of our civil servants including those who provide security services to the nation; • Improve our constitutional democracy with the introduction of a people-driven electoral system; • Introduce legislation for transparent political party funding; and • Find a lasting solution to reduce tension between the social partners at NEDLAC in particular labour, government and business. At the envisaged National Consultative Conference, we shall also evaluate the agreements between the ruling party and the apartheid government pre- and during the Codesa negotiations. Meaningful transformation, including the transfer of land and control of the economy, will never realise so long as those agreements are used as scarecrows and lock the majority of our citizens outside the economic mainstream. South Africans, it is our collective task to ensure that the ideals of a truly democratic and prosperous society as envisaged by OR Tambo and others, are realised. In this regard, I encourage you to take advantage of the proposed conference to ensure that we reclaim the original objective of the struggle we have so dearly fought for. I thank you
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11 Oct, 2016
UDEMWO saddened by Khwezi’s death
The United Democratic Movement Women’s Organisation (UDEMWO) would like to convey a message of condolences to the family and friends of Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo better known as Khwezi. We as UDEMWO are saddened by her sudden departure. Khwezi fought a good fight and she displayed a true example of imbokodo especially during her dark hour when those she trusted took advantage of her. She was amongst the few fearless women of our time. Her sudden passing leaves us with many questions than answers. As UDEMWO, we feel that Khwezi has not been celebrated and the hand of justice has failed her dismally during her rape trial against President Jacob Zuma. UDEMWO is surprised by the contradictory conduct shown by the ANC Women’s League towards Khwezi that is now calling her a hero. The treatment and the abuse she endured are beyond imagination but she pressed on. The treatment against Khwezi gives a clear indication that women in this country are taken for granted and it saddens us as women. We hope that her courage will be an example to other women. She may have passed on but her spirit leaves on. Statement issued by Mrs Thandi Nontenja UDEMWO Secretary General
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19 May, 2016
Bantu Holomisa’s remarks to the Cape Town Press Club: President Zuma
Greetings: Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen Thank you very much for sharing this platform with me today. The electioneering season has begun and all of us are on the streets, to once again connect with the electorate. Chairperson, the United Democratic Movement in its 5th National Congress held in December 2015, amongst others; declared corruption as a national threat to sustainable development of the country and its citizens as it directly affects good governance and economic growth negatively. You will also recall that since its inception, the UDM has always been batting on a wicket of anti-corruption and good governance. We remain committed to this both in words and actions. I mention these two points because, today our country finds it difficult to be described fully without mentioning the word corruption. Centrally to this is that the country is led by a party in implosion. Its internal implosion has left the country sneezing and the state institutions in a state of paralysis. Leadership of these institutions are a product of a disastrous cadre deployment policy and by design, they are inherently part of the fighting factions within the party. Naturally, they will abuse their positions within these state institutions to defeat the other factions. At the helm of all these shenanigans is a President who has become an untouchable, even those close to him are apparently unable to apply breaks on him. So the country is stuck with this monstrous individual who has no regard for the rule of law. Those who are still placing their future in the ruling party, they can only wait for their national conference at the end of 2017, hoping that some new medicine will come. However, this hope is very much un-realistic given the fact that, Mr Zuma and his marshals are the same medicine in differently shaped bottles. He has successfully mustered his plan to render every senior member of the ruling party in parliament dormant through patronage, and as a result, it is impossible to differentiate between his NEC and the cabinet. There is therefore no possibility for any of the senior members of the ruling party within their NEC to question him on his escapades. The ruling party’s internal fight has now taken a very dangerous shift from a political symposium of ideas to the terrain of the former military operatives of the ANC armed wing. Mr. Zuma is now pitting junior former MK members against their former senior colleagues in the MK. He has activated a battalion of the former junior MK operatives in defence of his Nkandla scandal and his family friends, the Guptas, whilst the former senior leaders of Operation Vula, like Pravin Gordhan, are on the opposite side of the battle field. To exacerbate the chaotic situation, there is another group that is characterised by former senior leaders of the party, who are yearning for the ANC to return back to its original values, unfortunately they are on the periphery of the formal structures of the party. They will simply be locked-out in the cold with absolutely no say or influence. This is well expressed in how the ANC marshals are behaving in parliament. These marshals are the voting cattle in the coming national conference of their party and will therefore dictate the direction of the party which will directly affect the future of the country. It is not absurd to think of a possibility, where some, within the ruling party, who still harbour the original values and principles of the party, would consider pursuing the same principles and agenda outside of the currently exploding party. Notwithstanding all these, the country still has to move forward. It is in this regard, that our conference made the commitment to continue fighting against corruption and mobilise society behind the banner of good governance. We are happy that many other opposition parties and society in general are resonating with this noble campaign. The positive side of this crisis, is that political parties and citizens are presented with an opportunity to think deeply about whether it is not time to take a different route in defending the gains of our freedom. The fourth local government elections are a fertile platform to discharge this responsibility. The parties must provide concrete alternative and the electorate must not shy away from denouncing the failures of the ruling party through a ballot paper. The electorate has more than enough to understand why they should liberate themselves from the ruling party. There is no minute passing without scandals of looting public purse by the ruling elite. Their immorality has now directed their hands to the pension funds of the government employees in the Public Investment Corporation. Once again, major beneficiaries have links with the president of the country, like the Sakh’umnotho transaction amounting to no less than R1.5bn. The funding of the independent newspapers in which the Guptas are in court fighting for their 20% stake is in the public domain for electorates to see. The alleged payment of the ANC birthday bash and staff salaries using pensions of government employees is a subject of investigation by the office of the Public Protector. The opposition parties have tried their bit in parliament, in courts including the Constitutional Court, however, the numerical arrogance of the ruling party, and the used of state security apparatus has been a new weapon to silence different views. In conclusion, while the ruling party is imploding and Mr. Zuma remaining intransigent, the country is in a state of anarchy, because it is not their priority but their bottom less pockets. I thank you.
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26 May, 2015
UDM sympathises with the Marikana Massacre victims and their families
The decision to take President Jacob Zuma to court by the family members, injured workers of the Marikana massacre and AMCU is the best action to force Zuma to release the findings of the investigation. As the United Democratic Movement, we are in full support of this decision and we hope he will realise the importance of the findings being made public as it is not just a report for the family and the injured miners but a closure of what happened to their loved ones on the 16 August 2012 who were victims in the hands of police while they demanded a better life in the work place. It’s been more than 4 weeks since Zuma received the report but up to now he has not made it known. To South Africans, this is a sign that government does not care about the poor. It is unfair to the victims who lost loved ones while others were brutally injured and now the North West police commissioner Zukiswa Mbombo is evacuating her office at the end of the month while the report has not been made public and she is one of the main state officials to answer to what happened on that day when police officers went berserk killing innocent souls for demanding their rights. Mbombo is not retiring but playing hide and seek, running away from what is in the report. This shows clearly that the delay by Zuma is a way of protecting those close to him and this is disgusting. Statement issued by UDM Secretary General, Bongani Msomi
